Biography
Versatile Sheffield-born midfielder Ryan France joined Hull City in September 2003 for a £15,000 fee from Northern Premier League side Alfreton Town, where he had made over 200 appearances while studying for a degree in Sport Science at Nottingham Trent University. He scored on his City debut, a September 2003 6-1 thrashing of Kidderminster Harriers. In his first season at the KC Stadium Ryan was used principally from the substitutes bench, though he did start the match at Yeovil Town in May 2004 that saw City prevail 2-1 and secure the club’s first promotion in nineteen years.
Elevated to League One, the Tigers won a second successive promotion under the guidance of manager Peter Taylor and Ryan was a regular part of the first team, starting more regularly on the right side of midfield. He continued in this role during the next two seasons of Championship consolidation, but a cruciate ligament injury sustained in February 2007 meant he missed the remainder of the 2006/07 season and was used sparingly in the 2007/08 season as Phil Brown masterminded a promotion push that ended with a May 2008 Wembley play-off victory against Bristol City.
When France started a Premier League match against Arsenal in January 2009 he became the fourth Hull City player to play in all four divisions for the club, following in the footsteps of Ian Ashbee, Andy Dawson and Boaz Myhill. He left the Tigers at the end of that 2008/09 season.
France joined Championship side Sheffield United in July 2009 after having a trial at rivals Sheffield Wednesday during pre-season training. But his time at Bramall Lane was studded by further knee injuries and he retired in November 2011, five months after his contract had expired, having made only 10 senior appearances for the Blades.
After football France worked in the wealth management industry, running his own company from 2020, and was regularly seen at events attracting former Hull City players.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 13 December 1980, Sheffield
Hull City First Game: 27 September 2003, Kidderminster Harriers H (League Division 3), 22 years, 288 days old
Hull City Final Game: 17 March 2009, Arsenal A (FA Cup Sixth Round), 28 years, 94 days old
Clubs
Alfreton Town (1999-2003), Hull City (2003-2009), Sheffield United (2009-2011)
Hull City Record
Career: 151 apps, 9 goals
Ryan France| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/04 | 7 (21) | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 (0) | 1 |
| 2004/05 | 22 (9) | 2 | 1 (1) | 1 | 1 (0) | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| 2005/06 | 30 (5) | 2 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2006/07 | 13 (11) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 3 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2007/08 | 3 (10) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008/09 | 1 (1) | 0 | 2 (2) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |