Ryan Green

For other people named Ryan Green, see Ryan Green (disambiguation).
Ryan Green
Personal information
Full name Ryan Green
Date of birth (1980-10-20) 20 October 1980
Place of birth Cardiff, Wales
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Hereford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2001 Wolverhampton Wanderers 8 (0)
2001 → Torquay United (loan) 10 (0)
2001–2002 Millwall 13 (0)
2002 → Cardiff City (loan) 0 (0)
2002–2003 Sheffield Wednesday 4 (0)
2003–2006 Hereford United 91 (3)
2006–2009 Bristol Rovers 71 (0)
2009–2012 Hereford United 100 (2)
2012–2014 Port Talbot Town 53 (1)
2014–2015 Merthyr Town 14 (3)
2015– Hereford 37 (1)
National team
Wales U21 16 (0)
1998 Wales 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:48, 8 September 2016 (UTC).


Ryan Green (born 20 October 1980) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a defender for English club Hereford. He earned two international caps for Wales in 1998, breaking Ryan Giggs's record as their youngest player, a record which has since been surpassed.

International career

Cardiff-born Green made his full international debut against Malta on 3 June 1998, before playing a senior club game.[1] At the age of 17 years and 226 days, he became their youngest international, eclipsing the record of Ryan Giggs.[2] Wales manager Bobby Gould went on to select him for a match against Tunisia, his second and final cap. Giggs himself called the selection of Green a "typical Gould stunt", and wrote in his autobiography that he and Green only had a hometown in common.[3]

Green's record stood until it was surpassed by Lewin Nyatanga in 2004, aged 17 years and 195 days.[4] After being occupied by Gareth Bale, it is currently held by Harry Wilson, who was 16 years and 207 days old on his 2013 debut.[5]

Club career

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Green began his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers turning professional in October 1997. Despite already being a full international, manager Mark McGhee kept him in the reserves. His successor Colin Lee needed a replacement for defender Kevin Muscat on 10 November 1998 and gave Green his debut in a 2–1 First Division victory against Sheffield United at Molineux. He was praised by local newspaper Express & Star for his performance, and was given an ovation when he was substituted due to injury. During his recuperation, Muscat recovered and regained his place in the team.[3]

Green handed in a transfer request in January 2000, when he was not chosen for an FA Cup game against Sheffield Wednesday, and Lee stated that his preferred right backs were Muscat and Darren Bazeley. However, at the start of the 2000–01 season, Bazeley was moved into right midfield and Muscat to left back, giving Green an extended run in the team.[3] On 17 October, away to West Bromwich Albion in the Black Country derby, he was sent off in the 40th minute of a 1–0 loss, for two fouls on Jason Roberts in a three-minute space.[6] He never started for the team again, and totalled eight starts and four substitute appearances in his time at the club.[3]

In early 2001, Green handed in another transfer request, and joined Torquay United on loan in March, where Lee was assistant manager.[3] He played ten times as they successfully fought off relegation to the Conference, despite scoring an own goal in the final game of the season, a 3–2 win away to Barnet which relegated the hosts.[7]

Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday

Green moved to fellow First Division side Millwall on a free transfer on 20 October 2001, until the end of the season, signed by his former Wolves manager McGhee.[8] He made his debut later that day in a 3–3 draw against Nottingham Forest at The New Den.[9]

He almost joined Bradford City in 2002, a move scuppered by the financial impact on Football League clubs of the ITV Digital collapse. Instead he joined Cardiff City on a monthly contract in November 2002, joining Sheffield Wednesday two weeks later. He was released by Wednesday at the end of the season, having been relegated to the Second Division.[10]

Hereford United

In August 2003, Green signed for Conference side Hereford United.[11] On 23 September, against Telford United at Edgar Street, he scored his first senior goal, a left-foot volley to seal a 2–1 win in the third minute of added time and keep the Bulls in first place in the league.[12] On 13 December, he was sent off in the last minute of a 0–1 home loss to Tamworth.[13] The team finished the season in the play-off places, where they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Aldershot.[14]

