Neil Ryan is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

head coach for the England U18s and former player who played as a defender. He played professionally in the United States USL A-League. The son of former footballer Jimmy Ryan, Neil started his early football career playing at Luton Town in 1991 he was a youth team player for two seasons and eventually turned professional in 1994. His professional contract with Luton ended in 1995 and he then moved to the United States and signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

of the USISL Select League. He then moved through several teams in succession. In 1998, he signed with the

Worcester Wildfire Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, but also played a few games on loan with the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USISL D-3 Pro League. In the fall of 1998, Ryan moved indoors with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the National Professional Soccer League. He spent two indoor seasons with the Wings. In 2001, Ryan finished his American career with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. In November that year, Ryan returned to England and joined

Altrincham F.C. Altrincham Football Club is a professional football club based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1891 and nicknamed "the Robins", they are currently members of and play at Moss Lane. History Altrincham was established ...

of the semi-professional

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

. He made his first appearance on 12 December 2001 in the

Northern Premier League Challenge Cup The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...

. Ryan left Altrincham in September 2003. In July 2018, after 15 years working through the age groups of U11 to U16 within the Manchester United academy, Ryan was appointed as the head coach of the club's under-18 side. On 13 May 2022, Ryan was appointed a national coach with England men's teams after 19 years at Manchester United. On 16 August 2022, it was confirmed that Ryan would take charge of the England U18s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Neil Living people 1975 births English footballers English expatriate footballers National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Richmond Kickers players Boston Bulldogs (soccer) players Cape Cod Crusaders players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Altrincham F.C. players Trafford F.C. players USISL Select League players USL Second Division players A-League (1995–2004) players Association football defenders Association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association football coaches