CAPTAIN. LEADER. LEGEND.
RYAN Shawcross says he is proud to have played ‘a small part’ in Stoke City’s success over the past 14 years as he heads for Inter Miami.
The 33-year-old centre-back has left Stoke by mutual consent a few months before the end of his contract - with the door open to the possibility of a return in some capacity at some point further down the road.
He has been flooded with tributes and has taken the time to reflect on how he and the club has changed since he arrived as a teenager initially on loan from Manchester United.
“It’s feels like I’ve died and everyone is doing eulogies for me, it’s quite nice!” he said.
“It’s a strange feeling. When you’ve been part of a club for so long and feel so at home, to have a massive change in your life, it’s going to be difficult. There’s a lot of sadness, but also a lot of excitement about the future.
“It seems like it’s worked out well for everyone so I’m pleased to get it over the line.
“I always said throughout my career at Stoke when I hit milestones, such as number of games, that I’d look back on it when I got to the end of my time. In the last few weeks I’ve watched some old games and I’m moving house as well so I’ve been going through some old shirts.
“It brings back memories of all the great times I’ve had here.
“It’s been fantastic to be part of this club for so long and to be part of a pretty successful journey and to play a small part in that has been great. I’ve loved every minute.”
Shawcross’ time on the pitch has been limited since he broke a leg in the summer of 2019 and the progress of Harry Souttar in his position has helped him walk away.
He still says ‘it was and it wasn’t’ a difficult decision.
“I’ve not played much football and that’s what I’ve always wanted,” he said. “The emergence of Souttar makes it an easier decision because you can see how good he is.
“I didn’t particularly want to play for another club in England because of my connection to Stoke. I’ve been here so long and the club has been so good to me it just wouldn’t feel right. You can never say never but I didn’t particularly want to go down that avenue.
“This opportunity has come out of the blue and it just got me really excited, something different, a new challenge.
“Leaving the club was still difficult. Even though I knew I wouldn’t get offered a new contract there was still that decision. It ultimately came down to, ‘Do you want to play football for another few years?’ and this ticked all the boxes.
“I mulled over it with my wife for a few weeks but once it was done it’s felt right for everyone, right for the club, right for me.”
Stoke are hoping for permission to make a presentation on the pitch to Shawcross before this afternoon’s match against Luton Town, before he then takes a place in the stand as a supporter.
And he is a supporter confident that the club is going back in the right direction.
He said: “It’s a case at the moment that Michael O’neill, pictured, has done such a good job, taking a team that was in disarray last season with the position we were in, the squad was a bit all over the place. He had to settle it down.
“It’s been a case of stabilising for this year and next year and preparing a squad to try to get to the Premier League.
“It might happen this year, it might happen next year, but you have to stabilise before you can move on.
“It feels like that’s what he’s doing and the longer he gets, the better he’ll do and the more he can get the squad together to get us back into the Premier League.”
WHAT is there left to say about Ryan Shawcross? After announcing his departure for the sunnier climes of Miami last week, the Stoke skipper, or should I say former skipper now, has been deluged with well-wishers sending heart-warming messages and reliving great memories of a magnificent Potters career. They’ve said everything I could and more.
So, for me, rather than write a kind of highlights reel of Ryan’s glittering career, I’d like to point out some of the things he has meant to us Potters fans.
From his debut goal, which won a tense game at Cardiff that kick-started our promotion season, all the way through to his final appearance in a Stoke shirt, Ryan has embodied what Stoke City has been all about in these last 14 years.
There was a time when he was imperious, ruling the likes of Diego Costa, who couldn’t stand the sight or smell of Shawcross, and during the autumn of 2015 City did not concede a single goal when Shawcross was on the pitch. 542 minutes. Amazing.
In 2012, becoming the first player selected for England since Mark Chamberlain in 1984 filled my heart with pride and when Ryan took to the pitch in Stockholm as a second half substitute for Roy Hodgson’s team I was glowing, absolutely stoked for him and for us. Here was a player that felt homegrown (even though I know technically wasn’t, but he was ‘ours’) appearing for our country at the very pinnacle of his game.
What followed wasn’t his fault. I can say that without being accused of wearing tinted spectacles. There wasn’t a centre-half in the country who would have stopped Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring his four goals that evening. Ryan happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and then was wrongly blamed for it by Hodgson. Travesty.
No matter, though, Ryan simply dusted himself off and carried on delivering incredible performances for Stoke, thrilling us Potters fans with left-foot clearances off the line against Manchester City to preserve a point, scoring crucial goals, like the winner in Mark Hughes’ first victory at the Brit in 2013 and having running battles with opponents such as Emmanuel Adebayor or Marouane Fellaini.
They were incredible scraps to witness and Ryan always took the bumps and bruises and got on with his job. He left hystrionics to others less able to contain themselves.
Another embodiment of our club and its approach to the game. No quarter asked, but none given either.
He coped admirably with the aftermath of the Aaron Ramsey incident and the fallout which still lingers and, we’ve only just discovered that Ryan played in the legendary 5-0 semifinal victory over Bolton despite his daughter being quite ill. Imagine how that could have unfolded very differently if our skipper had not been able to play.
Yes, he was the first Stoke captain to lead his team out in an FA Cup final, but he also roused his team at low points as well as high. For a relatively undemonstrative person, Ryan led magnificently.
Without him Stoke often struggled, because the team was built on his rocklike dependability.
It’s no surprise that in our relegation season Ryan missed significant chunks of the campaign and City were unable to cope without him. That has continued ever since, until the arrival of Michael O’neill and the introduction of more stability into the back four.
So, perhaps the most important part of Shawcross’s legacy is actually what happens next. Surely O’neill has to back his own judgement, and that of Tony Pulis over a decade ago, when he made the then 22-year-old Shawcross club captain.
Should our current manager be looking past those experienced campaigners who have worn the armband this season like James Chester, Sam Clucas and, most recently, Joe Allen?
Should Shawcross’s successor in his centre-half position, Harry Souttar, be the new captain of the new Stoke City?
I can’t think of a more fitting way to honour the man I’m proud and delighted to have watched lead my club to places I had only ever dreamed about.
Thanks, Ryan, for everything. We’ll be with you and we’re all Inter Miami now.