Ruel Adrian Fox (born 14 January 1968) is a 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 lea ...

and the club chairman of Whitton United. As a player he was a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who played in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for Norwich City,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

and Tottenham Hotspur. He also played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He was capped twice at England B level, but later, despite it being two years since retiring, he awarded himself two caps for

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

whilst serving as head coach. Following retirement, Fox had a spell as manager of non-league Whitton United, where he has also acted as assistant manager and currently remains as the chairman. He has also worked as a personal trainer and has worked for Suffolk College.

Club career

Norwich City

Fox made his senior debut for Norwich City during the 1986–87 season in a Full Members Cup match against Coventry City and made his league debut against Oxford United at

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

a few days later. After several seasons of being a substitute and finding it difficult to hold down a regular first team spot, he eventually established himself and played an important part in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 campaigns, which were two of the best in the club's history. In 1992–93, they led the inaugural

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

several times before finished a club best third, and in 1993–94 they reached the last 16 of the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, defeating Bayern Munich on the way. He had also been involved in Norwich's runs to the semi-finals of the FA Cup final in 1989 and 1992, and their previous highs of finishing fifth in the old First Division in 1987 and fourth in 1989. He was a fast, tricky winger who outran defenders and provided good crosses. In 2002, Norwich supporters voted Fox an inaugural member of the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame.

Newcastle United

Fox left Norwich on 2 February 1994 to join

for a fee of £2,250,000. Upon signing him, Newcastle manager

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

described him as "the best player in his position in the country". Fox was an early member of the Newcastle teams known as "the Entertainers". He played in Newcastle's final 14 games of the 1993–94 season and scored twice as they finished third in the Premier League and qualified for the

– the first time since the 1970s that the Magpies had competed in Europe. He scored 10 league goals in the 1994–95 season, as the Magpies finished sixth and just missed out on another European campaign having led the league for the first quarter of the season, but the arrival of David Ginola in June 1995 left Fox facing a fight for regular first team action. He did, however, play five times for the Magpies the following season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Fox signed for Tottenham Hotspur on 6 October 1995 in a deal worth £4.25 million. His fee made him Tottenham's second most costly player at the time, behind Chris Armstrong whose £4.5 million deal had been concluded just a few months earlier. Despite not being part of Tottenham's squad for the 1999 Football League Cup Final he made three appearances during their victorious League Cup campaign.

West Bromwich Albion

Fox found it difficult to settle at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

and he was constantly linked with moves away from Tottenham Hotspur before joining

at the start of the 2000–01 season. He helped them to promotion in 2001–02, before being released at the end of the season. He subsequently retired from playing professionally.

Coaching career

Fox was named head coach of

in October 2004, and despite being two years since he retired from playing, he gave himself two international caps and scored once for his adopted nation in a 5–4 defeat against

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

on 2 November 2004. Upon his return he was named as coach of

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

club Whitton United and remained in that role until 2008, where he was replaced by his assistant Ronnie Mauge. He has also acted as assistant manager and now is the club's chairman. He also became a coach at Suffolk College.

Personal life

In November 2008, Fox returned to hometown Ipswich and ran his own restaurant and bar. In 2012, Fox was working as a personal trainer in Ipswich.

References

External links

*
Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Ruel 1968 births Living people Footballers from Ipswich Montserratian men's footballers English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Montserrat men's international footballers England men's B international footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players English people of Antigua and Barbuda descent Sportspeople of Antigua and Barbuda descent English people of Montserratian descent English football managers Montserratian football managers Montserrat national football team managers Black British sportsmen