Ryan Watts (footballer)
English footballer (born 1988)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ryan Dale Watts (born 18 May 1988) is an English retired semi-professional footballer who played as a left back or left winger.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Dale Watts[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 May 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Greenford, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Maidenhead United (first team coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2005 | Brentford | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Brentford | 1 | (0) |
| 2006 | AFC Wimbledon | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Sutton United | 1 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Carshalton Athletic | 36 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | Harrow Borough | 97 | (9) |
| 2011 | Barnet | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | St Albans City | 51 | (2) |
| 2012 | → Truro City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Braintree Town | 11 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Tonbridge Angels | 28 | (0) |
| 2014 | Metropolitan Police | 7 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Wealdstone | 33 | (0) |
| Total | 265 | (12) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Watts began his career in the Football League at Brentford and dropped into non-League football upon his release in 2006. He made nearly 300 appearances for a number of National, Isthmian and Southern League clubs before his retirement in 2015.
Club career
Brentford
Watts began his career as a youth at Brentford.[3] He was the leading appearance maker and joint-leading scorer for the U17 team during the 2003–04 season.[4] Watts was part of the Brentford youth team which beat Arsenal in the third round of the 2004–05 FA Youth Cup.[5] He scored in extra time to level the score at 2–2 and send the tie to penalties.[5] Watts' first involvement with the first team came on 7 May 2005, when he was named as a substitute in a youthful squad for the final League One game of the 2004–05 regular season at home to Hull City.[6][7] The then-16-year-old Watts made his senior debut after 78 minutes of the 2–1 win, as a substitute for Matt Harrold.[8] He failed to feature during Brentford's unsuccessful playoff campaign.[8]
Watts made his first appearance of the 2005–06 season in a 5–0 League Cup defeat at Cheltenham Town on 23 August 2005, as a substitute for Paul Brooker after 74 minutes.[9] He made another appearance in a Football League Trophy first round shootout defeat to Oxford United on 18 October, as a substitute for George Moleski (who in turn had replaced Eddie Hutchinson during the first half) during extra time.[9] Watts was not called into the first team again and was released in June 2006.[10][11] He made three first team appearances during his time at Griffin Park.[12]
Non-League football
After two unsuccessful trials at Championship club Ipswich Town,[13] Watts appeared sparingly for Isthmian League Premier Division and Conference South clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United during the first half of the 2006–07 season.[14][15] Watts transferred to Isthmian League Premier Division club Carshalton Athletic in January 2007 and made 39 appearances, scoring one goal.[16][17] He transferred to Isthmian League Premier Division club Harrow Borough in August 2008.[18] He had a successful 2008–09 season and was voted the club's Player's Player Of The Season and Supporters' Player Of The Year.[19] In the 2010–11 season, Watts played in Harrow's 2–0 FA Cup first round defeat to Chesterfield and suffered heartbreak as the club lost to Tonbridge Angels in the playoff semi-finals.[20][21] By the time of his departure in August 2011,[22] Watts had made 108 appearances and scored 9 goals.[23][24][25]
Barnet
Wells made a return to the Football League when he signed a one-month contract at League Two club Barnet on 2 August 2011.[22] He failed to win a call into a squad and was released at the end of his contract.[26]
Return to non-League football
Watts transferred to Southern League Premier Division club St Albans City in September 2011 and made 61 appearances, scoring three goals,[27][28] prior to transferring to Conference Premier club Braintree Town on 17 December 2012.[28] Featuring mainly as a substitute, he made 11 appearances during the remainder of the 2012–13 season and helped the club fight its way from the relegation places to a 9th-place finish.[29][30] Watts spent the 2013–14 season with Conference South club Tonbridge Angels,[31][32] for whom he made 29 appearances and scored one goal.[29]
Watts dropped a division to sign for Isthmian League Premier Division club Metropolitan Police in July 2014.[32] He made 9 appearances before transferring to Conference South club Wealdstone in mid-September 2014.[33] Watts made 39 appearances during 14 months at Grosvenor Vale,[29] before departing the club due to injury problems and work commitments.[34]
Coaching career
As of June 2025, Watts was strength and conditioning coach at Hendon.[35] As of December 2025, he was first team coach at Maidenhead United.[36]
Personal life
Watts has a son and works as a gym instructor and nutritionist.[37][38][39]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brentford | 2004–05[8] | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005–06[9] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| AFC Wimbledon | 2006–07[16] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sutton United | 2006–07[15] | Conference South | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Carshalton Athletic | 2006–07[16] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08[17] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| Total | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 39 | 1 | |||
| Harrow Borough | 2008–09[23] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| 2009–10[24] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | 34 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11[25] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 37 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 43 | 4 | ||
| Total | 97 | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 108 | 9 | |||
| St Albans City | 2011–12[40] | Southern League Premier Division | 33 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 38 | 3 | |
| 2012–13[41] | Southern League Premier Division | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 2 | 7 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | 61 | 3 | |||
| Braintree Town | 2012–13[29] | Conference Premier | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Metropolitan Police | 2013–14[29] | Isthmian League Premier Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Tonbridge Angels | 2013–14[29] | Conference South | 28 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 1 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Wealdstone | 2014–15[42] | Conference South | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6[f] | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[29] | National League South | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 265 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 301 | 14 | ||
- Appearance in Football League Trophy
- Appearances in Isthmian League Cup
- Appearance in Southern League Cup
- 1 appearance in Southern League Cup, 1 appearance in Herts Senior Cup
- 4 appearances in FA Trophy, 2 appearances in Middlesex Senior Cup
Honours
- Harrow Borough Players' Player of the Year: 2008–09[19]
- Harrow Borough Supporters' Player of the Year: 2008–09[19]
