Ryan France (born 13 December 1980 in

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 ...

, England) is an English former 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 last played for

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 ...

having spent the majority of his career at

Alfreton Town Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street. History The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. His preferred position was as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, but also played as a

right wingback In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Career

Alfreton Town

Born in

, France started his career at

. He had been courted by a number of league clubs but chose to remain with Alfreton until he had completed his degree at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

where he graduated in ''Sport & Exercise Science and Mathematics''. After an impressive start to the season, scoring five goals in seven games, he was signed for

by then manager

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

in September 2003 for a fee of £15,000. Previously he had spent time on trial at Ipswich Town without being offered a contract.

Hull City

The day after signing for Hull, he scored on his début (as a substitute) in a 6–1 victory over

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

. France achieved the impressive feat of four consecutive promotions: 2001–02 and 2002–03 in non-league football with Alfreton and 2003–04 and 2004–05 with Hull City in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

. In the 2006–07 season, France's versatility was demonstrated as he played in a variety of positions for City, including left-wing,

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

and central midfield. However, in February 2007, in a game against West Brom, France ruptured a

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

in his left knee, ruling him out for the remainder of the season. When France appeared for Hull City against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the Premier League during the 2008–09 season, he joined an elite band of players to have represented the same football club in all four divisions. His second and final Premier League appearance came against Chelsea at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

. By June 2009 however France, along with eight other players, was told he was being released by the club after six seasons.

Sheffield United

Having been on trial at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and even scoring in ''The Owls pre-season victory over

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

, he joined cross town rivals

on 24 July 2009, signing a two-year deal. He made his debut for The Blades in the first game of the new season; a 0–0 draw with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. France was unable to hold down a place in the first team, regularly featuring as an unused sub for the first half of the season. After making only nine league appearances for the Blades he picked up a knee injury in February 2010. The injury was only expected to keep him sidelined for six to eight weeks but he was never to play for the club again, failing to recover his fitness for the remainder of his contract. He revealed in a Hull City programme against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 5 November 2011 that he had retired from the game due to a knee injury.

References

External links

Ryan France player profile
at hullcityafc.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:France, Ryan 1980 births Living people Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Alfreton Town F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Premier League players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players 21st-century English sportsmen