Neil Ruddock
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| Neil Ruddock | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neil Ruddock | |
| Date of birth | 9 May 1968 | |
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, London, England | |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1984–1986 | Millwall | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1986 1986–1988 1988–1989 1989–1992 1992–1993 1993–1998 1998 1998–2000 2000–2001 2001–2003 |
Millwall Tottenham Hotspur Millwall Southampton Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool → Queens Park Rangers (loan) West Ham United Crystal Palace Swindon Town Total |
0 (0) 9 (0) 2 (1) 107 (9) 41 (4) 115 (11) 7 (0) 42 (2) 20 (2) 15 (1) 358 (30) |
| National team | ||
| 1989 1994 1994 |
England U21 England B England |
4 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968 in Wandsworth, London) is a retired English footballer, who played as a central defender.
[edit] Football career
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This section requires expansion. |
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).
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 also involved in a bust-up with Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, when at West Ham, with Vieira receiving a nine-match ban after spitting in Ruddock's face after some verbal sparring between the two.
A crowd favourite, his appearance at Swindon made him an instant cult figure. 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, in return for a six-figure payment.
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."
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.
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.
[edit] Life outside football
He became a household name after appearing 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 and Mike Read, but this was only a minor UK hit.
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.
Razor is now helping talented young footballers who have been released from Academies with his 'Pass & Move Soccer School', at www.passandmove.net.
In 2006 Ruddock helped produce "Football Saved My Life" a reality sports TV show for Bravo turning around the lives of 15 guys.
He has a daughter Izzabella Ivy Grace Ruddock (her nickname at home being Pebbles) by his partner, ex Page Three and Playboy model Leah Newman and they live together in Hastings, East Sussex. He and Leah appeared in Celebrity Wife Swap on 30 September 2007.
Ruddock appeared on an episode of ITV's Fat Friends as John Fudd, where he helped save the life of a pregnant woman. In February 2009 Ruddock admitted to eating 212 Steak and Kidney pies per annum.
On 11th November 2008, Ruddock took charge of a Hastings United Supporters team to take on a team of Eastbourne Borough Supporters at the Pilot Field. The game ended 2-2
[edit] External links
- Liverpool FC profile
- LFCHistory.net profile
- Ruddock Neil Ruddock career stats at Soccerbase
- Neil Ruddock England profile at Englandstats
- England profile
- See Razor in action at Sporting Dinner
