view Conroy's match-by-match record
 
Dion CONROY

Born in Redhill, the central defender spent eight years at Chelsea prior to joining Swindon, where he won an FA Youth Cup winner's medal, but did not manage a first team league appearance.

Snapped up by Swindon in January 2017 after a loan at Aldershot was cut short, big things were expected after he signed a two and a half year deal to play at the County Ground - joining Chelsea loanees Charlie Colkett, Fankaty Dabo and Islam Feruz in the Town squad, he made his debut as a late substitute in a 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers the day after signing. By mid-March, he had claimed a regular starting spot - settling in well at the back and very comfortable on the ball - but his introduction was not enough to avoid the Town's relegation to League Two.

Conroy started the 2017/18 season as a key member of new manager David Flitcroft's squad - but his season came to an unfortunate end in mid-September, when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a 3-2 victory over Stevenage. By the time he returned the following season, Flitcroft had been replaced by Phil Brown - but Conroy was in and out of the side as he continued to struggle with fitness. It wasn't until the turn of the year that Conroy claimed a regular place in the starting eleven - by now under yet another new manager, Richie Wellens - and when Wellens dropped club captain Olly Lancashire toward the end of the season, Conroy was handed the armband in his absence. After netting his first Town goal in a 4-0 victory over Morecambe, though he was widely expected to leave the club at the end of the season, Conroy signed a one-year extension, and was named as the new club captain for the 2019/20 season, after Lancashire departed.

Unfortunately, it was another injury-hit campaign for Conroy - after a good start to the season that saw the Town challenging at the top of the table, Conroy suffered another cruciate ligament injury against Newport in September 2019. The injury kept him out for the whole campaign - in his absence, the Town secured the League Two title in a season curtailed by a global pandemic that prevented Conroy from making a return. Over the summer, Conroy signed another extension to his deal, while boss Wellens called for him to do more in the dressing room, following the departure of a number of experienced players.

Just as he appeared to be ready for a return, Conroy picked up a heel injury that required surgery in a pre-season friendly at Bristol City - by the time he returned to action in December 2020, Wellens had left the club to be replaced by John Sheridan, and the Town were in the midst of a relegation battle. He was soon back as a first choice - a place that he kept right through to the middle of March, despite a red card in a crucial bottom-of-the-table clash against Wigan in February that the Town held on to win 1-0 - the decision later being overturned. Suddenly though, Conroy found himself out of the squad altogether, after Sheridan made a unique quintuple substitution, seemingly to make a point with the Town 3-1 down at home to Gillingham - the Town boss later publicly accusing the Town captain of lacking fitness - and Conroy didn't appear again for the remainder of the season, as the Town were immediately relegated back to the fourth tier. Conroy later described his relationship with Sheridan as "toxic", revealing that he was not even allowed to speak to teammates towards the end of the season.

One of only a handful of players to remain over the summer with the Town in the midst of an ownership battle, Conroy stated that he was "honoured and privileged" to retain the captaincy under new boss Ben Garner, and he was a mainstay of the Town side for the first half of the season - only missing games because of an ankle injury in October, and a needless red card after the final whistle of a 2-0 defeat at Barrow, in which Conroy had given away a penalty. In early February though, an Achilles injury coincided with the arrival of both Brandon Cooper and Jake O'Brien on loan, and Conroy seemingly found himself in a battle for a jersey - missing over a month, and not being named in the squad, even though he had been confirmed fit. A long-term injury to Cooper was the catalyst for Conroy's return to the starting eleven - and he soon celebrated his return with a karma-ridden last minute winning goal over John Sheridan's new club, Oldham, which shot the Town into the playoff places, which Conroy would lead the side into at the end of the season.

After the post-season campaign ended in defeat at Port Vale, it was soon announced that Conroy would not be offered terms for the 2022/23 campaign - the club placing on record their "immense thanks" for his loyal service.

PLAYING RECORD:

Season LEAGUE FA CUP LEAGUE CUP OTHER TOTAL
Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls
'21/'22 37 1 3 - - - (+1) - 40 (+1) 1
'20/'21 18 (+1) - - - - - - - 18 (+1) -
'19/'20 11 - - - - - - - 11 -
'18/'19 26 (+1) 1 1 - - - 2 - 29 (+1) 1
'17/'18 6 (+1) - - - - - 1 - 7 (+1) -
'16/'17 11 (+3) - - - - - - - 11 (+3) -
TOTAL 109 (+6) 2 4 - - - 3 (+1) - 116 (+7) 2


TRANSFER INFORMATION:

DATE IN/OUT TRANSFER DETAIL
27 JAN 2017 IN Chelsea
Undisclosed fee ()
24 MAY 2022 OUT (released)
» Crawley Town


full name

Dion John Conroy


 ENGLAND

date of birth
11 December 1995


             
             
             
             
           
             

usual positions
central defence

youth career
Fulham
Chelsea

senior career
Chelsea
Aldershot Town (loan)
SWINDON TOWN

website links
Twitter