The Slow Readers Club is currently touring the UK and Ireland.
They play a sold-out hometown gig at the O2 Ritz in Manchester on Thursday and have shows in Glasgow (Friday) and Leeds (Saturday).
Ryan was born in Manchester and grew up in Ancoats, near the city centre. Therefore, he had to decide whether he wanted to be a Red or a Blue.
He told BBC Sport: “My dad is a City fan and my mum tells me the story that when I was born he took me to the hospital window to show me where Maine Road was.”
“But he never forced City on me and he left it to me to decide for myself who to follow.”
“My uncle is a big United fan who used to have a season ticket at Old Trafford. He literally knocked on our house on a Saturday afternoon and told my mom that he had a replacement card. So your Jim wants to come with you?”
“I was about six years old at the time, so I went with him… and that was it, I was hooked for life.”
“My favorite players as a young child were Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, although my love for Hughes was tempered a little by him becoming City manager – especially in that game when.” We beat them 4-3 with a last-second goal from Michael Owen and Hughes raging alongside Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] at the final whistle.
“However, it is Paul Scholes who is my ultimate United hero. For me as footballers, Scholes and Diego Maradona are at the top of everyone else’s list.”
“There is no one in the current squad who can be compared to Scholes. Maybe it’s because I’m a little older – it’s not because we don’t win as often anymore – but there’s no one as likeable.”
“Bruno Fernandes is a very good player, but then there are moments when he complains a lot. I look around at the rest of the team and think they’re all overpaid prima donnas.”
“It's so difficult to like them as individuals the way I have in the past with our players while watching City and as much as I don't like them, I love Bernardo Silva.”
“He is what we need. Someone who is just a pure footballer who doesn't compete for fame or his own ego. He's like Scholes in that he just shows up every week and gives everything he can for the team without complaining or telling anything about him.
Chris Sutton and James Ryan spoke to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.
