Ryan Bennett (born 6 March 1990) is an English 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 ...
who plays as a
centre back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
.
He was a youth product of
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
but was not offered a professional contract and thus signed for
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
in 2006. He remained with Grimsby for a further four years in which he earnt international caps for
England U18 as well as becoming the club captain at a young age. In his final full season, he scooped the board in the club's player of the season ceremony. Grimsby Town cashed in on him in 2010 by selling him to
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
after an initial loan deal. Whilst with Peterborough he represented
England U21s. Bennett went on to play in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
with spells at
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
,
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
before joining
Swansea City in 2020.
Club career
Grimsby Town
Bennett was born in
Orsett
Orsett is a village, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1771.
History
It has historic ...
, Essex. He came to prominence in 2006 when
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
's youth team manager at the time,
Neil Woods
Neil Stephen Woods (born 30 July 1966) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is academy manager at Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a striker from 1983 to 2000 for Doncaster Rovers, Rangers, Ipswich Town, Bra ...
swooped to sign him after he was let go by the youth setup at
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
. Initially joining the club as part of the youth team midway through the 2006–07 campaign, he was soon promoted to the first team, managed at the time by
Alan Buckley
Alan Peter Buckley (born 20 April 1951) is an English former professional footballer and football manager who now works as a sports co-commentator for BBC Humberside.
As a player, he was a forward from 1967 to 1987 for Nottingham Forest, ...
. Bennett would make his professional debut as an 88th-minute substitute, replacing
Danny Boshell in a 2–1 win over
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
in April 2007. 21 days later he became the club's youngest ever captain, aged only 17 years old when Grimsby's all-time record appearance holder
John McDermott passed him the skippers armband after being substituted in the local derby with
Lincoln City.
In the summer of 2007 Bennett had re-established himself as one of the club's favoured centre backs, and in this he was handed the number 5 shirt for the coming season. He scored his first goal in professional football on the opening day of the
2007–08 season when his header from six yards opened the scoring in the 1–1 draw with
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
at
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
. In that same season, Bennett largely was favoured in the place of club captain
Justin Whittle
Justin Philip Whittle (born 18 March 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender from 1994 until 2011.
As a player, he notably captained Humber derby clubs Hull City and Grimsby Town. He also appeared for Celt ...
in the heart of Town's defence, and he went on to play in the club's
Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
final defeat to
Milton Keynes Dons
Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. In May 2008, Bennett was given the "Supporters Young Player of the year" for the 2007–08 season.
With the appointment of
Mike Newell as first team manager in October 2008, Bennett was handed the captain's arm-band for the remainder of the 2008–2009 campaign aged only 18. This was down to the fact that the new signing
Matthew Heywood, who had also been designated the new club captain had fallen out of favour following several unconvincing performances, and Newell had preferred a youthful back pairing of Bennett and
Rob Atkinson
Robert Guy Atkinson (born 29 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a defender.
Atkinson started his professional career with Barnsley in 2004, and then spent time on loan with Scarborough, Halifax Town, Rochd ...
to the veteran duo of Heywood and
Richard Hope. Bennett was ever present for the club during the 2008–09 season, and his consistently solid performances throughout a very difficult season for Grimsby saw Bennett win firstly the PFA Player of the Month for February, which would eventually be followed by several club accolades. He swept the board at the GTFC Player of the Year ceremony in May 2009, claiming the "Supporters Player of the Year" award, ~"Supporters Young Player of the year" as well as many other minor awards. Newell made repeated reference to Bennett's professionalism and maturity, and his unflappable playing style in particular was impressive for such a young defender, whilst his height made him an asset at set pieces. Also Bennett was described as comfortable on the ball.
On 13 May 2009, Grimsby were reported to have turned down a bid from
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
after United's director of football
Barry Fry
Barry Francis Fry (born 7 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A winger, Fry was an apprentice at Manchester United in his youth, and had brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he reti ...
publicly revealed that The Mariners had politely turned down a proposed move, mentioning that Grimsby said 'thanks for the interest but we wouldn't sell him for £1m'. On 13 June, United stepped up in their aim to sign Bennett, and offered Grimsby a largely superior offer to their previous one. Grimsby chairman
John Fenty
John Shelton Fenty (born 10 December 1961) is an English politician, businessman and former football chairman. He was the Conservative councillor for the Humberston and New Waltham ward of North East Lincolnshire Council until 2021. He is the fo ...
rejected the offer three days later mentioning that he did not feel it was in the club's best interest to let Bennett go. A week later Bennett confirmed he would be staying with Grimsby for the unforeseeable future by signing a new four-year deal to keep him at
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
until the end of the 2012–13 season.
Peterborough United
Bennett eventually did a U-turn and signed for
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
on 23 October 2009 on an initial three-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move.
Grimsby chairman
John Fenty
John Shelton Fenty (born 10 December 1961) is an English politician, businessman and former football chairman. He was the Conservative councillor for the Humberston and New Waltham ward of North East Lincolnshire Council until 2021. He is the fo ...
had a change of heart, and following a slow start to the season for his club, he decided to cash in on the Town skipper literally only days after sacking manager
Mike Newell. Posh manager
Darren Ferguson
Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Championship club Peterborough United. In between his stints with Peterborough, he also managed Preston N ...
said of the transfer: "Ryan is an excellent signing for us, he has potential and fits in with our policy of bringing good, young players to the football club".
Bennett made his loan at
London Road permanent on 23 January 2010, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract, with Grimsby reportedly receiving £500,000, possibly rising to £1 million.
Bennett scored against Barnsley on 3 December but Barnsley won 4–3. Bennett's final game for Peterborough was away at Doncaster, the Posh were 1–0 down in stoppage time until Bennett went down the wing and hooked the ball into the area for
Tyrone Barnett
Tyrone Barnett (born 28 October 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Leamington.
