Ray Ranson

Last updated

Ray Ranson
Personal information
Full name Raymond Ranson [1]
Date of birth (1960-06-12) 12 June 1960 (age 64) [1]
Place of birth St Helens, [1] England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [2]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1976–1978 Manchester City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1978–1984 Manchester City 184 (1)
1984–1988 Birmingham City 137 (0)
1988–1993 Newcastle United 83 (1)
1993 Manchester City 17 (0)
1993–1995 Reading 24 (0)
Total445(2)
International career
1975 England Schoolboys 9 (0)
1977–1978 England Youth 6 (0)
1979–1982 England U21 11 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Raymond Ranson (born 12 June 1960) is an English sports entrepreneur and former professional footballer with more than 30 years experience in finance, insurance, technology and asset management sectors.

Contents

Playing career

Born in St Helens, Merseyside, Ranson's professional football career began in 1976 when he was signed as an apprentice by Manchester City. Typically playing as a defender at right full-back, he made his senior debut in a 0–0 draw against Nottingham Forest on 23 December 1978. [3]

Over a 17-year career between 1978 and 1995, Ranson amassed 445 professional league appearances Manchester City, Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Reading. [4] He also represented England at various levels including schoolboy, [5] youth [6] and the England national under-21 football team. [7]

Ranson was part of the Manchester City team that reached the 1981 FA Cup final. It was the centenary edition of The Football Association Challenge Cup, the leading annual knockout competition in men's domestic English football. [8]

Ranson was captain of the England team that won the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, sealing a 5-4 aggregate victory over West Germany in the finals. [9]

In November 1984 Ranson signed with Birmingham City. He was a part of the squad that won promotion to the First Division in 1985, and would make 137 first team appearances for the club over four years. [10]

In 1988, Ranson joined Newcastle United, making 83 league appearances for the club. [11]

Ranson returned to Manchester City midway through the 1992–93 FA Premier League campaign. He would make another 17 appearances for the first team, bringing his total to 233 for the club.

Ranson joined Reading in the summer of 1993. He made 24 appearances for the club, before retiring from playing professional football in 1995.

Business career

Ranson started his second career in sports finance and insurance while still playing football professionally. In 1990, he formed an insurance broker that created the first ever personal accident scheme for the Professional Footballers' Association, the union for all current and former footballers across the English Football Leagues. [12]

[13] After ending his professional playing career in 1995, Ranson formed a joint venture with The Benfield Group, which later became Benfield Greig, an independent reinsurance and risk intermediary company founded by Chelsea director Matthew Harding. [13] While at the company, Ranson developed a range of innovative sports contingency and personal accident insurance products for the professional sports industry. Ranson departed Benfield Greig shortly before the organization listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2003. [14]

In 1998, Ranson became an advisor to Registered European Football Finance, a Guernsey-based captive insurance company with institutional backers including Barclays. [15] The company funded more than £150 million of football player transfers for professional clubs on a sale and leaseback basis, managing the principal and interest payments on a quarterly basis over a player's contract duration. [16] [17] [18]

In 2004, Ranson formed Prozone Sports Ltd, a market-leading performance analysis platform that supplied analytics to prominent professional clubs including F.C. Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool F.C. and Arsenal F.C. Ranson sold the business to Sport Universal Process in 2011 for an undisclosed sum before it eventually became a part of STATS Perform. [19]

In the same year, Ranson formed a consortium that made an unsuccessful £30 million bid for Aston Villa. [20] Ranson made a second offer in 2005, this time for £45 million, which was also rejected. [21]

In 2006, Ranson formed Sports Asset Management, an asset management firm that provided access to professional sports-related investments, including stakes of professional players' contracts and specialty insurance against career-ending injuries. [22] [23]

In April 2007, Ranson submitted an undisclosed bid to acquire Manchester City F.C., the first team he had played for professionally in 1978. [24] Ranson would withdraw the offer after failing to reach an agreement with the club's board of directors. [25]

In October 2007, Ranson led a £40 million offer to take over Southampton F.C. on behalf of SISU Capital, an investment management company. [26] The directors of Southampton Leisure Holdings PLC, the club's parent company, voted 5–2 in favor of accepting the deal, until the proposals were rejected by three major shareholders. [27]

In December 2007, Ranson completed a deal to take over Coventry City F.C. on behalf of SISU Capital, which saved the club from entering administration and incurring a 10-point deduction. As part of the transaction, Ranson was installed as Coventry City's new chairman. SISU Capital also signed a cooperation agreement with Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), owners of the Ricoh Arena, that would allow Coventry City to continue using the stadium as their home ground. [28] Ranson would step down from the role in 2011, with former Southampton chairman Ken Dulieu replacing him. [29]

In 2015, Ranson and launched the London Sport Exchange, an online marketplace designed to connect alternative investors with professional sports-related investment and opportunities. Ranson opened the site to institutional investors in 2017 before selling the platform to private equity investors in 2019. [30] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester City F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Manchester City Football Club, commonly referred to as Manchester City, Man City or simply City, is a professional football club based in Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894. The club's home ground is the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester, to which they moved in 2003, having played at Maine Road since 1923. Manchester City adopted their sky blue home shirts in 1894, the first season with the current name. Over the course of its history, the club has won 10 league titles, seven FA Cups, eight League Cups, seven FA Community Shields, one UEFA Champions League, one European Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coventry City F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Coventry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed after the sky blue colours that were part of the club's early years, before making a return in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Butcher</span> English football player and manager

Terry Ian Butcher is an English football manager and former player.

