Central Algarve Walking Football

ALAN RYAN

NAME Alan Ryan
BIRTHPLACE Bradford
PREVIOUS CLUBS Canterbury Avenue YC, several Saturday & Sunday league teams, the last one being The Fire Brigade… Tavern.
CHILDHOOD CRUSH Lulu, Natalie Woods, Tina Dooling, Aileen Melvin, Jane Fonda, not forgetting Miss Coates.
FAVOURITE PRO. PLAYER OF ALL TIME Jimmy Greaves.
FAVOURITE BROWNS CLUB PLAYER AND WHY?
Ron, for so many reasons! Love the way he calls most people ‘son’ including Ebe (74), Dave Urwin (76) et al, love his off the cuff remarks, but mainly because of his calm, authoritative playing style. He never gets flustered and he scores some remarkable (lucky) goals.
MOST DIFFICULT BROWNS CLUB OPPONENT
Gary Bristow because I can never get near him!
MOST MEMORABLE MATCH
Liverpool v Chelsea, 11 penalties each! Spurs 3-1 against Burnley, the first televised FA Cup Final I saw (1962). Then of course there was Bradford Park Avenue 3-2 against the Czechoslovakian national team. (Launching their new floodlights!)
BIGGEST THRILL
Scoring hat trick in the Bradford FA Youth Cup final and assisting the 4th goal in a 4-2 win. One goal was a spectacular scissor kick. After the game, the scissors were gold plated and presented to me. I was completely cut up!
The second biggest thrill was performing Joseph & The Technicoloured Dreamcoat at the Instuitute of Super Hard Materials in Kyiv, Ukraine.
JOHN LENNON OR PAUL MCARTNEY? Paul, mainly because of Yoko.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
Ann Terry told me she’d wait until I was 18 so we could get married. 11 years I waited, only to find that she married Norman Garbutt!
BEST COUNTRY VISITED
Morroco, remarkable landscape, absolutely lovely people and very welcoming. I went a couple of weeks after Jamie Oliver recorded a programme in Marrakech and we were greeted with “lovely jubbly” by most of the stall holders in the souk!
FAVOURITE FOOD
Steak pie, chips and mushy peas, washed down with a pint of Timothy Taylors Landlord.
FAVOURITE PORTUGUESE FOOD
Secretos de Porco
FAVOURITE DRINK
Chateu Neuf du Pape/Timothy Taylors Landlord/single malts (several).
MISCELLANEOUS LIKES
Reading, skiing, blogging, rearing chickens, Corned Beef Hash (minus pie crust!)
MISCELLANEOUS DISLIKES
Man United, Brussel Sprouts, Boris,
FAVOURITE TV SHOW
Borgen (Danish Political Drama Series, Netflix)
FAVOURITE FILM
Shawshank Redemption
FAVOURITE SINGER
Katie Melua, Lulu
FAVOURITE ACTOR
Mark Rylance, Sandra Bullock
BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER
Marguerite Jennings, Youth Worker, Musical Theatre Producer
BIGGEST DRAG IN SOCCER
Primadonnas
WHAT ONE ITEM WOULD YOU TAKE WITH YOU TO A DESERT ISLAND?
My campervan
WHICH PERSON IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO MEET?
The person who takes over from Boris. And soon!