Ryan David Ashington is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former professional footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. He was born in Paignton

Paignton

Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

.

Ashington joined Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

 as a trainee and due to almost the entire midfield being out injured, manager Wes Saunders

Wes Saunders

Wes Saunders is an English former professional footballer and football club manager.Saunders was born in Sunderland and brought up in Boldon Colliery, attending Boldon Comprehensive school...

 was forced to throw him into the first-team well before he would have liked. In the end Ashington was named man of the match on his league debut at home to Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 on August 19, 2000, making a further 13 league appearances by the end of the season, all before his 18th birthday. He signed a one-year professional contract in May 2001, but had yet to feature under new manager Roy McFarland

Roy McFarland

Roy Leslie McFarland is an English football manager who was also a player, notably at Derby County where he played 434 league games helping him to earn 28 caps for England.-Playing career:...

, before sustaining an injury that forced him out for most of the 2001-02 season.

Out of the first team picture at Plainmoor

Plainmoor

Plainmoor is a suburb of Torquay, Devon, but is best known as the name of the stadium in which Torquay United Football Club currently play.-History:...

, and with Torquay not having a reserve team on financial grounds, Ashington joined Newport County

Newport County A.F.C.

Newport County Association Football Club are a professional football club based in the city of Newport, south Wales, who currently play in the Conference National, the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...

 on loan on December 5, 2002, signing a full deal the following month. He made a good initial impression at Newport, but missed the end of the season due to glandular fever and failed to re-establish himself. He left Newport in September 2003.

External links