Mark Gordon Robins is an English football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Coventry City in the EFL Championship. As a player, he was a striker and is best known for his time in the Premier League with Norwich City and Leicester City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Carsley</span> Footballer and coach (born 1974)

Lee Kevin Carsley is a professional football coach and former player who is currently head coach of England U21s and interim manager of the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hart</span> English footballer (born 1987)

Charles Joseph John Hart is an English football pundit and former professional footballer and who played as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coventry Building Society Arena</span> Sports stadium in West Midlands, England

The Coventry Building Society Arena is a complex in Coventry, West Midlands, England. It includes a 32,609-seater stadium which is currently home to football team, Championship club Coventry City F.C. along with facilities which include a 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) exhibition hall, a hotel and a casino. The site is also home to Arena Park Shopping Centre, containing one of UK's largest Tesco Extra hypermarkets. Built on the site of the Foleshill gasworks, it is named after its sponsor, Coventry Building Society who entered into a ten-year sponsorship deal in 2021. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, where stadium naming sponsorship was forbidden, the stadium was known as the City of Coventry Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary McSheffrey</span> English footballer (born 1982)

Gary McSheffrey is an English football manager and former player who is U-21 head coach at Sheffield United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Jagielka</span> English footballer (born 1982)

Philip Nikodem Jagielka is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is primarily known for his lengthy tenures at Sheffield United and Everton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Young</span> English footballer (born 1985)

Ashley Simon Young is an English professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Everton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Hall (footballer)</span> English-born Jamaican footballer (born 1972)

Paul Anthony Hall is a football coach and former professional footballer who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Queens Park Rangers B team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Mifsud</span> Maltese footballer

Michael Mifsud is a Maltese former professional footballer. He scored 42 goals in 143 games for the Malta national team between 2000 and 2020, and also captained the side. He was voted Maltese Sportsperson of the Year in 2001 and 2003. He played for Kaiserslautern, Lillestrom and Coventry City, as well as several teams in the Maltese Premier League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Coventry City F.C.</span>

Coventry City Football Club is an English association football club based in Coventry in the Midlands. The club was founded in 1883 as Singers F.C. by Willie Stanley, an employee of cycle firm Singer Motors. In 1898, the name was changed to Coventry City. The club first joined the Football League after World War I and in 1938, the club missed out on promotion to the First Division by one point.

The 2007–08 season was Coventry City's 88th season in The Football League and their 7th consecutive season in the Football League Championship. Along with competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and Football League Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Norwood</span> English footballer (born 1991)

Oliver James Norwood is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL League One club Stockport County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Maddison</span> English footballer (born 1996)

James Daniel Maddison is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordy Hiwula</span> English footballer

Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. He also represented the England U19 side.

Thomas Christopher Davies is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers.

Ellis Reco Simms is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Coventry City.

Callum Craig Doyle is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Norwich City, on loan from Premier League club Manchester City.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ray Ranson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p.  58. ISBN   978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ↑ "Ray Ranson – Manchester City". Football Heroes. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  4. ↑ Clayton, David (2002). Everything under the blue moon: the complete book of Manchester City FC – and more!. Edinburgh: Mainstream publishing. ISBN   1-84018-687-9.
  5. ↑ "Match results schoolboys (under 15) 1970–1979". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Match results under 18 1971–1980". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "Match results under 21 1976–1990". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin & Glen Isherwood. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "FA Cup special: 1981 Manchester City XI in focus". Manchester Evening News. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  9. ↑ Turner, Andy (7 October 2009). "Ray Ranson wants big crowd for England Under-21s game". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Wood, Mike Meehall. "Meet The Man Who Almost Bought Rangers – And Moved Them to the Premier League". Forbes. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "Ray Ranson – Newcastle United". Football Heroes. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  12. ↑ "Football: Ranson the visionary finally steps into spotlight". The Guardian. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  13. 1 2 Demetriou, Danielle (29 October 2003). "Profile: Ray Ranson". The Independent. Retrieved 30 September 2010.[ dead link ]
  14. ↑ Bounds, Andy (19 February 2017). "Former star looks to kick-start football finance deals for masses". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  15. ↑ Szymanski, Stefan (2015). Money and Football: A Soccernomics Guide. Nation Books. p. 141. ISBN   9781568585260.
  16. ↑ Handbook on the economics of sport. Wladimir Andreff, Stefan Szymanski. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 2006. ISBN   1-84376-608-6. OCLC   60669162.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ↑ "Could Aston Villa soon be benefiting from the business skills of former Man City star Ranson?". Professional Footballers' Association. 6 July 2005. Archived from the original on 28 May 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  18. ↑ "Special investigation: crisis at Leeds United". The Guardian. 7 March 2004. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  19. ↑ Turner, Andy (23 June 2011). "£5m Prozone sale saved Coventry City from administration". CoventryLive. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  20. ↑ "Villa reject Ranson takeover bid". BBC Sport. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
  21. ↑ Kendrick, Mat (26 June 2005). "Ranson's new £45m Villa bid". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  22. ↑ "Two hedge funds to bet on soccer". Los Angeles Times. 31 October 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  23. ↑ Mills, Ryan (30 October 2006). "Hedge funds lured to potential of football profits". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Ranson bids to take over Man City". BBC Sport. 24 April 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  25. ↑ "Ranson withdraws Man City offer". BBC Sport. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2007.
  26. ↑ "No Saints board seat for Ranson". BBC Sport. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  27. ↑ "Coventry City's fingers caught in Sisu sliding door that Saints dodged | Daniel Taylor". The Guardian. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  28. ↑ "Coventry saved by late takeover". BBC Sport. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
  29. ↑ "Ranson set to quit Coventry role". 24 March 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  30. ↑ Duff, Alex (10 May 2015). "Former Manchester City Defender Starting Sports Finance Exchange". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  31. ↑ "Former Man City Defender Ray Ranson Starts Sports Finance Exchange". Sports Business Journal. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.