Neil Ruddock

Neil Ruddock

Personal information
Full name	Neil Ruddock
Date of birth	9 May 1968 (1968-05-09) (age 43)
Place of birth	Wandsworth, London, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
1984–1986	Millwall
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986	Millwall	0	(0)
1986–1988	Tottenham Hotspur	9	(0)
1988–1989	Millwall	2	(1)
1989–1992	Southampton	107	(9)
1992–1993	Tottenham Hotspur	41	(4)
1993–1998	Liverpool	115	(11)
1998	→ Queens Park Rangers (loan)	7	(0)
1998–2000	West Ham United	42	(2)
2000–2001	Crystal Palace	20	(2)
2001–2003	Swindon Town	15	(1)
Total		358	(30)
National team
1989	England U21	4	(0)
1994	England B	1	(0)
1994	England	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968) is a retired English footballer, who played as a central defender. He made his debut at Millwall (having been associated with the club since age 13), and he had a long career playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and finally a short-lived spell as a player/coach at Swindon Town (working under Director of Football Roy Evans in a two-tier managerial structure).

Football career

Southampton

Ruddock joined Southampton in February 1989 in a £200,000 transfer from Millwall.^[1] A rugged, uncompromising defender, he soon became popular with the Southampton fans especially after confidently tucking away a penalty against Newcastle United on 1 April in only his sixth game for the club, thus helping the "Saints" earn their first victory in 18 matches and start Southampton on a climb away from the relegation zone. His goal celebration after the 89th minute penalty became known as the "Ruddock stomp". (Ruddock missed his next two penalties allowing Matt Le Tissier to take over for the next season.^[2]

Despite early disciplinary problems at The Dell, Ruddock's talents as a confident, left-footed defender earned him England Under-21 honours. Powerful in the air, he could tackle strongly but was also able to bring the ball forward out of defence.^[1]

In the 1991-92 season, Ruddock was a member of the Southampton side that reached the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup, where they were beaten in extra time 3–2 by Nottingham Forest.^[3]

After three years on the South Coast, he was enticed back to Tottenham by Terry Venables in May 1992, with the tribunal setting the transfer fee at a "ridiculous" £750,000.^[1]

Liverpool

Whilst at Liverpool, Ruddock was famously involved in an on-field scuffle with Manchester United star Eric Cantona. Ruddock responded to Cantona's taunts about his weight by turning down the Frenchman's collar (in his after dinner speaking, Ruddock says of the incident- "trust me to pick the only Frenchman around who wanted a tear-up"). Ruddock was never far from controversy in his time at Liverpool, with tabloids highlighting his personal weight problems, parenting issues,^[4] womanizing,^[5] marital issues and drink driving infringements, including an infamous incident involving his "Porsche and a blonde".^[6] In 1995, he was absolved of fracturing Peter Beardsley's jaw with an elbow in a testimonial match, to which Beardsley contemplated legal action on the grounds that Ruddock acted deliberately, but later decided to withdraw charges.^[7] In 1996, Ruddock's tackle on Andrew Cole of Manchester United in a reserve game at Anfield left the player with two broken legs, and Ruddock claimed innocence, while Cole said he believed Ruddock did not intend harm.^[8] However, in a 2010 interview with Talksport, he jokingly refers to the incident that resulted in Cole suffering two broken legs in 1997 as "not big, and not clever", adding "but it was great", and that "I didn't mean to break both of his legs if I'm honest, I only meant to break one".^[9]

Arguably his finest game for Liverpool came on 20 January 1996, when he scored twice for them in a 5-0 home league win over Leeds United.^[10]

At Liverpool, Ruddock was also part of the squad of the 1990s under Roy Evans, known infamously as the "Spice Boys", that included the likes of David James, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp, Jason McAteer, Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore, but left in 1998 just as new coach Gerard Houllier embarked on a French revolution at Anfield.

West Ham United

In July 1998 Ruddock moved to West Ham United for a fee of £300,000 making his debut on 15 August 1998 in a 1-0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday.^[11] In October 1999 whilst playing for West Ham, Ruddock was also involved in a bust-up with Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, with Vieira receiving a six-match ban and a £30,000 fine after spitting at Ruddock after some verbal sparring between the two.^[12]

In 56 games for West Ham he scored three goals, was booked 14 times and sent-off once, in December 1998, in a 4-0 away defeat to Leeds United, for a dangerous tackle on Harry Kewell. The Hammers finished fifth in the Premier League that season - their highest finish for 13 years - and qualified for the UEFA Cup to end a 19-year absence from European competitions.^[13]

Swindon Town

In 2000, Ruddock moved to Crystal Palace on a free transfer, spending one season there before signing for Division Two side Swindon Town, where his appearance made him an instant cult figure.^{[citation needed]} He scored twice for Swindon, with goals against Colchester in the league^[14] and Hartlepool in the FA Cup.^[15] Relations turned sour when Ruddock refused to quit after being advised to do so by a specialist; during a period of time where the club was in serious financial difficulties. The club responded by appointing Steve Coppell as assistant manager and taking Ruddock's coaching duties away. The board eventually stopped paying Ruddock's wages in an attempt to drive him out. He took the club to a tribunal over the unpaid wages, and a deal was made where Ruddock's contract was terminated during 2003, in return for a six-figure payment.^{[citation needed]}

