Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968) is an English former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and television personality who is a club director at
Enfield.
As a player he was a
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
from 1986 to 2003, and was voted the 17th "hardest footballer of all time". He made his debut at
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...
, having been associated with the club since the age of 13, and also represented
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...
,
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
,
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...
and
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
during a professional career spanning 17 years. He was capped once by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, in 1994.
Ruddock came out of retirement in 2015, aged 46, to play for
United Counties League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckingham ...
side
Wellingborough Whitworth. He has since appeared on a variety of television shows including ''
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'' and ''
Celebrity Masterchef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...
''.
Club career
Early career
Ruddock began his career at
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, ea ...
, before signing for
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
in 1986. He broke his leg on his Tottenham debut against Liverpool and made only 11 appearances for Spurs, his only goal coming in a 2–1 defeat to third tier
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...
in the
1987–88 FA Cup
The 1987–88 FA Cup was the 107th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. The competition was won by Wimbledon F.C.'s Crazy Gang who defeated league champions Li ...
. In the summer of 1988 Ruddock rejoined Millwall.
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 scoring a penalty against
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...
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
In sports, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration is normally performed by the goalscorer, and may involve their teammates, the manager or coaching staff or the supporters of the team. Whilst re ...
after the 89th-minute penalty became known as the "Ruddock stomp". Ruddock missed his next two penalties, allowing
Matt Le Tissier
Matthew Paul Le Tissier (; born 14 October 1968) is a former professional footballer. Born in Guernsey, he won eight caps for the England national team.
Le Tissier spent his entire professional club career with Southampton before turning to no ...
to take over for the following 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
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
.
After three years on the south coast, he was enticed back to Tottenham by
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Qu ...
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. While at Liverpool, Ruddock was famously involved in an on-field scuffle with Manchester United star
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...
. Ruddock responded to Cantona's taunts about his weight by turning down the Frenchman's collar. In 1995, he was absolved of fracturing
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999.
In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his co ...
's jaw with an elbow in a testimonial match. 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
Andrew Alexander Cole (born 15 October 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a Briti ...
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 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".
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
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
.
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
Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League.
As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the histor ...
,
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp (born 25 June 1973) is an English former professional footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is a pundit at Sky Sports and an editorial sports columnist at the ''Daily Mail''. A technically skillful and creat ...
,
Jason McAteer
Jason Wynne McAteer (born 18 June 1971) is a former professional footballer. His primary position was in centre midfield, though he was also an able right winger and full-back.
During his professional career from 1992 to 2007, McAteer played ...
,
Steve McManaman
Steven McManaman (born 11 February 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a winger for Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City. McManaman is one of the most decorated English footballers to have played for a club abroad and is re ...
and
Stan Collymore
Stanley Victor Collymore (born 22 January 1971) is an English football pundit, sport strategist, and former player who played as a striker from 1990 to 2001, most notably for Nottingham Forest and later Liverpool, who he joined from the for ...
, but left in 1998 when new coach
Gérard Houllier
Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...
joined.
West Ham United
In July 1998, Ruddock moved to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...
for a fee of £300,000 making his debut on 15 August 1998 in a 1–0 away win against
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
. In October 1999 whilst playing for West Ham, Ruddock was also involved in a bust-up with
Arsenal's Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career a ...
, with Vieira receiving a six-match ban and a £30,000 fine after spitting at Ruddock after some verbal sparring between the two.
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
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, for a dangerous tackle on
Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian association football coach, manager and former player. His most recent role as a club manager was at English National League side Barnet, and he is currently a first team coach at Celtic ...
. The Hammers finished fifth in the Premier League
that season – their highest finish for
13 years – and qualified for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
to end a 19-year absence from European competitions.
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. He was also accused by Crystal Palace chairman,
Simon Jordan in November 2005, of "taking the team out and getting them wasted when we were fighting relegation".
He scored twice for Swindon, with goals against Colchester in the league and Hartlepool in the FA Cup. 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
Stephen James Coppell (born 9 July 1955) is an English professional football manager and former player.
As a player, he was a highly regarded right winger known for his speed and work rate. He won domestic honours with Manchester United and ...