A former West Bromwich Albion youth team player, the self-described 'athletic target man' dropped into non-League football with Rushal ...
who headed in on his debut after coming off the bench.
Norwich City
On 31 January 2012, Bennett signed for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
side Norwich City, for a reported £3.2 million. Club manager Paul Lambert said of the transfer: "I'm delighted we have signed Ryan. He's made a bright start to his career at Grimsby and Peterborough; he's an England U21 international and he's got so much potential." Peterborough United defender
Gabriel Zakuani compared Ryan Bennett's move to Norwich to a "divorce". As part of the deal Bennett was immediately loaned back to Peterborough until the end of the month. Bennett was expected to sign for
Swansea City and had begun the drive down to the
Liberty Stadium
The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...
only to be rung up and told to head for Norwich when the deal fell through. A 25% sell on clause meant that former club
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
earned for from the deal, with Grimsby chairman
John Fenty
John Shelton Fenty (born 10 December 1961) is an English politician, businessman and former football chairman. He was the Conservative councillor for the Humberston and New Waltham ward of North East Lincolnshire Council until 2021. He is the fo ...
revealing that
Barry Fry
Barry Francis Fry (born 7 April 1945) is an English former football player and manager. A winger, Fry was an apprentice at Manchester United in his youth, and had brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he reti ...
had failed in an attempt to buy out the clause.
He scored his first goal for the club against
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
on 20 April 2013, which Norwich won 2–1. He was voted as Norwich's Man of the Match for his performance, and would proceed to also achieve that feat twice more in the following home matches against
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and
West Brom, the latter of which his shot was deflected off
Gareth McAuley
Gareth Gerald McAuley ( ; born 5 December 1979) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He represented Northern Ireland at senior international level, being capped on 80 occasions and scoring nine times ...
after a
Wes Hoolahan
Wesley Patrick Hoolahan (born 20 May 1982) is an Irish professional footballer who most recently played as an attacking midfielder for League One club Cambridge United.
Hoolahan began his playing career with Shelbourne and has previously playe ...
free-kick and into the net.
Bennett scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in a crucial home game against
Hull City
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
, where his 87th-minute header gave struggling Norwich a 1–0 victory. The goal eased pressure on manager
Chris Hughton
Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team.
After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...
, who had recently been under-fire for a string of constant poor performances dating back to early 2013.
In May 2017, it was announced that Bennett would be released when his contract expired.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 31 May 2017, he signed a three-year deal with
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. Bennett scored his first goal for Wolves when he scored a last minute winner against
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
on 30 December 2017. On 14 December 2018, it was announced that Bennett had extended his contract with Wolves until June 2021.
On 19 January 2019, Bennett scored his debut
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
goal for Wolves, a header from a
João Moutinho
João Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho (; born 8 September 1986) is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Portugal national team.
Moutinho began his professional career ...
corner, in a 4–3 victory over
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
at
Molineux. This goal was the first goal for Wolves scored by an Englishman in the Premier League since
Matt Jarvis
Matthew Thomas Jarvis (born 22 May 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger.
After an unsuccessful spell as a youth-team player for Millwall, Jarvis began his professional career with Gillingham, making his ...
scored in a 3–2 defeat to
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
on
13 May 2012.
On 7 April 2019, Bennett made his debut appearance in an
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
semi-final (as a second-half substitute), as Wolves lost 2–3 to
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
at
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
after extra time.
On 25 July 2019, Bennett made his debut appearance in
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
European competition, playing the full 90 minutes of Wolves's
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
Qualifying Second Round First Leg match against
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
of Northern Ireland. In the return leg on 1 August 2019, Bennett scored both for Wolves and an own-goal for Crusaders.
Leicester City
On 31 January 2020, Bennett signed for
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on a loan deal until the end of the 2019–20 season, with an option to buy for
£5 million at the end of the loan. Bennett was brought to the
King Power Stadium
King Power Stadium (also known as the Leicester City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations and formerly known as the Walkers Stadium) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home of Premier League club Leicester City ...
by
Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City.
Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...
to provide competition for
Jonny Evans
Jonathan Grant Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Leicester City and the Northern Ireland national team.
Evans started his career at Manchester United and progressed thr ...
and
Çağlar Söyüncü. He made his Leicester debut as a half time substitute against
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
on 4 July 2020.
Swansea City
Bennett joined Swansea City on a permanent deal on 16 October 2020.
On 1 September 2022, Bennett was released by mutual consent.
On 23 September 2022,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
boss
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
said he would not rule out Bennett re-joining the club after he had begun training with the club again following his release by Swansea.
Cambridge United
On 6 January 2023, Bennett signed a six-month contract with
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
club
Cambridge United
Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
.
International career
Bennett was called up for the
England national under-18 team that faced Austria at
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
on 16 April 2008. It was his first England call-up. He played the full game in the 2–0 victory. On 29 September 2011, Bennett was called up to the
under-21 team for the first time by
Stuart Pearce. He made his debut in a 2–1 win away to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
on 10 October 2011.
Career statistics
Honours
Peterborough United
*
Football League One play-offs
The EFL League One play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL League One table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , the play-offs comprise ...
:
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
Norwich City
*
Football League Championship play-offs
The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...
:
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Wolverhampton Wanderers
*
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
:
2017–18
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Ryan
1990 births
Living people
People from Orsett
Sportspeople from Essex
English footballers
England youth international footballers
England under-21 international footballers
Association football defenders
Ipswich Town F.C. players
Grimsby Town F.C. players
Peterborough United F.C. players
Norwich City F.C. players
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Swansea City A.F.C. players
Cambridge United F.C. players
English Football League players
Premier League players