Neil Ruddock

64
Neil Ruddock bigraphy, stories - English footballer

Neil Ruddock : biography

9 May 1968 –

Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968) is an English former professional footballer, television personality, and actor. As a player he played as a central defender from 1986 to 2003, and was considered one of the hardest defenders of his era.

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). He was capped once by England.

Honours

Southampton
  • Full Members Cup finalist: 1992
Liverpool
  • Football League Cup winner: 1995

Television career

He has appeared on A Question of Sport numerous times and was guest captain on 7 May 2004 edition. In 2004, he appeared on the third series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. 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.

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.

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.

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.

In November 2011, he appeared in James May’s Man Lab on BBC Two, coaching James May on how to score a penalty kick in front of 20,000 Germans at the Homelands, Ashford, Kent. James May missed the penalty. He appeared again in April 2013 as a member of the Manlab team representing China at the Rock, Paper, Scissors world championships.

In 2013, Ruddock appeared as a housemate on the eleventh series of Celebrity Big Brother, where he finished in fifth place.

Personal life

Ruddock was married to wife Sarah with whom he had two children. They later divorced and he is now engaged to model Leah Newman with whom he has two daughters. His nickname of "Razor" is taken from the unrelated boxer Donovan Ruddock’s nickname; Ruddock had appeared in a boxing match at White Hart Lane while he played for Tottenham.

Club career

Southampton

Ruddock joined Southampton in February 1989 in a £200,000 transfer from Millwall. 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.)

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.

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.

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.

Liverpool

Ruddock was signed by Liverpool from Tottenham Hotspur on a £2.5 million transfer. 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, philandering, marital issues and drink driving infringements, including an infamous incident involving his "Porsche and a blonde" as confirmed by Suleman his private servant. 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. 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. 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".