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 an employment tribunal and in December 2002, received £57,000, representing money lost in wages and loyalty payments, with an agreement to terminate his contract as player/coach.
Wellingborough Whitworth
In January 2015, Ruddock came out of retirement at the age of 46 years, to sign for
United Counties League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckingham ...
side
Wellingborough Whitworth.
Coaching career
In August 2018, Ruddock joined the coaching team of
Essex Senior League side
Enfield. In June 2020 he became a club director.
International career
Ruddock won four caps for the
England Under-21 squad and one in 1994 for
England B
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations. Si ...
when he
captained the team against Ireland B at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. On 16 November 1994, he won his only senior
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, playing in a friendly against
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
when
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Qu ...
was the national team's coach.
Television career
In 2004, he appeared on the third series of ''
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!''.
After his appearance, he recorded a
charity single, a version of "
Jungle Rock
Hank Mizell (November 9, 1923 – December 23, 1992) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best-remembered for his rockabilly single "Jungle Rock" (1958), which was obscure on its original release but reached number 3 in the UK ...
", with fellow contestants
Lord Brocket
Baron Brocket, of Brocket Hall in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 January 1933 for the businessman Sir Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Baronet. He was chairman of the brewing firm of Robert Ca ...
,
Peter Andre
Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent.
Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...
and
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
, performing 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 2007, he appeared in
Celebrity Wife Swap UK (Series 10 Episode 1), going to live with English singer and television personality
Pete Burns, while wife Leah went to live with Burns' partner Michael Simpson.
In 2006, Ruddock helped produce ''
Football Saved My Life'' a reality sports TV show for
Bravo
Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels
* Bravo (band), a Russian rock band
* Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984
*Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compan ...
which attempted to change the lives of 15 dysfunctional men through their involvement with football.
[
In November 2011, he appeared in '' James May's Man Lab'' on BBC Two, coaching ]James May
James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme ''Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also s ...
on how to score a penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
in front of 20,000 Germans at Veltins-Arena
Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for Bundesliga club FC S ...
, Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it li ...
. 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
Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each ...
world championships.
In 2019 Ruddock appeared on BBC's Celebrity Masterchef
''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. In the UK, it is produced by the BBC. The show initially ran from 1990 to 2001 and was revived in 2 ...
Series 14 where he reached the final three.
In 2019 and 2020, Ruddock featured in both seasons of ITV show Harry's Heroes, which featured former football manager Harry Redknapp
Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United, Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City. In hi ...
attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.
Personal life
Ruddock was given the nickname "Razor" by teammates after they claimed to have seen the unrelated boxer Donovan Ruddock billed as "Razor Ruddock" in a boxing match at White Hart Lane; however, Donovan Ruddock never boxed at White Hart Lane during his career.
In 2011, Ruddock declared bankruptcy. On 25 September 2014, he was featured in an episode of the Channel 5 programme '' Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!'' where he was approached by High Court enforcement agents who were seeking to collect an alleged unpaid bill to a dog kennel of £3,000. During the encounter, Ruddock's wife used expletives while throwing water on the enforcement agents.
In 2020, Ruddock confirmed that he had been fitted with a pacemaker
An artificial cardiac pacemaker (or artificial pacemaker, so as not to be confused with the natural cardiac pacemaker) or pacemaker is a medical device that generates electrical impulses delivered by electrodes to the chambers of the heart ei ...
. He is reported to have been 'technically dead' during the operation to fit the pacemaker.
Career statistics
Club
Source:
Honours
Southampton
* Full Members Cup
The Full Members' Cup was an association football cup competition held in English football from 1985 to 1992. It was also known under its sponsored names of the Simod Cup from 1987 to 1989 and the Zenith Data Systems Cup from 1989 to 1992.
Th ...
runners-up: 1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...
Liverpool
* Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...
: 1994–95
West Ham United
* UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, ' betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International F ...
: 1998–99
References
External links
Liverpool FC profile
LFCHistory.net profile
*
*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruddock, Neil
1968 births
Living people
Footballers from Wandsworth
English footballers
Association football central defenders
England under-21 international footballers
England B international footballers
England international footballers
Premier League players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Millwall F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
English Football League players
Wellingborough Whitworth F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. non-playing staff
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) participants