Toby Bancroft

DOB: 13th February 2001

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 2020/21

Season of last appearance: 2020/21

Full Appearances: 7

Substitute: 2

Goals: 1

Also played for:

Gillingham, Ramsgate, Wingate & Finchley, Sittingbourne, Faversham Town, Hythe Town

Player Profile:

Striker Toby was a youngster at Gillingham. He scored for the Gills after coming on as a sub in a 5-1 Kent Senior Cup win at Dover on 10.3.20. He was farmed out for spells at Wingate & Finchley and Ramsgate during 2019-20.

In 2020, he was initially let go by the Gills at the end of his two-year scholarship before manager Steve Evans had a change of heart and brought him back for another season.

Toby, now a first-year professional, featured in first-team friendlies for the Gills against Colchester United and Watford in summer 2020. He was then sent on loan to Margate at the start of the 2020-21 season.

Toby scored on his competitive debut for Margate when he came on as a half-time sub in a 2-1 Isthmian League win at Brightlingsea Regent on 19.9.20. He made a total of nine appearances (including two as sub) but scored no more goals before the season was abandoned in November.

In summer 2021, Toby was finally released by Gillingham and had a spell at Ramsgate in the Isthmian South East Division. The travelling from his home in Faversham saw him join Sittingbourne for the 2021-22 season. Spells at Faversham Town and Hythe Town followed in 2022-23 before Toby quit football altogether.

It was while he was turning out for Sittingbourne that Toby began exploring the idea of moving into the property industry. In an interview with the League Football Education website, he said: "When I was playing football, I was already going into houses on Wednesdays and renovating them with a company. I probably quit football too early but I lacked a huge amount of self-confidence after what happened that summer.

"When I got to about 18, I realised that it wasn't actually the football that I loved, it was what could come with it. I was training hard and giving my all, but all for the wrong reasons. I hated training but I was doing it because I was money motivated, which is entirely the wrong reason to do it. In reality, that is the wrong reason to do anything in life. You should enjoy what you're doing and then the other stuff will hopefully come with it."

He added: "It was the worst day of my life being released by Gillingham, but then I realised there is more to life than football, so much more. You learn a lot of transferrable skills through football, and I translated a lot of them into my next chapter outside of the game. They're really valuable, regardless of if you make it or not."

Toby secured a job as a private investment director with a leading property investment company that has offices all over the globe, with Toby jetting off to start a new life at the Dubai branch.