If Torquay United were looking for a cult hero to spearhead
their new era under Paul Cox, then Exodus Geohaghon could turn out to be that
very player.
Having been a late comer to professional football - after
spells in the West Midlands non-league scene, which he combined with studying
for a degree in Video and Film Production at the University of Wolverhampton–he
first came to prominence with Kettering Town, who he found the back of the net
for in a 1-1 draw with Lincoln City in the 2008-09 season.
Geohaghon then had stints with several league clubs,
including Peterborough United, Port Vale, Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town.
In addition to this, he is also an experienced non-league
campaigner – having appeared 18 times under Cox for Mansfield Town when they
won the Conference title in the 2012-13 season.
The phrase ‘have boots, will travel’ could easily be applied
to him as the Gulls are now his 20th club in senior football and had
spells with Nuneaton Town in the Conference Premier, Whitehawk in the
Conference South and Stourbridge in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier.
Key aspects of his game include a long throw, and with a 6ft
5 inch frame there are very few challenges that he isn’t capable of winning in
the air.
During his earlier spell at Kettering, Geohaghon played
alongside another centre back who is very familiar to Gulls’ fans in the form of
Guy Branston – a player who could prove to be a great inspiration to him.
When Branston first arrived at Plainmoor in the 2009-10
season, he had fallen out of favour at Burton Albion and there were probably
many in the game who believed he was finished with professional football.
However, Branston proved those doubters wrong by
establishing himself as a first team regular and won the club’s Player of the Year
award in the following season, and was also named in the PFA League Two team of
the season.
If Geohaghon can have that kind of impact, then the Gulls
will have acquired themselves a very good player indeed.
His move comes shortly after the news that Ryan Bowman has
joined Gateshead for an undisclosed fee and Northern Irish left-back Levi Ives
has agreed a deal with Bristol City.
