We are looking back at some of the best interviews and articles from our website over the last year and Jamie Moore spoke to former Belvedere player Richie Ryan about his move from Shamrock Rovers to Ottawa Fury.

Our Belvo Boys Abroad feature talks to former Belvo players playing or coaching in different parts of the world.

BELVO BOYS ABROAD - RICHIE RYAN (CANADA)

By Jamie Moore

Having spoken to former Belvo player Shane Howard, who has spent the last four years on an Elite Soccer Scholarship in America, this week we talk to Richie Ryan.

Richie has just signed for Ottawa Fury in the North American Soccer League. Having joined Belvo in 2001, he signed for Sunderland in 2005, and has played for Scunthorpe United, Royal Antwerp, Sligo Rovers, Dundee United and Shamrock Rovers.

He spoke to BelvedereFC.com’s Jamie Moore ahead of the start of his first season, Fury finished 10th in the NASL.

Richie Ryan joined Belvo in 1997 at the age of 12. His Templemore FC team played a friendly against Belvo, and like many players he was spotted by the opposition Belvo manager and asked to sign. Manager Eddie Moan spoke to Richie’s parents and after playing a couple of friendlies, he agreed to sign.

Richie remembers his time at Belvo and how he was allowed to express himself.

“We were very lucky that we had coaches that encouraged us to play in the right way, we were encouraged to pass the ball which is very important for player development. I know there are a lot of competitions at the schoolboy level but personally I don't think it should be all about winning at such a young age. Players should be having fun and enjoying learning how to play the game in the right manner and then the winning comes as you get older. We did that at Belvo.”

The central midfielder spent four years at Belvo playing under Eddie Moen, Eamonn Rice, Danny Kenny and Stephen Finn. Other players on that team included Matthew Bligh, Derek Tyrell, Eddie Keyes, Andy Cousins, Dean Gibbons, Mark Quigley, Gary Mulligan and Adrian Harper. They won the U12 SFAI Cup in Richie’s first season as well as two league titles and two Dublin cups.

He remembers his time with fondness.

“I have a lot of good memories from playing in Fairview Park with Belvo. The tough games that we would play against other top schoolboy clubs like Cherry orchard, St Joseph's, Home Farm and Stella. They were all tough games but games we all enjoyed and learned from. I also made some good friends in my time at Belvo that I am still in touch with now. Friends like Andy Cousins whose parents would have me stay in their house a lot of times before games on the weekends.”

On The Move

Richie signed for Sunderland from Belvo as a 16 year old in 2001. He spent two seasons on Tyneside and made his first team debut under Mick McCarthy in the derby against huge rivals Newcastle.

He missed his entire third season due to a hip injury and after a two month loan spell with Scunthorpe United, he signed for them in the summer of 2005.

“I started the season and had a run of 10 or 11 games in the team but then I was drifting in and out of the starting 11 which wasn't what I needed at that time in my career so I felt it was time to move on again seeking football week in week out so I signed a two year contract with Boston United.”

Lots of Irish players have played football further afield then England and Scotland, playing under different managers with different ideas and thoughts on the game. Unfortunately for Richie, his style of play didn’t exactly suit his new manager’s ‘philosophy.’

“I knew from my first game at Boston that it wasn't going to go to plan as the manager had a go at me for getting the ball rolled out to me from our goalkeeper. From very early days at Boston I was called a five a side footballer by the manager because of my style of play.”

Boston entered administration at the end of that season and Ryan left for Royal Antwerp in Belgium.

“The Manager was Warren Joyce (Man United reserve team coach now), he was and I'm sure still is a top coach, I got the love back for the game in Antwerp, I enjoyed training every day and had a manager that let us pass the ball. Unfortunately for me Warren agreed a deal at Manchester United and left at the end of that season. My time was also up then.”

Richie then came home to Ireland and signed for Sligo Rovers.

“I signed for Sligo through a team mate of mine called Sean Doherty who had spent five months with me at Antwerp. He mentioned that Paul Cook was interested and I fancied it. Sean spoke highly of Paul and the way he wanted football to be played. I couldn't say whether I thought the league was going to be a step down or not because I had been away for seven years so I hadn't seen much of the league. I knew I needed to have some stability in my career at this stage and needed to play. It took me a while to settle in at Sligo and get used to the league but thankfully I did and enjoyed great success with a great squad of players.”