Green played 26 league games in the 2004–05 season, scoring his only goal of the campaign on 30 August in a 4–1 win at Northwich Victoria.[15] Hereford again reached the play-off semi-finals, losing 2–1 on aggregate to Stevenage Borough.[16]

He opened his third season at the club on 13 August 2005, scoring the third goal of a 4–0 home win over Scarborough.[17] Sixteen days later, in a 1–0 win at Tamworth, he was sent off for violent conduct.[18] For a third successive season, Hereford made the play-offs, and dispatched Morecambe in the semi-finals to set up a final against Halifax Town on 20 May 2006. In the decisive game, at Leicester City's Walkers Stadium, he scored the 108th-minute winner in a 3–2 victory.[19]

Bristol Rovers

On 31 May 2006, Green signed a two-year contract with Bristol Rovers of League Two.[20] He made his debut on 5 August, replacing Chris Carruthers for the final 15 minutes of a 2–1 loss at Peterborough United. Green made 33 league appearances in his first season with the Pirates but suffered a foot injury in the 4–3 away defeat to Grimsby Town on 20 February 2007. Due to the injury, he missed the Football League Trophy final, which his team lost to Doncaster Rovers. He returned for the final stages of the campaign as they qualified for the play-offs. After eliminating Lincoln 7–4 on aggregate in the semi-finals, he played in the final on 26 May at Wembley Stadium, a 3–1 win over Shrewsbury Town.

A broken jaw and further Achilles tendon problems in a volatile match at Swindon Town ruled him out for the rest of the following season. A hamstring injury sustained in a pre-season friendly added to Green's injury nightmare.[21] His contract was not renewed, and he left the club on 8 May 2009.

Return to Hereford United

On 5 June 2009, Green re-signed for Hereford United on a one-year deal for the 2009–10 season. Following their relegation in 2012, Hereford did not offer him a new contract.[22]

Later career

In August 2012, Green joined Welsh Premier League club Port Talbot Town.[23]

In June 2014 he joined Merthyr Town, whom he captained to victory in the Southern Football League South & West.[24]

On 14 September 2015 he signed for Hereford, the phoenix club of Hereford United, in the Midland Football League Premier Division.[24] Following a successful season which resulted in promotion, Green signed for another season at Hereford in July 2016.

Honours

Hereford United
Bristol Rovers
Merthyr Town
Hereford

References

  1. ↑ Ryan Green for go – Lewin Western Mail, 2 March 2006, retrieved 14 June 2009.
  2. ↑ Green the younger to eclipse Giggs' mark The Independent, 3 June 1998, retrieved 14 June 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "From the archive - the 'next Giggs' makes his debut". Express & Star. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Lewin Nyatanga feats should inspire Zimbabwe". The Standard. 7 May 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "Who is Harry Wilson? Meet the Liverpool FC starlet who is now Wales' youngest ever player". Wales Online. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "West Brom 1-0 Wolves". BBC Sport. 17 October 2000. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Barnet suffer relegation heartache". BBC Sport. 5 May 2001. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Green joins Millwall
  9. ↑ "Millwall 3-3 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Turner wields the axe". BBC Sport. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Turner 'quietly confident' that United will challenge". Hereford Times. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Hereford United 2 Telford United 1". Newsquest. 23 September 2003. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Nationwide Conference results and table". The Sunday Times. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Prime, Richard (4 May 2004). "Aldershot closing on return to the big league". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Northwich 1-4 Hereford". BBC Sport. 30 August 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Duncan, Euan (9 May 2005). "Hereford United 0-1 Stevenage Borough". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "Hereford 4-0 Scarborough". BBC Sport. 13 August 2005. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Tamworth 0-1 Hereford". BBC Sport. 29 August 2005. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Halifax 2-3 Hereford (aet)". BBC Sport. 20 May 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  20. ↑ Rovers bag Bulls' defender Green
  21. ↑ Green looking to end Bristol Rovers injury jinx Evening Post, 20 October 2008, retrieved 14 June 2009.
  22. ↑ Green rejoins Bulls from Pirates www.bbc.co.uk
  23. ↑ "Ex-Wales defender Green joins the Steelmen". Welsh Premier League. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  24. 1 2 "Ryan Green Signs On At Edgar Street". Hereford F.C. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
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