Ryan Anthony Cresswell (born 22 December 1987) is an ex-English 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 was most recently the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

for

Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was esta ...

. A graduate of the

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

youth academy, Cresswell failed to break in the first team and was hence loaned to clubs in the lower divisions of English football. In 2008, after being released by Sheffield United, he signed for Bury in League Two. Playing more than 50 matches for the club, he joined

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

two seasons later. Cresswell again changed clubs in 2012, penning a contract for

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

. He was named in the League Two

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

for the 2012–13 season. The following season, he was transferred to

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Established in 1997, the current Flee ...

, with whom he won promotion to League One. In 2014, after failing to make much impact at Fleetwood he again came to League Two, joining

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

Career

Early career

Cresswell was born in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

. He started his career with

, with whom he signed his first professional contract in July 2006. He got his first taste of first-team football with non-league

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of English football league system. They replaced Halifax Town, who went i ...

where he was loaned during the 2006–07 season. Cresswell went out on loan again at the start of the 2007–08 season, spending time at

. Sheffield United recalled him however because they did not think he was playing enough games having started only two games for the Millers, and making two substitute appearances. He was quickly loaned out again, this time to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

but only managed a further two league appearances at Christie Park. He joined

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an association football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and from 1891 played home games at Moss Rose. It competed in the short ...

on loan for the remainder of the season in January 2008 where he played 19 times, scoring one goal. During the close season he agreed to a one-year load deal with one of Sheffield United's many partner clubs

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

. Despite joining up with

for pre-season training only a few weeks after agreeing the loan move Cresswell joined Bury on 2008. He made his Bury debut as late substitute in the first game of the season in a 1–0 win at home to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

on 9 August 2008. Cresswell got his first goal for Bury on 1 November in a 1–0 win at

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. He was red carded in the last match of the season against Chester City. In the second season with the club Cresswell made 31 appearances, scoring in none.

Rotherham United

In June 2010, Cresswell joined Rotherham United on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut, finding the net in the 88th minute against Lincoln City He again found the net, in a high scoring match of 10 goals against

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...

, helping the team to overturn a three-one deficit. He ended the first season with Rotherham scoring 5 goals in 26 matches, getting 3 yellow cards. In the following season, with the arrival of Andy Scott as the manager, he fell in the pecking order, and made limited appearance. Cresswell was however again made regular in the senior team after

Darren Patterson Darren James Patterson (born 15 October 1969) is a Northern Irish football manager and former professional footballer. As a player he was a defender, notably playing in the Premier League for Crystal Palace and in the Scottish Premier League ...

's appointment. He scored goals in consecutive two matches twice, once against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, and another against

and in a defeat against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. He was red carded in the last match of the season against

after picking a second yellow card.

Southend United

On 3 July 2012, Cresswell signed for League Two club

on a two-year contract, after Rotherham allowed him to talk to other clubs. On 25 August 2012, Cresswell scored his first goal for Southend, a 92-minute equaliser in a 3–3 draw with Northampton Town. On 4 September 2012 Cresswell scored another injury time goal, this time it proved to be the winner as Southend triumphed 2–1 over

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

in the first round of the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

. Creswell, along with teammate

Sean Clohessy Sean David Clohessy (born 12 December 1986) is an English former Association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Having risen through the Arsenal F.C. Academy, Arsenal Academy, he continued his develo ...

, was named in the League Two

for 2012–13.

Fleetwood Town

On 23 July 2013, Cresswell joined

on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, with Southend manager Phil Brown stating that the reasoning was that Cresswell wanted to return to Northern England. On the opening game of the season, he scored a 56th-minute goal in a 3–1 victory against

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the , the sixth level of the En ...

. He ended the first season with Fleetwood, making 26 appearances in all competitions, as Fleetwood won promotion into

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

Northampton Town

On 1 September 2014, Cresswell signed for

for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. He made his debut for the club against Dagenham & Redbridge. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw against

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

with a header from

Joel Byrom Joel Alan Byrom (born 14 September 1986) is an English professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Northern Premier League Division One West club Clitheroe F.C., Clitheroe. Byrom started his career at Carlisle Un ...

's cross in the 31st minute. He was voted the club's Player of the month for November 2014. In January 2015, Southend manager Phil Brown revealed that he wanted to resign Cresswell in the summer transfer window, but the financial strains of the club prevented him from doing so.

Eastleigh

In August 2016 Cresswell joined

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

club

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

Boston United

After suffering a serious injury, his Eastleigh contract was terminated by mutual consent in December 2018. In 2019 he had a trial for York City for 3 weeks but wasn't signed permanently and chose to sign for Mickleover Sports. He joined

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

on 22 March 2019 making his debut a day later.

Bradford (Park Avenue) and Romford

On 12 July 2019, Cresswell joined

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

. After playing six games, he left the club and joined

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

on 19 November 2019. He left Romford in January 2020.

Parkgate

In March 2020, Cresswell signed with Parkgate. Cresswell turned out for Parkgate in 2020.

Coaching career

At the end of May 2021, Cresswell was hired as a part of Parkgate's first team coaching staff. In September 2021, he was also registered as a part of the playing squad.

Sheffield FC

On November 9, 2021, Cresswell was appointed manager of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Matlock Town

On September 16, 2024, Cresswell was appointed manager at

. He departed the club by mutual consent on 16 March 2025.

Career statistics

Honours

Southend United *

runner-up:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Northampton Town *

Football League Two The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League Two is the fourth division of the English Football League (EFL ...

: 2015–16 Individual *

: 2012–13 League Two

References

External links

Ryan Cresswell profile
at the official

Northampton Town F.C. Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in ...

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cresswell, Ryan 1987 births Living people Footballers from Rotherham English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football defenders Sheffield United F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Morecambe F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Ferencvárosi TC footballers Bury F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Fleetwood Town F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Eastleigh F.C. players Mickleover F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Romford F.C. players National League (English football) players English Football League players Northern Premier League players Isthmian League players English football coaches English football managers Sheffield F.C. managers Matlock Town F.C. managers Northern Premier League managers 21st-century English sportsmen