Darren Ryan

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Darren Ryan
Personal information
Date of birth (1972-07-03) 3 July 1972 (age 53)
Place of birth Oswestry, England
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Dubai Irish (Head of Youth Development)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1992 Shrewsbury Town 4 (0)
1992–1993 Chester City 17 (2)
1993–1994 Stockport County 36 (6)
1994–1996 Rochdale 32 (2)
1996 Chester City 4 (1)
1996–1998 Barry Town 70 (28)
1998–1999 Total Network Solutions 31 (4)
1999–2001 Merthyr Tydfil ? (?)
2000 → Newport County (loan) 6 (1)
2001–2002 Newport County 31 (1)
2002–2003 Carmarthen Town 22 (1)
2003–2005 Haverfordwest County 42 (8)
2005 Cardiff Grange Quins 4 (1)
2005–2009 Newtown 27 (1)
Managerial career
2006–2010 Newtown
2011 Airbus UK
2011 Newtown
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 00:20, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Darren Ryan (born 3 July 1972) is an English former footballer. He is currently Head of Youth Development at UAE Third Division League club Dubai Irish.

Career

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Ryan began his professional career with Shrewsbury Town, as he progressed through the youth system and made four Football League appearances for them from 1990 to 1992. He later had two spells with Chester City and also played for Stockport County and Rochdale before drifting out of the English Football League in 1996. He has since become an established figure in Welsh football, through clubs including a successful period with professional club Barry Town and later Total Network Solutions and Newtown. He replaced his former Chester teammate Roger Preece as Newtown manager in October 2006. He remained with the club for four years, stepping down in August 2010.[1] He joined Airbus UK as manager in March 2011[2] before returning to Newtown in June,[3] but quit after just seventeen days in charge to become First Team Coach at Northwich Victoria.[4]

He resigned from the club on 16 January 2012 along with the rest of Andy Preece's management, with the club reporting that Preece was expected to be appointed Director of Football at Welsh Premier League side Airbus UK Broughton the next day.[5] The next day he was appointed as Head Coach at Airbus UK.[6]

Ryan initially joined the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy on a part-time basis before being appointed Under-18s coach in July 2017.[7]

In July 2025, Ryan joined UAE Third Division League club Dubai Irish in the role of Head of Youth Development.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Ryan walks out on the robins". welsh-premier.com. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Ryan returns to management with Airbus". welsh-premier.com. 25 March 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Ryan gets Robins' comeback call". welsh-premier.com. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Robins stunned as manager Ryan quits". welsh-premier.com. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Preece quits as Northwich Manager". NonLeagueDaily.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Airfield stability the lure for Preece". Welsh Premier League. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. ^ "New Academy Under-18 Coach Named". www.wolves.co.uk. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  8. ^ @dubaiirishfc; (25 July 2025). "🚨 Club Announcement 🚨 We're proud to welcome Darren Ryan as our new Head of Youth Development at Dubai Irish FC! 🇮🇪⚽ With over 30 years of experience, Darren has coached elite talent at Wolves FC, including Premier League stars like @morgangibbswhite & @dionsanderson21 A UEFA A Licence holder with top-level academy expertise, he'll lead our entire youth setup and coach the 2014 UAE FA National League team. This is a huge step forward in building one of the UAE's most progressive youth football environments. 🔰 Welcome to the family, Darren! #DubaiIrishFC #YouthDevelopment #UAEFootball #PremierCoach #grassrootstogreatness #uptheirish". Retrieved 25 October 2025 – via Instagram.
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