Ryan Donaldson

Newcastle United

Donaldson joined his hometown club at aged 9. He made his way through the academy to the u18s where he reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 2007 and captained the team to the fifth round in 2009 where they lost out to Manchester City. After being promoted to the first team for the 2008–09 season, Donaldson made the bench for a handful of games but did not manage to make an appearance. He eventually made his league and home debut for Newcastle on 31 August 2009 in the 1–0 home win against Leicester City and then made his second appearance as a second-half substitute for Ryan Taylor playing the final 15 minutes of the game in a 4–0 victory over Ipswich Town on 26 September 2009. He made his full debut when Chris Hughton handed him and several youngsters a starting role in the 22 September League Cup game away at Peterborough United. He was a regular member of the squad which won the championship that season, collecting a winners medal after the last game of the season at home to Ipswich Town. His second Newcastle start came in the 2010–2011 season when he played in the second round League Cup tie against Accrington Stanley in central midfield alongside Haris Vučkić. On 24 January 2011, Donaldson joined Hartlepool United on a month-long loan. He made his debut the following day in a 1–1 draw with Notts County. On 25 February, Hartlepool extended Donaldson's loan for a further month. After his next loan move to Tranmere was cut short by a torn…

In the summer of 2007, Donaldson was called up to the England U17 squad and made his debut on 31 July at the Nordic Championships, helping them to a third-place finish. He took part in the Algarve Tournament the following summer and England's unsuccessful 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying campaign. Donaldson was promoted to the U19s and made his debut in September 2009. He started and scored the opening goal in a 3–1 win over Slovenia. He played regularly during the U19s' run to the European Championship semi-final before they were defeated 3–1 by Spain.

As of 31 August 2026

Cambridge United

Conference Premier play-offs: 2014 FA Trophy: 2013–14 Plymouth Argyle

EFL League Two runner-up: 2016–17 Hartlepool United

National League play-offs: 2021