Ryan David Ashington (born 28 March 1983) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He was born in Paignton, Devon, England. Ashington joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

as a trainee and due to almost the entire midfield being out injured, manager

Wes Saunders Wesley Saunders (born 23 February 1963) is an English former professional football player and manager, who played as a central defender. He played for Newcastle United, Bradford City, Carlisle United and Torquay United in the Football League and ...

was forced to throw him into the first-team well before he would have liked. In the end Ashington was named man of the match on his league debut at home to Southend United on 19 August 2000, making a further 13 league appearances by the end of the season, all before his 18th birthday. He signed a one-year professional contract in May 2001, but had yet to feature under new manager Roy McFarland, before sustaining an injury that forced him out for most of the 2001–02 season. Out of the first team picture at

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

, and with Torquay not having a reserve team on financial grounds, Ashington joined Newport County on loan on 5 December 2002, signing a full deal the following month. He made a good initial impression at Newport, but missed the end of the season due to glandular feverNicholas sets County simple aim
/ref> and failed to re-establish himself. He left Newport in September 2003.

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* 1983 births Living people People from Paignton English men's footballers Torquay United F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Devon {{England-footy-midfielder-1980s-stub