THERE IS NO coldness or weariness when Ryan Manning talks about professional football – only honesty.
And when his mind flashes back to spending every waking moment kicking a ball growing up in Galway – literally until the floodlights were turned off in the back garden – the fondness and joy is evident.
The love remains but it is no longer innocent.
A different kind is also on the way. The Republic of Ireland international is 26-years-old and about to become a father for the first time. His partner, Charlotte, is due a baby girl on 28 March, meaning their cavapoo Kobe – named after late NBA star Kobe Bryant – will no longer have the run of the house.
There is also the small matter of the opening Euro 2024 qualifier with France the night before the due date.
“Yeah, that could be a tricky one. First and foremost I’ve to get a call up to worry about,” he points out, having been left out for the Nations League double header with Scotland and Armenia last September. “Ideally she comes a couple of weeks early but once they’re both safe and healthy that is the most important thing.”
Manning may be a man with a plan when it comes to his career, and future, but there are always some things you cannot control.
He has been one of Swansea City’s standout performers so far this season, his ability to thrive at left wing back or on the left side of a three-man defence making more than a few take notice.
They face Premier League-bound Sheffield United away from home today knowing victory could take them to within three points of fifth place. Like a glut of sides from third to even Reading in 16th, the play-offs are not out of sight.
“I love it here to be honest, it feels a lot like back home. It’s a nice way of life. Everyone said when I first arrived at Swansea I’d have a dog within three months, then after that it would be babies. I was like ‘no way’. But sure enough. Dogs and babies, that’s what it’s all about here. The club and the area does have a nice feel about it.”
And yet.
“You have the make most of it when things are going well for you and make sure you can be set up financially for when you might be out of favour, when you might be out of contract and things aren’t going well. You have to be able to prepare for that as best you can while times are good.”
That’s the business, how the game works.
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Manning and his family had their eyes wide open to its underbelly long before he signed for Queens Park Rangers from Galway United as an 18-year-old in January 2015.
“That is when I started planning for retirement because you never know when this career will end. Yeah, things are going well now and you’d like to think that would last for the next five, 10 years. But the reality is it could be over next week, it could be finished for you with a bad injury.
When you’re younger, you can squander a lot. You get a good contract early and think money will always be like that. Then it’s gone, you’re at the end and you might be left with nothing. What then?”
Manning continues to strive to reach the highest level he possibly can in club football and, ahead of his 27th birthday in June, has ambitions to establish himself on the international scene.
“You come over as a kid or dream as a kid of playing in the Premier League, the Champions League, of course you’d give anything to play in a World Cup for Ireland. You think that is what a successful career is.
“But once you get into it and see the game within you realise that’s the minority of the minority who make it. Success is a lot more. Can you earn a living from the game? That is a success. Can you earn money to set your family up for the rest of their life? That would be a success because a successful career is a lot more than what you do on the pitch.
Ryan Manning (right) celebrates with Troy Parrott in March last year. PA
PA
“Of course, cementing a place with Ireland, getting to a tournament with Ireland and being able to play in the Premier League are the ambitions, but it’s not the be all and end all. It’s about getting contracts for the next 10 years and to keep striving to get to those next levels, working as hard as I can and doing what I can to rise up the levels.
“But if that doesn’t happen it won’t determine whether I have been a success or not.”
Not relying on football to define his existence extends to Manning’s income, a burgeoning property business with various locations in the UK offering an avenue to explore further once he does finish playing.
“It takes the pressure off a little,” he reasons. “You are not running yourself into the ground using every last sinew of your body because you need it and have nothing else.
“You get to 35 or 36 and that knowledge and expertise you’ve build up is useless because you can’t use it anymore. You can’t play. So you come to the end, you might get hit for a tax bill or whatever coming through the door saying you owe X, Y and Z.
“How do you come up with that in your mid-30s? What are you going to do? It’s about making sure you have the people around you who can help and being on top of it yourself.
“Lads who are 17, 18, 19, I think they are more aware now. They are prepping for the day when it does finish, like I was. Some might say that comes across as greedy or whatever, maximising your value in your career, but it’s the harsh reality. You can’t be naïve about it, you have to worry about it to make sure it’s taken care of.”
Manning celebrates a goal, and the news of partner Charlotte's pregnancy, in September. PA
PA
The reason Manning and his family have felt so prepared for navigating the pitfalls of what was to come over just shy of a decade in Britain is because of the guidance of their next door neighbours, one of whom just happened to be five years Ryan’s senior and also blazed a trial by becoming an Ireland international.
