Ex-City man Ryan Bennett outlines sporting director ambition

A goalless draw against Port Vale for Cambridge United was the 553rd of the 34-year-old's career, and many, even now, still don't believe the former Norwich City defender has truly bowed out for good. 

It marks the end of a career that included over 100 Premier League appearances, four promotions, and spells with Norwich, Leicester, Wolves, and Swansea, among others. The question isn't even finished before Bennett interrupts to clarify his situation. 

"I'm done with playing," Bennett told the Pink Un. "I knew four months before the end of last season. That decision was made. Nobody believed me when I was telling them I was done.

"People said it was a silly decision, but it is what it is. I'm not one for formal announcements, so I sailed off after the final game, and that was it."

Bennett has even had to gently let down managers who picked up the phone throughout the summer to enquire about his services. Retirement has been an active topic of consideration since his departure from Swansea in September 2022. 

It took Bennett four months to resurface at Cambridge under Mark Bonner, who he knows well, before he committed to another year in their League One survival mission last term. 

But increasingly, the defender felt frustrated that his own ability did not match his desired level. That prompted him to hang the boots and reflect on his career with plenty of pride. 

"I had a lot of setbacks early on as a kid between 15 and 17 years old. I found a home in Grimsby, and it ended up going well from there with a few moves after that," he reflected.

"I ended up coming to Norwich at that time, and it was my first chance in the Premier League. There were times at Wolves, Swansea, and Leicester, and it was great. Did I think I was going to get to the level that I got to? Probably not. But I maximised what I could out of what I had. That is the way it was.

"There were good times, tough times, but I enjoyed it, and that is how a lot of people's careers are. I didn't want to keep flogging it and myself and tarnishing what I did.

Ryan Bennett concluded his career at Cambridge United. (Image: PA Images) "Maybe I could have kept playing, but I couldn't do what I wanted to do. I was pretty honest about where I am. There is no ill feeling, no jealousy or anything. It's a decision that I made for myself. I'm not one to reflect. I'm looking at what I can do in the sport beyond that." 

The next stage of Bennett's journey is designed for him to become a sporting director, which has taken him into unchartered territory as he attempts to learn the fundamentals required to thrive in that position. 

"I've been spending time with the PFA and the business school there to look at being accredited with a sporting directorship," the ex-City man said. 

"I've been doing some talent ID work for the last year and a half, two years. It keeps you busy. I'm looking to do some work with data to understand a little bit more about that and how to utilise it in different ways to see where I go.

"My end goal is to be the sporting director. That is what I want to do. I've spoken to people and had interviews with clubs. I know the game tactically from my years in it, and I have a good network from when I played, but the question was always, 'How well do you understand data?'.

"I'd been exposed to it in presentations and understanding little bits here and there about how an opposition might want to play, but it was clear I needed to add that string to my bow. The data and working side, I am a novice.

"I'm not naive enough to know that I'm a first-year apprentice in the working world. There are people out there with five, six, or more years of experience working in football who don't have the playing side, so I need to catch up a little bit.

"I don't agree with being fully data-driven. Data is a great tool that can enhance you in areas and prove your eye or findings, highlighting patterns or people in certain metrics you're looking for. 

"I am a novice in that, and there are bits I haven't been exposed to. But I'm willing to learn those bits to get me to the next level."

It's clear during a 40-minute conversation that Bennett has been thinking and working towards that sporting director goal prior to his final year at Cambridge. 

Bennett began thinking about future plans whilst at Swansea City. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

"My interest first started when I was at Swansea. It was during Covid, so I spent a lot of time by myself locked in a house, thinking about what I was going to do. I probably realised a bit late and I wish that I'd thought about it sooner.

"The easy option was 'ah, I'll just be an agent', but the older that I got, the less it appealed to me," he said.

"When you get older, as a player, you get involved in a few more decisions, and you get involved in leadership decisions.

"That was something I really enjoyed, and the sporting director role really appealed to me. I loved the responsibility that they had, the decisions, and getting everyone together as a group, and that's where it got to."

The role is something that Bennett experienced as a player more in the second half of his career than the first - working briefly with Webber at Norwich his first major taste of it. 

Despite their relationship not starting off strongly, the former Norwich chief is now playing an influential role in Bennett's education by helping him forge a career as a sporting director in the professional game as a mentor.

"When I was first coming through, the role didn't really exist in England. Barry Fry at Peterborough was a different type of one because he ran the club. Norwich was a little bit different, at first there was no one there and then Stuart [Webber] came in," he said. 

"The first day I met Stuart was the day that I was told that I was leaving so that was the only brief meeting we had. He is actually involved in the directorship that I'm doing and is the mentor that I use. I have more meetings now than we've ever had. He doesn't have to tell me to leave anymore, which is quite nice.

Former City sporting director Stuart Webber is playing a role in his development as a sporting director. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) "Wolves had Kevin Thelwell, and that's when I realised that I liked it. Originally it was about recruitment, but now the role has become developed and they're combining other areas like data and analysis.

"You've got Ben Knapper at Norwich who has come from the loan side - there are different pathways. I'm trying to find my own route in."

- Part two of our chat with former Norwich City defender Ryan Bennett, reflecting on his spell at Carrow Road, will be out later this week