Jim Ryan honoured by home city

Jim Ryan, who spent 21 years on the Manchester United coaching staff and also represented us as a player, has been inducted into the new City of Stirling Football Hall of Fame.

The Stirling Hall of Fame was launched by the Scottish Football Supporters Association on Friday 28 August at an event hosted by BBC Sportsound's Richard Gordon and attended by around 150 guests. Ryan was one of five inaugural inductees alongside Billy Bremner, Duncan Ferguson, Alex Smith and Jimmy Bone.

The Hall of Fame concept was introduced on the night by SFSA co-founder Paul Goodwin, whose idea it was, developed with the late Jimmy Bone.

Each award was presented by the Lord Provost of Stirling, Rosemary Fraser, who stated: "This is a really great concept for Stirling. Together with the other initiatives the SFSA are planning, it will draw football fans to the area."

Ryan was born in Stirling on 12 May 1945 and was playing for local side Cowie Hearts when a scout invited him south for a two-week trial. He signed for the Reds as an apprentice on 7 December 1962 and made his debut in the closing weeks of the 1965/66 season.

Jim scored his first goal in a 6-1 win over Aston Villa, and he was in the squads that won the league in 1966/67 and the European Cup in 1968, before joining Luton Town in 1970.

A young Ryan examines the European Cup with Bobby Charlton, after our 1968 triumph.

It was his second spell at Old Trafford that defined him. Appointed reserve-team manager in June 1991, he held the post for close to a decade and won three Central League North titles. He stood in as assistant manager after Brian Kidd's departure in December 1998, served as assistant again in 2001/02 and then spent a decade as Director of Youth Football before retiring in June 2012. His son Neil has since coached in the same academy.

Fellow inductee Bone, who died last September, credited Ryan with getting him into football at all, by steering him towards the Boys' Brigade when his school played only rugby.

Ryan is now commemorated permanently on a Wall of Fame at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling, alongside a digital archive at stirlinghalloffame.co.uk.

The project has the backing of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, who worked alongside Ryan at Old Trafford for two decades. He said: "There have been so many quality players coming from the Stirling area. This is a wonderful way to ensure there is a legacy that can encourage the next generation."