“I lived next door to Greg Cunningham,” he beams. “There was just a small wall between the houses and we’d play football in each other’s gardens every day. We’d be out at 7am before school, him and his twin Dan, and after school in his garden because he had the big goals, then at night out our back garden because we had floodlights.”
Cunningham, now 32, began his days across the water with Manchester City, before forging a lengthy career in the Football League with Bristol City, Preston North End and Cardiff City, returning to Preston in 2021.
Manning almost left Galway for Ipswich Town when he was in 5th Year of secondary school. A two-week trial turned into a two-month stay with the offer of a contract at the end of it.
However, when the family’s request for the club to help allow him do his Leaving Cert wasn’t facilitated, that is when the decision was made to remain at home until he could complete it.
His mother, Bernie, and father, Phelim – not to mention big sister Ailbhe who was studying at Trinity College and now works as a pharmacist in a Dublin hospital – urged him to stay until he had finished school.
“It also helped so much that Greg’s parents, Billy and Linda, exposed us to a lot of stories of the other side of the game that people wouldn’t know as much about,” Manning recalls.
Still, there was temptation.
Everton and Tottenham Hotspur made their moves after Ipswich fell through, Spurs’ interest becoming formal only for Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival as first team manager to scupper any possible decision by overhauling the scouting and youth structures.
You can have foresight and plan things but you also need a massive amount of luck, the timing of your opportunities and whether you are in a position to take them,” Manning adds.
The Spurs link is how he eventually ended up at Queens Park Rangers, although only after he completed the Leaving. A physiotherapy degree at UCD was on the cards before the London club invited him over to chat, where he was instantly won over by Harry Redknapp and Les Ferdinand.
At that point he was seen as an exciting midfielder or potential No.10, only to spot a gap in the market.
Close childhood friend and next door neighbour Greg Cunningham in action for Preston. PA
PA
“There were five of six midfielders with more experience than me, but we had one injury at left back and I was able to get in. My thinking was to get in the team any way I could and make the position mine, so that’s what I tried to do.
“It’s still what I am doing now. Men’s football is mortgage football, so how do I get into the best condition possible to be the number one player in my position?
“There is always someone coming for your shirt, a new signing to come in. You have to make sure the club see you as someone they don’t need to replace.”
For Manning, that is just the cold, harsh reality.
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Love without innocence - Ireland's Ryan Manning tackles football's reality
THERE IS NO coldness or weariness when Ryan Manning talks about professional football – only honesty.
And when his mind flashes back to spending every waking moment kicking a ball growing up in Galway – literally until the floodlights were turned off in the back garden – the fondness and joy is evident.
The love remains but it is no longer innocent.
A different kind is also on the way. The Republic of Ireland international is 26-years-old and about to become a father for the first time. His partner, Charlotte, is due a baby girl on 28 March, meaning their cavapoo Kobe – named after late NBA star Kobe Bryant – will no longer have the run of the house.
There is also the small matter of the opening Euro 2024 qualifier with France the night before the due date.
“Yeah, that could be a tricky one. First and foremost I’ve to get a call up to worry about,” he points out, having been left out for the Nations League double header with Scotland and Armenia last September. “Ideally she comes a couple of weeks early but once they’re both safe and healthy that is the most important thing.”
Manning may be a man with a plan when it comes to his career, and future, but there are always some things you cannot control.
He has been one of Swansea City’s standout performers so far this season, his ability to thrive at left wing back or on the left side of a three-man defence making more than a few take notice.
They face Premier League-bound Sheffield United away from home today knowing victory could take them to within three points of fifth place. Like a glut of sides from third to even Reading in 16th, the play-offs are not out of sight.
Manning’s own form is why, with his contract running out and an offer on the table to stay still unsigned, he is content to leave his options open.
“I love it here to be honest, it feels a lot like back home. It’s a nice way of life. Everyone said when I first arrived at Swansea I’d have a dog within three months, then after that it would be babies. I was like ‘no way’. But sure enough. Dogs and babies, that’s what it’s all about here. The club and the area does have a nice feel about it.”
And yet.
“You have the make most of it when things are going well for you and make sure you can be set up financially for when you might be out of favour, when you might be out of contract and things aren’t going well. You have to be able to prepare for that as best you can while times are good.”
That’s the business, how the game works.
Manning and his family had their eyes wide open to its underbelly long before he signed for Queens Park Rangers from Galway United as an 18-year-old in January 2015.
