Ryan Rhys Nicholls (born 10 May 1973) is a Welsh 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 ...

who played as a midfielder or

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

Career

Leeds United

Born in Cardiff, Nicholls began his career at Leeds United, joining the Yorkshire club at the age of 12. He signed professional terms with the club in 1988 but tore his contract up the following day after becoming unhappy when the club sacked manager

Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...

. Nicholls planned to instead join Luton Town who had also expressed an interest in offering him a professional contract and had several other Welsh players in their squad but the following day, Nicholls was visited by Bremner's replacement Howard Wilkinson who eventually persuaded him to return to

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

and remain with the club. He began training with the first team at the start of the 1989–90 season and roomed with Vinnie Jones for the first six months of his time with the squad. After impressing in the club's reserve side, Nicholls was tipped to make his debut for the senior side but suffered a cruciate ligament injury. The injury was originally misdiagnosed by the club's medical staff and he was put back into reserve team action after just three months and further damaged the ligament when attempting a tackle. After visiting a specialist in Cambridge, Nicholls was ruled out for a year. He was given an extension to his contract to prove his fitness but suffered a second serious injury soon after his return after tackling

Gary McAllister Gary McAllister MBE (born 25 December 1964) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. McAllister played primarily as a midfielder in a career spanning over nineteen years. He started his career at local side Motherwell b ...

in training that ruled him out for another six months. On his return, he joined Norwegian side

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

on loan in a bid to play football and earn a new deal but was released on his return to the club.

Later career

Nicholls spent two weeks on trial with

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 ...

and was set to join the club until manager

Russell Osman Russell Charles Osman (born 14 February 1959) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a centre back in the Football League for Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town, Leicester City F.C., Leicester City, Southamp ...

was sacked. He instead joined his hometown side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

on a non-contract basis. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and he made twelve appearances, scoring twice, but was released at the end of the season and joined

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

, after turning down a move to Lincoln City. After spending one year at Merthyr, Nicholls moved into the Welsh Premier League with spells at Aberystwyth Town and

Carmarthen Town Carmarthen Town Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Caerfyrddin) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen. The team play their home games at Richmond Park. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit ...

Management career

In November 2004, Nicholls took over as manager of

Pontypridd Town () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

where he spent two and a half years in charge before resigning in June 2007. Ryan now currently owns Quest fitness gym in Caerphilly.

References

External links

*
Welsh Premier League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholls, Ryan 1973 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Footballers from Cardiff Welsh men's footballers Leeds United F.C. players Strømsgodset Toppfotball players Cardiff City F.C. players Merthyr Tydfil F.C. players Aberystwyth Town F.C. players Carmarthen Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Eliteserien players Cymru Premier players Welsh football managers Welsh expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Norway