| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Thomas Cooney [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 26 February 2000 [2] | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.79 m) [3] | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back [4] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Glentoran | ||
| Number | 2 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2016 | Bury | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Bury | 21 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Burnley | 0 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Morecambe (loan) | 47 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | Morecambe | 59 | (0) |
| 2023–2025 | Crewe Alexandra | 52 | (3) |
| 2025– | Glentoran | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:11, 16 November 2024 (UTC) | |||
Ryan Thomas Cooney (born 26 February 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Glentoran FC
Cooney was born in Manchester, Greater Manchester. [5] He joined Bury at the age of nine, progressing through the club's youth academy and being made captain of the youth team. [6] Cooney was promoted to the first-team squad in the 2016–17 season while still a scholar because of injuries. [7] He made his debut on 26 August 2017, playing against Rochdale in a League One match which ended 0–0. [8] He signed a two-year professional contract with the club in October 2018. [6] He made a total of 29 appearances in all competitions having been given the opportunity of first team football by manager Ryan Lowe. [9] He got used to spending time around older, more experienced players and he adapted on and off the pitch. [9] Despite gaining promotion from EFL League Two in the 2018–19 season, Bury's future looked bleak amid financial problems and Cooney was hoping for a move. [9]
Cooney signed for Premier League club Burnley on 15 July 2019 on a one-year contract with the option of a further year, initially joining the under-23 team. [10] In the first half of the season he was a regular part of Steve Stone's side and contributed towards a 17-match unbeaten run. [9] He became a part of Burnley's first-team bubble until the end of the 2019–20 season, along with a number of youngsters, following the return to football post-lockdown. [9] He was rewarded with a new one-year contract in June 2020. [11]
On 2 January 2020, he was sent out on loan for the first time when he joined League Two side Morecambe until the end of the season along with Adam Phillips. [12] There was frustration in March 2020, as COVID-19 brought the loan to an abrupt halt as Cooney had been beginning to settle in and was playing and performing consistently. [9] Cooney and Phillips spoke during the lockdown and agreed that they would return to Morecambe if the opportunity arose in the following season, describing manager Derek Adams as a big influence. [9] On 11 August 2020, Cooney re-joined Morecambe on loan until the end of the season along with Phillips. [9] Morecambe made a good start to the season and were top of the league after five games with four wins. [13]
On 24 June 2021, it was announced that Cooney had signed for Morecambe on a free transfer on a two-year deal after turning down the offer of a new contract at Burnley. [14] In May 2023, Cooney was one of 14 players released by Morecambe following their relegation to League Two. [15]
On 23 June 2023, League Two side Crewe Alexandra announced the signing of Cooney on a two-year deal. [16] [17] He made his Crewe debut at Gresty Road on 5 August 2023, coming on as an 81st minute substitute for Zac Williams in a 2–2 draw with Mansfield Town. [18] Cooney was sent off after a second yellow card in Crewe's 1–0 defeat at Port Vale in an EFL Trophy tie on 5 September 2023. [19] He scored his first Crewe goal (a penalty) in a 5–1 defeat of Liverpool U21s in an EFL Trophy group game at Gresty Road on 27 August 2024. [20] On 14 May 2025, the club announced Cooney would be leaving in June when his contract expired. [21]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Bury | 2016–17 [22] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017–18 [8] | League One | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 [a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 [23] | League Two | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 [a] | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Burnley | 2019–20 [24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 [25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Morecambe (loan) | 2019–20 [24] | League Two | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 [25] | League Two | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 [b] | 2 | 45 | 2 | |
| Morecambe | 2021–22 [26] | League One | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2022–23 [27] | League One | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 [a] | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 71 | 0 | ||
| Crewe Alexandra | 2023–24 [28] | League Two | 38 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 [c] | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| 2024–25 [29] | League Two | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [a] | 1 | 18 | 4 | |
| Total | 52 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 65 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 179 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 222 | 6 | ||
Bury
Morecambe