“That is when I started planning for retirement because you never know when this career will end. Yeah, things are going well now and you’d like to think that would last for the next five, 10 years. But the reality is it could be over next week, it could be finished for you with a bad injury.
Manning continues to strive to reach the highest level he possibly can in club football and, ahead of his 27th birthday in June, has ambitions to establish himself on the international scene.
“You come over as a kid or dream as a kid of playing in the Premier League, the Champions League, of course you’d give anything to play in a World Cup for Ireland. You think that is what a successful career is.
“But once you get into it and see the game within you realise that’s the minority of the minority who make it. Success is a lot more. Can you earn a living from the game? That is a success. Can you earn money to set your family up for the rest of their life? That would be a success because a successful career is a lot more than what you do on the pitch.
“Of course, cementing a place with Ireland, getting to a tournament with Ireland and being able to play in the Premier League are the ambitions, but it’s not the be all and end all. It’s about getting contracts for the next 10 years and to keep striving to get to those next levels, working as hard as I can and doing what I can to rise up the levels.
“But if that doesn’t happen it won’t determine whether I have been a success or not.”
Not relying on football to define his existence extends to Manning’s income, a burgeoning property business with various locations in the UK offering an avenue to explore further once he does finish playing.
“It takes the pressure off a little,” he reasons. “You are not running yourself into the ground using every last sinew of your body because you need it and have nothing else.
“You get to 35 or 36 and that knowledge and expertise you’ve build up is useless because you can’t use it anymore. You can’t play. So you come to the end, you might get hit for a tax bill or whatever coming through the door saying you owe X, Y and Z.
“How do you come up with that in your mid-30s? What are you going to do? It’s about making sure you have the people around you who can help and being on top of it yourself.
“Lads who are 17, 18, 19, I think they are more aware now. They are prepping for the day when it does finish, like I was. Some might say that comes across as greedy or whatever, maximising your value in your career, but it’s the harsh reality. You can’t be naïve about it, you have to worry about it to make sure it’s taken care of.”
The reason Manning and his family have felt so prepared for navigating the pitfalls of what was to come over just shy of a decade in Britain is because of the guidance of their next door neighbours, one of whom just happened to be five years Ryan’s senior and also blazed a trial by becoming an Ireland international.
“I lived next door to Greg Cunningham,” he beams. “There was just a small wall between the houses and we’d play football in each other’s gardens every day. We’d be out at 7am before school, him and his twin Dan, and after school in his garden because he had the big goals, then at night out our back garden because we had floodlights.”
Cunningham, now 32, began his days across the water with Manchester City, before forging a lengthy career in the Football League with Bristol City, Preston North End and Cardiff City, returning to Preston in 2021.
Manning almost left Galway for Ipswich Town when he was in 5th Year of secondary school. A two-week trial turned into a two-month stay with the offer of a contract at the end of it.
However, when the family’s request for the club to help allow him do his Leaving Cert wasn’t facilitated, that is when the decision was made to remain at home until he could complete it.
His mother, Bernie, and father, Phelim – not to mention big sister Ailbhe who was studying at Trinity College and now works as a pharmacist in a Dublin hospital – urged him to stay until he had finished school.
“It also helped so much that Greg’s parents, Billy and Linda, exposed us to a lot of stories of the other side of the game that people wouldn’t know as much about,” Manning recalls.
Still, there was temptation.
Everton and Tottenham Hotspur made their moves after Ipswich fell through, Spurs’ interest becoming formal only for Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival as first team manager to scupper any possible decision by overhauling the scouting and youth structures.
The Spurs link is how he eventually ended up at Queens Park Rangers, although only after he completed the Leaving. A physiotherapy degree at UCD was on the cards before the London club invited him over to chat, where he was instantly won over by Harry Redknapp and Les Ferdinand.
At that point he was seen as an exciting midfielder or potential No.10, only to spot a gap in the market.
“There were five of six midfielders with more experience than me, but we had one injury at left back and I was able to get in. My thinking was to get in the team any way I could and make the position mine, so that’s what I tried to do.
“It’s still what I am doing now. Men’s football is mortgage football, so how do I get into the best condition possible to be the number one player in my position?
“There is always someone coming for your shirt, a new signing to come in. You have to make sure the club see you as someone they don’t need to replace.”
For Manning, that is just the cold, harsh reality.
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EFL Interview Republic Of Ireland Ryan Manning Swansea City