Ryan Reflects On Changing Times

After more than two decades of distinguished service at United, Jim Ryan spoke exclusively to ManUtd.com about entering retirement.

The 67-year-old has vacated his final post as director of youth football but is still eager to track the progress of the young footballers he has left behind.

Are you looking forward to retirement?
Yes, but I think there’s mixed feelings about it. Generally speaking, a football life is a good life so I’m giving up a lot of enjoyable things.

Is it a wrench to be leaving?
I guess so but everybody has to retire at some time.

So you’ll miss the job?
I’ve always really enjoyed watching boys play from 14 to 21. I’ve always had real enjoyment watching them trying to use their skills and I’ll still be watching them as much as possible.

Initially, you were working with the Reserves but your role changed a couple of times here...
I came back and coached the Reserves but my title became the director of youth football so I mostly concentrated on the boys who became full time at the club from the ages of 16 to 20.

Is the most fulfilling part of the job seeing young players develop?
I think so. It’s all about seeing the boys progress, I guess. In the areas I’ve worked in, you see schoolboys coming in and leaving almost as men and that period, between 16 and 20, is a massively important period in terms of football development.

Are United one of the best clubs for promoting youth?
Well, we’re very restricted in the amount of boys we can take, only those from within one hour’s distance of the Academy at the moment. I think, generally speaking, we probably do develop boys better than most other clubs.

Do we look to ensure we have good characters as well as good footballers?
I think so. That probably comes from the manager, Sir Alex, as he insists on good behaviour from the players. If I can say something on the subject, I’m never very happy with those who let the name of the club down. So we’re always looking for that side.

Danny Welbeck is a classic example of a player coming all the way through the system. Is he a good role model?
Well, we have a steady stream of boys who go on to do pretty well. Tom Cleverley would have been in the England squad if his season had not been so blighted by injury.

So are those two held up as proof that the youngsters can aim high?
Of course. It helps us to show them there is a conveyor belt to the top if you like. Even the boys who don’t reach the top, there’s so many of them in the Football League who are having good careers.

You took over the reins once from Sir Alex for the Middlesbrough game in the Treble-winning season…
He had to go away to a funeral in Glasgow quite urgently so it wasn’t perhaps my usual performance as I took over at the time. I had managed Luton but I don’t think I ever wanted to be a manager.

Of course, the Hatters promoted you from Reserves boss so was it not something you were looking to do?
Yeah, they promoted me as they sacked the previous manager. I think it was because they were trying to cut back and sell all the top players they had at the time. We had a pretty good team but it was something of an economy drive.

Were there elements of the job you did enjoy?
I actually did enjoy it. We sold all the senior players like Mick Harford and Danny Wilson, and also Les Sealey who came here to United. So we promoted all the Reserves practically who I’d just been coaching. It turned out to be experienced people like David Preece and a couple of the other senior players but mostly the Reserves who had moved up.

Can you pick out the highlights of your stay at United?
Obviously this period in the club’s history has been fantastic. Quite a few things stick out, like the first Premier League title in 1993. When I left the club as a player in 1969, we had won the title recently in 1967 - but we hadn't won it since then when I came back as a coach in 1991. That first Premier League title was a fantastic thrill but also a fantastic relief, to be honest. I also have to mention the 1999 team and the Champions League win. I’d been present at the previous European Cup triumph at Wembley in 1968 and it was so nice for the club to win it again. That year was special because we won three major trophies and, at that time, I was helping the manager because Brian Kidd had left midway through the season.

Are things very different at the club compared to when you came back in 1991?
I think it’s different in a lot of ways. When I came back, we trained and played at The Cliff, where I used to train when I was a player in the 1960s. Now we’ve got Carrington and all the development going on there. Sports science is also taking on a bigger place in football and lots of things have changed. The one thing that remains, it seems, is good football.

You were spotted at the Marveld tournament last week in Holland so you’re keeping in touch?
I went over but didn’t travel with the team. I went on my own accord after having a couple of days’ break in Belgium because I know people there due to the connection with Royal Antwerp. So I thought I’d drive up and watch the kids play. They lost in the final but I think they did very well because they played with some younger boys, one in particular, and came up against a German team that was very muscular and proved too strong in the end. They did well to reach the final though, it was the club's best-ever performance in the competition.

So can we expect to still see you regularly at the youth matches?
I think I’d like to come to Carrington to watch the boys Paul McGuinness had last year because there’s a lot of potential there. There’s potential in the group before who won the FA Youth Cup as well. It’ll be interesting to see how they do. Of course, you also become friends with the coaches and you don’t just stop that friendship.