Ryan Wynter | Exclusive Interview

Halesowen Town FC
Apr 29
5 min read

As the season finale appears upon the horizon, we have one more exclusive interviews before our huge play-off semi-final tomorrow. After our chat with vice captain Reece Flanagan, and club captain Dan Platt. Today we grabbed a chat with team captain Ryan Wynter to assess his current season and responsibilities amongst the group.

📷 Ryan after scoring against St Ives Town (21st April 2024)

The defender joined the Yeltz almost two years ago, after a number of years playing at step 4 for Chasetown. The 31 year old missed just one league game last season, Long Eaton United away, but missed five this campaign due to suspension. The Yeltz captain made 269 appearances for Chasetown, and after his first season at the Yeltz was given the captains armband by Russ Penn and won the Chairman and President's, the manager's and player's player of the season awards.

The former Scholars defender scored three goals last season for the Yeltz, Barwell, Stourbridge, and St Ives at home, but has scored four so far this campaign. Wynter has even got six assists throughout the 2024/25 campaign, and a brace, which came against Barwell last December. The stellar season for the Yeltz captain has put him in line for yet more accolades in the upcoming player awards in May.

We grabbed a chat with the Yeltz defender to get his thoughts on his impressive second season at the club. We also spoke about his experience of a play-off campaign, his favourite match in a Yeltz shirt, and the responsibility with the armband around his sleeve.

"It has been a good year all around for me this season. I felt a lot more settled at the club the past nine months, which always helps with a player's confidence. The stoplight is not always on a defender with all the dirty work we do, but I am grateful that the fans have shown me so much support this season and last with the performances I have put in. I do not believe I have been the player of the season this season or anything like that, but I am just happy to have trained hard and played consistently. I travel a lot every week to get to games, and always make sure I put my all out on the pitch for the gaffer and my teammates.

"I have cherished the responsibility of wearing the captain's armband on the pitch this season. Aside from the pitch, I let other lads use their voice in the dressing room, and I would say I am a bit more laid back and chilled out. I am not the most vocal player in the squad, but I do not need to be, because we all do things in different ways. A lot of us just try to lock in and go into a zone, but then you have people like Dan Platt and Jak Hickman who are a lot more vocal, loud and have more demands on the lads. The only thing I ask from my teammates is to give it their all on a matchday.

"I have been around the block a lot more than some of the players here at the club. I had a play-off campaign in the 2021/22 season with Chasetown. We had a team better than a step 4 side, and came to Halesowen in the semi-final and won, which was a great night for us at Chasetown because the Yeltz were the big hitters that season. I have always thrived in situations like that. I enjoy playing in front of big crowds in high intensity games with big prizes at the end of them. This Wednesday will no different, and from a personal note I am here to get this club promoted. I committed to Halesowen last August because I knew we had it in us to reach this stage, and now we are here we want the prize. We roll into the play-offs having gained a lot of momentum over recent months. The last week has shown against Stamford and Telford we can compete with the best sides in the league.

"We are 13 unbeaten and the our consistency has come a lot from Russ. He demands a lot from us, always makes sure everyone is involved, and keeps the standards in our training at the highest level as possible. We have had some bad losses this season, but have overcome them, and the biggest helping hand we have had this season in that aspect is the fans. They are very passionate, and have been here and supported the club in the good and bad times this season and over the years. We all know in the dressing room we have the best fans in the league, they travel up and down the country, and are always loyal to us boys. We are desperate to reward their support by getting promoted. I have spoken to a lot of them in person, as I am not the most present of social media, and know how bad they want to see their club at step 2.

"My favourite performance over the last year was the FA trophy match against Kidderminster Harriers. I have already said I up my game when playing better opposition, and they were a side a step up and with some very good players for non-league. The best team performance over the last months for me was the Lowestoft game last November. It was sandwiched in between two Saturday games, and was a long trek across the country on a cold Tuesday night. It was a complete away performance, with five goals and a clean sheet to top it all off. I find we prefer games where we all travel together. It allows us to keep the team cohesion even before we arrive at games, as it gives us extra time to gel together, and take the pressure of us a bit more. This is why I think we were so much more successful on that night, and other lengthy journey's to places like Leiston and Bishop's Stortford."

The full interview with Ryan, as well as the full interviews with Reece Flanagan and Dan Platt are available on Radio Halesowen Town's Podcast channels NOW!!! (29th April)!!! (Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon)

Ryan Wynter's Yeltz Career So Far..

Appearances - 84

Starts - 83

Sub Appearances - 1

Appearances as Captain - 40

Goals - 7

Assists - 6

Clean Sheets - 26

Successive Appearances - 21

Successive Starts - 21

Win % - 47%

Player of the match awards - 7