Ray Ranson
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Ranson | ||
| Date of birth | 12 June 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | St Helens, England | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1976–1978 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (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) |
| Total | 445 | (2) | |
| National team | |||
| 1979–1982 | England U21 | 11 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Raymond "Ray" Ranson (born 12 June 1960) is an English entrepreneur and a former professional footballer. He started his football career with Manchester City, and played for Birmingham City, Newcastle United and Reading. After his playing career ended in 1995, he went on to amass a multimillion pound fortune from the sale of various sports-related businesses.
Born in St Helens, Merseyside, Ranson's sporting career began when he was signed as an apprentice by Manchester City in 1976. A defender who usually played at right-back, he made his senior debut in a 0–0 draw against Nottingham Forest on 23 December 1978. He went on to be capped several times by England at under-21 level and was part of the Manchester City team which reached the 1981 FA Cup Final.
In November 1984 Ranson was transferred to Birmingham City, where he played 137 times in the League. With Birmingham he won promotion to the First Division in 1985, but the club were relegated the following season. He spent nearly five years at Birmingham before joining Newcastle United, for whom he made his debut on 26 December 1988 in a 2–1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, the first of 83 League appearances for the club. In January 1993 he returned to Manchester City, making 17 appearances to bring his total for Manchester City to 233. At the end of the season, he joined Reading, where he finished his playing career.
Overall, he amassed 445 professional league appearances over 17 years, scoring twice and earned 10 international caps at England under-21 level.
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