So any surprises here at Ryan’s decision to step down?
There will not be too many eyebrows raised at this decision. Having first being installed as the senior football supremo in the south-east in 2007, Ryan has been on the road for a long time with Wexford. Their attempts to make the breakthrough in Leinster have been incessant since then but they were thwarted once more in frustrating fashion by Dublin this year in the provincial semi-final.
That was a game that the Model County looked like they could succeed in and their anguish was deepened by an inability to subsequently get a run going in the qualifiers. Once they were defeated by Tipperary in mid July, there was plenty speculation that Ryan would choose to call time. Given the careful consideration he had taken before committing to the cause for the past two seasons, there was a growing inevitability then that he would choose to bow out. And confirmation of that decision arrived last night.
Will the failure to claim a Leinster title grate?
Undoubtedly. Given that the last of Wexford’s ten senior football crowns arrived in 1945, it may seem unrealistic to have such heady expectations but that was a reflection of the manner in which Ryan raised standards in Wexford football. Their progression to the decider in 2008 was a jolt to the senses and the occasion appeared to suffocate them as they were crushed by 23 points by Dublin. Last year when they returned to that same stage, they experienced defeat again but this time the disappointment was greater.
Again they faced Dublin, yet on this occasion victory was certainly attainable as they only lost out by three points. This season they crossed swords with Dublin in the Leinster semi-final but lost by four points despite having a personnel advantage in the second-half and coughing up several placed ball scoring opportunities before the finish. They battled valiantly but appeared to lack the nous to topple their heavyweight opponent. It was redolent of the struggles over the past decade endured by both Donegal trying to beat Armagh and Limerick trying to beat Kerry. Dublin would prove a frontier that Wexford just could not cross in search of provincial glory.
But didn’t his spell in charge still have its highlights?
It certainly did. That Wexford are now at a place where they are contesting Leinster finals with regularity and pushing the likes of Dublin so close is a tribute to Ryan’s managerial record. Wexford had been knocking on the door when losing provincial semi-finals in 2004 and 2005 but Ryan managed to break through that barrier during his tenure. There were frustrating experiences like last year’s high-scoring round four qualifier defeat to Limerick.
Yet the stirring 2008 successes against Down and Armagh, the stern challenge they put up against eventual champions Tyrone in that year’s All-Ireland semi-final, and some of the wonderful expansive football they produced in last summer’s Leinster championship were all evidence of the progress Ryan made.
Who’s in line now to assume the managerial reins?
That is the crux of the issue now for the Wexford county board. After the great strides made under Ryan, and the nucleus of the fine team that remains intact, the pressure is now on to select a suitable replacement. The Wexford players have become accustomed to high standards and will demand the same again. Inside the county an obvious candidate will be Kevin Kehoe, who lead the county to their historic first Leinster U21 football title last year and ran the ultimate All-Ireland champions Dublin close in this season’s Leinster opener. Wexford may opt to look outside their own borders but geographical considerations could be a factor given the travel involved for some potential outsiders.
And will Ryan fetch up somewhere else in a managerial capacity?
It’s hard to see him not resurfacing in a hotseat again. Ryan is only 36 so age is clearly on his side and he now has a decent pedigree after his stint with Wexford, allied to his achievement in guiding Clongeen to their first ever county senior football title in 2007. His media dealings in recent years have painted the picture of a thoughtful, intelligent thinker of the game whose bright and articulate nature should lead to him being coveted elsewhere.
Given the time and effort he has invested into Wexford, Ryan could well now choose to take a break from the management game and he also has family commitments to consider. Yet his services would be gratefully accepted by some counties who currently have managerial vacancies, not least his native Waterford. Ryan, who came on as a substitute for Waterford in the 2007 Munster senior championship against Kerry, would be a major coup for the Déise football setup.