He was also accused by Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan (in his fortnightly article in The Observer), in November 2005, of "taking the team out and getting them wasted when we were fighting relegation."^{[citation needed]}

International career

He won four caps for the England Under-21 squad and one in 1994 for England B when he captained the team against Ireland B at Anfield. On 16 November 1994 he won his only cap for England, playing in a friendly against Nigeria when Terry Venables was national coach.^[16]

Throughout his career he battled with weight problems and was often criticised for being unfit; this is often thought to be one of the reasons he only ever gained one full cap for England.^{[citation needed]}

Honours

Southampton

• Full Members Cup finalist: 1992

Liverpool

• Football League Cup winner: 1995

Life outside football

His nickname of "Razor" is taken from the boxer Donovan Ruddock's nickname. Donovan Ruddock's boxing career peaked at the same time Neil Ruddock was playing football.

He has appeared on A Question Of Sport numerous times and was guest captain on the 7 May 2004 edition.

In 2004 he appeared on the third series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.^[17] He exploited this by recording a charity single, a version of Jungle Rock, with fellow contestants Lord Brocket, Peter Andre and Mike Read, recording as The Jungle Boys.^[18]

In 2006 he was involved in the television programme Razor Ruddock's Pass & Move Soccer School where children released by academies were coached by Ruddock.^[19]

In 2006 Ruddock helped produce Football Saved My Life a reality sports TV show for Bravo which attempted to change the lives of fifteen dysfunctional men through their involvement with football.^[17]

Ruddock appeared on an episode of ITV's Fat Friends as John Fudd, where he helped save the life of a pregnant woman.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008 Ruddock appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, talking about how his football career had affected his personal life, including his alcoholism and debauchery.^[20]

In 2011 he appeared in Celebrity Total Wipeout on BBC1, coming last.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology. p. 575. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X. 
2. ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 205. 
3. ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 301. 
4. ^ Boulton, Jessica (30 September 2007). "Razor is the dad from hell, says ex". The People. http://www.people.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2007/09/30/razor-is-the-dad-from-hell-says-ex-93463-19870838/. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
5. ^ Cox, Emma (8 February 2004). "Razor's no nice guy .. he's just a drunken love cheat". Sunday Mirror. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20040208/ai_n12886593/. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
6. ^ Corless, Frank (30 January 1996). "Blonde and Ruddock's Porsche.". The Mirror. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Blonde+and+Ruddock%27s+Porsche.%28News%29-a061309989. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
7. ^ Spall, Leo (24 January 2001). "Ruddock: I'm public enemy No1". London Evening Standard. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-1083184-ruddock-im-public-enemy-no1.do. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
8. ^ Cole, Andy (22 October 2009). "The sign says 'This is Anfield'. The heart says 'This is it. This is what it's all about'". The Independent on Sunday. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/the-andy-cole-column-the-sign-says-this-is-anfield-the-heart-says-this-is-it-this-is-what-its-all-about-1806708.html. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
9. ^ "Neil Ruddock on breaking Andy Cole's legs (Video)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXxTyIKDrzo. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
10. ^ [1]
11. ^ "Neil Ruddock". Westhamstats.info. 9 May 1968. http://www.westhamstats.info/westham.php?west=2&ham=569&united=Neil_Ruddock. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
12. ^ Wilson, Steve (18 March 2009). "Top 10: Worst spitting incidents in football". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/5010546/Top-10-Worst-spitting-incidents-in-football.html. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
13. ^ Parkes, Ian (2010). "Football News | Live Scores, Football Transfer News & Gossip". Sporting Life. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/westham/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/98/12/05/SOCCER_Leeds_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=westham&DIV=prem&TEAM=WEST--HAM&RH=West--Ham&PREV_SEASON=1997. Retrieved 17 August 2010. 
14. ^ "Swindon 1-0 Colchester". BBC. 1 September 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/1518719.stm. Retrieved 29 December 2009. 
15. ^ "Swindon 3-1 Hartlepool". BBC. 17 November 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/1658826.stm. Retrieved 29 December 2009. 
16. ^ "England 1 - Nigeria 0". www.englandstats.com. 16 November 1994. http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=708. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Smith, Giles (30 November 2006). "Look before you bleep in Ruddock's new offering". www.timesonline.co.uk. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/giles_smith/article654610.ece. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
18. ^ Paine, Andre (12 February 2004). "Brocket to rock it". www.thisislondon.co.uk. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-9149476-brocket-to-rock-it.do. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
19. ^ "Razor Ruddock's Pass and Move Soccer School - Press Conference". www.thediamondsfc.com. http://www.thediamondsfc.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10784~836249,00.html. Retrieved 4 September 2011. 
20. ^ "Jodie's on Jeremy Kyle". www.thesun.co.uk. 29 April 2008. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article1104206.ece. Retrieved 21 December 2010. 

External links

• Liverpool FC profile
• LFCHistory.net profile
• Ruddock Neil Ruddock career stats at Soccerbase
• Neil Ruddock England profile at Englandstats
• England profile

Persondata
Name	Ruddock, Neil
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 May 1968
Place of birth	Wandsworth, London, England
Date of death
Place of death