James Ryan (born 12 May 1945) is a Scottish 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 lea ...

who played as a winger. He spent the majority of his professional career in England, starting with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

before moving to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in 1970. In 1976, he moved to the United States, where he played for the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. T ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

(NASL) and 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.

in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). Upon his return to England in 1984, Ryan took over as manager of Luton Town's reserve team before taking charge of the senior team from January 1990 to May 1991. In June 1991, he was appointed by

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...

as the manager of Manchester United's reserve team, a position he held for ten years. He was also the club's assistant manager for the 2001–02 season, before being made Director of Youth Football in 2002. He retired in June 2012, following 21 years on the Manchester United coaching staff. He is the father of former footballer and current manager of Manchester united U18s Neil Ryan.

Playing career

Born in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, Ryan started his career with Cowie Hearts. At the age of 17, he was spotted by a scout and invited for an initial two-week trial with English club

. The trial was extended to a month and Ryan signed as an apprentice with the club on 7 December 1962. A month later, he signed his first professional contract, but it was not until May 1966 that he made his first-team debut, playing on the right wing in the final four league games of the 1965–66 season. He scored his first goal in the third of those games, the third goal in a 6–1 home win over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. He played for Manchester United for four more seasons and was part of the team that won the 1966–67 Football League and 1967–68 European Cup. However, being in competition for a position with

George Best George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United F.C., Manchester Un ...

(among others) meant that his appearances were limited and he left the club for

in 1970, along with Don Givens. In five seasons with Manchester United, he played 27 times and scored four goals. He played for Luton Town until 1976, when he left to play four seasons in the

with the

. In 1979, the NASL players decided to strike for better pay, but Ryan was the only Tornado player to honour the strike.MISSIONARIES AND MERCENARIES: DALLAS TORNADO SOCCER 1967 TO 1981
/ref> At the end of the 1979 season, Ryan moved to the

of the Major Indoor Soccer League where he finished his career with three indoor seasons.

Managerial career

After living in the United States for eight years, Ryan returned to England to take over as manager of the Luton Town reserve team. Following Luton's dismissal of Ray Harford, Ryan was promoted for an 16-month spell as manager on 11 January 1990, saving the club from relegation on the last day of two successive seasons. However, he was sacked on 13 May 1991, and replaced by

David Pleat David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English association football, football player turned manager (association football), manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He ...

. Three weeks later, Manchester United manager

made Ryan the club's reserve team manager after a club reshuffle caused by the departure of his assistant Archie Knox. He held the position until 2000, when he was promoted to coach the first-team. After assistant manager Brian Kidd left to manage

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in December 1998, Ryan stood in as Ferguson's assistant until

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English football coach and former player who is currently the manager of the Jamaica national team. McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999 ...

's appointment in February 1999, taking full charge of the side for their 3–2 defeat at home to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 19 December 1998, which Ferguson missed in order to attend a funeral. Ryan was named as assistant manager again after McClaren left to manage Middlesbrough in 2001, but remained in the post for just one season until Carlos Queiroz took over. From 2002, he was named as the club's Director of Youth Football, a position he held until his retirement in June 2012.

Career statistics

Honours

Manager

Manchester United Reserves * Central League North: 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97 * Manchester Senior Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000

References

External links

*
Profile
at StretfordEnd.co.uk

at MUFCinfo.com

at NASLJerseys.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Jimmy 1945 births Living people Dallas Tornado players Luton Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. managers Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Manchester United F.C. players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Footballers from Stirling Scottish men's footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish football managers English Football League players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football forwards Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States