A fans’ favourite with Albion fans at the pinnacle of the club’s success under Alan Mullery, Dubliner Gerry Ryan didn’t take up football seriously until the age of 16, having previously represented his country at hurling.
He started his football career with League of Ireland club Bohemians and his form on the wing with the FAI Cup winners clinched a move to Derby County in September 1977.
He was signed a year later for £80,000 by Mullery, who had been impressed by the livewire winger’s performances at the Baseball Ground.
“I remember he made life difficult for us when he played for Derby,” Mullery recalled in the club’s matchday programme in 2017. “He was quick, fast and a right-footed player who would cut in from the left.
“Before we signed him, we met at Harry Bloom’s hotel for Sunday lunch. When the waitress came over to take our order, he asked for roast beef and chips! We were all in stitches but that was Gerry – a genial Irishman and a lovely fella to be around.”
Quickly looking at home in the number seven shirt, Gerry scored ten goals in his first season at the Goldstone, including the third in our top-flight-clinching game at Newcastle United.
Few spectators present would have forgotten the mazy, 75-yard dribble and goal against Manchester City in December 1979 either, but like many wide players, he found himself in and out of the side.
“That’s the nature of being a winger – they are consistently inconsistent!” Mullers added. “They can’t keep that kind of level up over a period of matches; some weeks they’ll be match winners and at other times they’ll be right out of the game. Gerry fell into that category, certainly in that first season in the top division.”
Capable of playing more centrally and as a second striker, Ryan was an ideal substitute and from his 199 appearances, 52 were made from the bench for the Seagulls. Indeed, he came on in both FA Cup final games against Manchester United in 1983, playing superbly well at right-back in the first game following an injury to Chris Ramsey.
His teammate at the time, Gordon Smith, recalls a player who would give everything, no matter what position he played.
“Gerry was always fired up to play,” said the Scot. “He was not always first choice, but he was still a very good player. He had this ability to be able to turn games around because he was quick and he could score goals.
“I remember he scored an important goal in our FA Cup win against Liverpool [in January 1984] and, of course, his performance in the Cup Final when he came on. It didn’t surprise me that he played so well at right-back that day because he was so reliable – he could fit into any position with his levels of fitness, ability and positional play.”
Off the pitch, too, Ryan was very much key to the team spirit engendered by the players as Smith recalls.
“We were a very close group; we socialised a lot, we played golf, went to the races and Gerry was a key part of that – he was a really good laugh.
“At the time, we were very close as our wives were also good friends, so the four of us spent a lot of time together. Even though I left the club [for Manchester City in 1983] and we obviously saw less of each other, we made an effort to stay in contact.”
After nearly seven years at the Goldstone, Ryan’s career was cut short by a horror tackle from Henry Hughton at Crystal Palace. His leg was broken in two places and he later received a benefit game, in August 1986, when a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at the Goldstone attracted 10,759 fans.
He returned to the club as Liam Brady’s assistant in 1994 before resuming his vocation as a pub landlord, where he was a popular host at the Witch Inn in Lindfield. He still maintained an interest in the Albion as his son, Darragh, became a trainee two years later. Gerry had gone from Albion player to Albion fan.
“Gerry was a very important player, and one that I know the players, as well as the fans, held in high esteem. He had the Albion very much in his heart,” concluded Mullery.
“The news of his passing has hit me hard,” Smith added. “That’s three players from that [FA Cup final] squad that we’ve now lost – and they’ve all been Irishmen: Gerry, Michael Robinson and Tony Grealish.
“It’s always sad when we lose people but this one has hit me hard. It’s so, so sad. Rest in peace Gerry.”