Sligo finished 2nd in the league and won two FAI Cups and a League Cup during Richie’s spell there. The opportunity to go away again came in 2012 when he signed for SPL side Dundee United where he spent 18 months.

Differences

“One of the big differences in Scotland were the facilities and the resources that the clubs had, obviously that comes from bigger budgets and more money being put into the league. The standard was higher than the League of Ireland which also might come down to bigger budgets for better players.”

“The crowds and stadiums were bigger and better in Scotland as you would expect because the league is higher profile than our league here. The Scottish League also gets a lot more media coverage with four or five pages in the back of the national newspapers every day before you will see anything about the English Premier League. The finances in the SPL are a lot bigger than League of Ireland but I think the top three or four teams in the LOI could definitely hold their own in the SPL.”

After 18 months at Dundee United, Richie came back to the League of Ireland, despite strong rumours of a return to Sligo, he signed for Shamrock Rovers and explains why.

“I was excited at the prospect of coming back to the LOI. I had kept an eye on the league while I was in Scotland. I enjoyed working for Shamrock Rovers and Trevor Croly who is a top coach. I was delighted to win another League Cup winner medal.”

The League of Ireland is, for the majority of players a part-time league with part-time wages. Many players have day jobs and train in the evenings, and apart from a couple of clubs, players are on nine month contracts with no security of a contract for the following season or of a wage in the off season. Ryan explains the current situation in the league.

“It is tough for players in the LOI if they are just being offered nine month contracts, especially for players with families, they need security. On the flip side of that I also understand that it's difficult for all of the clubs to offer longer contracts as they may not have money coming in all year round. The LOI is a very successful league and all you have to do is look at the standard of the teams each year but if the money is not pumped in to keep developing the league, then the best young players will always want to venture elsewhere.”

“I would like to think it won't always be a part-time league but it is hard for clubs to generate money in the economic climate at the moment. Unfortunately, the LOI doesn't have money men to come in and pump loads of money into clubs, also for attendances I'm not sure what more clubs can do to get people to come watch their local teams in our national league instead of watching English clubs on TV. There is some great football played in the LOI and if more people came to the games they would see that. The League also needs more publicity from the FAI, newspapers and TV.”

American Dream

His contract at Rovers was not due to expire until the end of the 2015 season, but another move was on the horizon.

“It looked like I was staying at Shamrock Rovers until I was contacted about the opportunity to come play and for Ottawa Fury in the NASL (North American Soccer League, which is one league below the MLS). Ottawa are a new team and this is our first season in the league. The football is full time here and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

Richie was named as the first ever Captain of the Ottawa Fury, and also recently announced that he and his girlfriend Nikki are expecting their first child. Having lived in England, Belgium, Scotland and Ireland on and off over the last 13 years, he says it was a big decision to move away again.

“It was definitely a big decision to move away again as myself and Nikki were both very happy living in Dublin but I couldn’t turn down this opportunity. It's a chance for me to challenge myself playing in a different part of the world again. Nikki is Scottish and had moved to Dublin with me and I'm grateful that she was willing to move here too.”

Having lived away from home for much of his adult life, will homesickness be a problem?

“I don't think you are ever too old to be homesick, myself and Nikki are both very close to our families so there will always be days when we miss them but they will be over to visit in the summer and we will get home in late November.”

Richie is enjoying life in Ottawa so far.

“The city is very nice, it is a small city centre but has very big surrounding areas. There are a lot of nice sites here, rivers, parks and a lot of government buildings in town. We have met a good number of Irish people so far or people with Irish background. We have been here almost three months now and have settled in really well. The weather has been very cold since we came, a lot of snow but its clearing up now which is good.”

“Pre-season went really well for us. It included a two week training camp in Florida. The manager, Marc Dos Santos, has a very good outlook on how the game should be played so I'm hoping to fit into his plans for the season. He has had a tough job of building a squad from zero. I've been very impressed with the standard of players he has brought in and it looks like everyone is the right type of player for how he wants to play.”

Future

"I hope at 29 that I still have a few good years ahead of me in my playing career. I don't want there to be an ‘after football’ for me as its all I've known so I would like to go into coaching or stay in the game in some capacity at least.”