Ryan Esson

Aberdeen

Esson started his career with his hometown club Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League, debuting on 14 May 2000 in the 5–1 win over Kilmarnock. Aberdeen got to the 2000 Scottish Cup Final, and after only three minutes of the match Jim Leighton (playing in his last career game) sustained a serious head injury. Due to teams only being able to name three substitutes at the time, Esson was not on the bench and Robbie Winters was forced to go in goal wearing Esson's jersey. He became Aberdeen's first-choice keeper for 2000–01. After losing his place the following season, he had a brief loan spell at Rotherham United in March to May 2002. Esson did not play at all in the 2002–03 season and only twice in 2003–04, but played the majority of Aberdeen's games in 2004–05. The former Scotland Youth and U21 international was an unused substitute when the senior side played the USA in November 2005. His contract expired at the end of the 2005–06 season, and after playing in 18 matches during the campaign, he decided to leave the club in order to seek more first team games. His final appearance was against Celtic in May 2006.

Shrewsbury Town

He joined Shrewsbury Town on 30 June 2006 on a free transfer and made his début in the 2006–07 opener against Mansfield Town, which finished 2–2. After playing in Shrewsbury's first six league matches he was dropped in favour of Chris Mackenzie. Whilst playing in a reserve fixture on 18 September 2006, Esson sustained a…

In July 2024, Esson was quietly, and controversially, released by Inverness, which ultimately became the tipping point that saw CEO Scot Gardiner sacked. The following month, it was announced that Esson had become the new manager of Highland League side, Strathspey Thistle, with former Inverness teammate, Aaron Doran, being his first signing as well as joining him in the coaching staff. On 24 February 2026, Esson was relieved of his duties at Strathspey, despite leading the side to their highest finish since 2020. In May 2026, Esson was appointed as the manager of fellow Highland League club, Rothes.

As of match played 11 August 2018

Ryan Esson was born in Aberdeen on 19 March 1980. He is the elder brother of Arron Esson, a semi‑professional footballer and coach based in the Highlands. The two brothers have worked together on several local youth football development projects, often running coaching clinics and fundraising matches in their native Aberdeenshire.