Ryley Towler

Ryley Towler

Personal information
Full name	Ryley Ben Towler [1]
Date of birth	(2002-05-06) 6 May 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Bristol, England
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Defender, Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Portsmouth
Number	4
Youth career
2011–2019	Bristol City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2023	Bristol City	4	(0)
2019	→ Frome Town (loan)	2	(0)
2020	→ Taunton Town (loan)	5	(0)
2021	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	13	(0)
2022–2023	→ AFC Wimbledon (loan)	17	(1)
2023–	Portsmouth	38	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 January 2025 (UTC)

Ryley Ben Towler (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Portsmouth.

Towler began his career with Bristol City, spending time on loan with Frome Town, Taunton Town, Grimsby Town and AFC Wimbledon.

Career

Bristol City

Towler joined his local City academy in the under 9 age group. ^[2] A left footed player who went to Mangotsfield School, Towler is considered an option at left back or left centre back. ^[3]

On 10 February 2021, Towler made his debut for Bristol City in the FA Cup fifth round starting away at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United. ^[4]

On 9 September 2021, Towler joined Grimsby Town on loan until January 2022. ^[5] Towler made his debut for the 'Mariners' on 11 September 2021, in a 3–1 away win against Torquay United. He went on to play 13 games in the National League for Grimsby Town, and one appearance in the FA Cup in a 1–0 defeat to Kidderminster Harriers. Towler was recalled on 20 December 2021 and returned to Bristol City. ^[6]

On 1 September 2022, Towler joined AFC Wimbledon on loan for the 2022–23 season. ^[7] He scored his first goal for Wimbledon in a 3–1 loss to Walsall on 8 October 2022. ^[8] Towler was recalled from his loan on 6 January 2023. ^[9]

Portsmouth

On 6 January 2023, Towler signed for League One club Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year deal. ^[10] He made his Pompey debut as a substitute against Bolton Wanderers in January 2023, and made his full debut a week later in a 2–0 home win over Exeter City. Towler scored two second-half goals in a 3–1 win over Bolton on 28 February 2023. ^[11] However, with the promotion of Portsmouth to the Championship, the club looked to loan him out in the 2024–25 winter transfer window. ^[12]

Career statistics

As of match played 10 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bristol City	2019–20 [13]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [14]	Championship	3	0	1	0	0	0	—		4	0
	2021–22 [15]	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2022–23 [16]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Total			4	0	1	0	0	0	—		5	0
Frome Town (loan)	2018-19 [17]	SL Division One South	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
Taunton Town (loan)	2019–20 [18]	SL Premier Division South	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2021–22 [15]	National League	13	0	1	0	—		1 [a]	0	15	0
AFC Wimbledon (loan)	2022–23 [16]	League Two	17	1	3	0	0	0	4 [b]	0	24	1
Portsmouth	2022–23 [16]	League One	20	2	—		—		—		20	2
	2023–24 [19]	League One	6	0	—		1	0	4 [b]	1	11	1
	2024–25 [20]	Championship	9	1	1	0	1	0	—		11	1
	Total		35	3	1	0	2	0	4	1	42	4
Career total			76	4	6	0	2	0	9	1	93	5

1. Appearance in FA Trophy
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Portsmouth

• EFL League One: 2023–24 ^[21]

References

1. "EFL - Squad List 2020/21" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
2. "34. Ryley Towler". Bristol City.
3. MacGregor, Gregor (10 February 2021). "Bristol City expected team to face Sheffield United with Ryley Towler an option". BristolLive.
4. "FA Cup: Sheffield United 1–0 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
5. "Grimsby Town sign highly-rated Bristol City midfielder Ryley Towler". Grimsbylive. 8 September 2021.
6. "Towler recalled from loan".
7. "City defender Ryley Towler signs for AFC Wimbledon on loan". September 2022.
8. "Walsall 3–1 AFC Wimbledon". BBC. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
9. "Ryley recalled". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
10. "Pompey Complete Towler Signing". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
11. Weld, Neil (28 February 2023). "Pompey 3 Bolton 1". www.portsmouthfc.co.uk.
12. Neil Allen (30 January 2025). "Aouchiche, Towler, Bramall, Moxon, Stevenson: Portsmouth transfer window state of play as business ramps up". The News. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
13. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
14. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
15. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
16. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
17. "Ryley Towler Profile". southern-football-league.co.uk. Southern Football League. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
18. "Ryley Towler Profile". aylesburyunitedfc.co.uk. Aylesbury United F.C. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
19. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
20. "Games played by Ryley Towler in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
21. "Portsmouth 3–2 Barnsley: Pompey seal promotion to Championship with dramatic win". Sky Sports. 16 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.