Billy Reeves (footballer)

Reeves graduated through the Port Vale Academy to sign professional forms in April 2015.[4] He joined Northern Premier League Division One North side Witton Albion on a one-month loan in November 2015.[5] His loan was extended after he established himself in the first team and he went on to make 14 appearances, scoring one goal in a 5–0 win over Harrogate Railway Athletic on 2 January.[6] He then joined Hyde United on a one-month loan in February 2016.[7] He also made 14 appearances for Hyde, as the club were relegated out of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.[8]

On 16 September 2016, he returned to Witton Albion – now playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South – on a 28-day loan.[9] He returned to Witton Albion on loan in mid-November, but played just two games before being sidelined with injury.[10] He joined Stafford Rangers of the Northern Premier League Premier Division on a 28-day loan on 3 February 2017.[11] He made his EFL League One debut for Port Vale after coming on as a 47th-minute substitute for Danny Pugh in a 1–1 draw with Southend United at Roots Hall on 4 March.[12] After two further substitute appearances that month he thanked central midfield partner Sam Foley and caretaker manager Michael Brown for helping him to adapt to League One football.[13] He went on to feature in 12 of the club's final 14 games of the 2016–17 relegation campaign, and signed a new one-year contract in May 2017.[14]

On 7 November 2017, he scored his first goal in professional football in a 4–2 victory over Crewe Alexandra in an EFL Trophy group stage match at Vale Park.[15] However he featured just eight times for the "Valiants" during the 2017–18 campaign and was not retained by new manager Neil Aspin in May 2018.[16]

On 14 August 2018, Reeves joined Stafford Rangers on a short-term contract.[17] On 25 September 2018, he moved on to Northern Premier League Division One West club Leek Town after manager Neil Baker lost six players to injury.[18] The "Blues" reached the play-offs at the end of the 2018–19 season, but lost 2–1 to Radcliffe in the final.[19] The 2019–20 season was formally abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with no promotions taking place despite Leek sitting top of the Division One South East table.[20] He featured eleven times in the 2020–21 campaign, and was sent off in a 1–0 defeat at Kidsgrove Athletic, before the season was curtailed early due to the ongoing pandemic.[21][22][23] He made 43 appearances in the 2021–22 season.[21][22] Leek were beaten 4–1 by Runcorn Linnets in the play-off semi-finals.[24] He featured 47 times in the 2022–23 campaign as Leek finished second in the league; his goal tally of seven included a hat-trick of penalties in a 4–1 win over Prescot Cables on 20 September.[21][22][25] Leek again were beaten at home by Runcorn Linnets in the semi-finals of the play-offs, this time losing 3–1.[26]