Ryan Shotton

Ryan Colin Shotton (born 30 October 1988) is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender.

He is currently player/manager of Northern Premier League Division One West club Hanley Town.

He did score in the 89th minute of the Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion on 28 August to secure a 1–0 win, and scored in the Europa League against Maccabi Tel Aviv on 20 October.

Shotton progressed through the Stoke City Academy and signed a professional contract in 2007.

He went on loan to Altrincham, Tranmere Rovers and Barnsley respectively to gain first team experience.

Born in Fenton, Staffordshire, Shotton joined his local league side, Stoke City, where he progressed through the youth ranks and was handed a professional contract in 2007.

He then moved on loan to Altrincham of the Conference National, where he spent most of the 2007–08 season.

He began at centre back before slotting into the right-back position, and he also played some matches as a forward, scoring five goals.

Shotton won the Supporters' Player of the Year award for his performances on loan at Altrincham.

He made his debut for Stoke on 26 August 2008 in a 3–2 victory over Cheltenham Town in the League Cup, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute.

He then joined League One club Tranmere Rovers on a one-month loan on 29 August 2008, and made his debut four days later, at home to Accrington Stanley in a 1–0 win in the Football League Trophy.

He scored his first goal for Tranmere away at Huddersfield Town, heading in the winner to clinch a 2–1 victory.

His loan at Rovers was extended until the end of the 2008–09 season.

On 23 September 2009 Shotton and teammate Carl Dickinson joined Championship side Barnsley on loan for three months.

Both spent the entire season with the club, and Shotton made 30 appearances.

He broke into the Stoke squad towards the end of the 2010–11 season.

Shotton signed a two-year contract extension in September 2010 keeping him at the Britannia Stadium until 2013.

He made his first appearance on the Stoke bench for a league game against Wigan Athletic in December 2010.

He played in the UEFA Europa League in 2011–12 scoring against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

He made his home debut for Stoke in an FA Cup match against Cardiff City on 8 January 2011 and played the full 90 minutes.

He described it as one of the proudest moments of his life.

""It was absolutely unbelievable really when the gaffer told me I was in the team, and it was such a proud moment for me.

The gaffer pulled me aside on Tuesday and told me to prepare myself because I was in his mind for the game.

Then on the morning of the game, he named his team and I was in there and it was such a surreal moment when I heard him tell me the news.

I would be lying if I said there weren't any nerves because there were, so just to get out there and put in a decent performance was fantastic for me""

- Shotton on making his home debut for Stoke.

He made his Premier League debut for Stoke in a 0–0 draw with Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on 30 April 2011.

Shotton appeared to have scored his first goal for Stoke in a 1–0 win over Hajduk Split in the UEFA Europa League where he was playing as a makeshift centre forward, but the goal was officially recorded as an own goal.

Shotton signed a new four-year contract with Stoke in November 2011.

He made his first Premier League start for Stoke on 3 December, in an away win over Everton where he played at right midfield in place of Jermaine Pennant, and said that the first half of the season could not have gone better for him.

He was named Stoke's Young Player of the Season for 2011–12, despite an indifferent run of form after Christmas until the end of the season, and he began 2012–13 out of the first team frame.

But following injuries to Marc Wilson and Andy Wilkinson, Shotton had the opportunity to return to the starting line-up in November 2012.

He was warned by manager Tony Pulis that he needed to "get his head together" to remain in the side.

He played 26 times for Stoke in 2012–13, as the Potters finished in 13th position, and often came in for criticism from supporters.

In September 2013 Shotton joined Wigan Athletic on loan.

At the start of the 2013–14 season, Shotton failed to make force his way into new manager Mark Hughes' plans.

He then joined Derby County on loan in August 2014 before completing a permanent move in January 2015.

A permanent transfer to Wigan Athletic fell through, but he joined the Championship club on loan until 2 January 2014.

In 2016, he spent time on loan at Birmingham City, and signed for them permanently in June of that year, before moving on to Middlesbrough in August 2017 where he spent three seasons.

He played briefly for Leek Town before joining A-League club Melbourne Victory in 2020.