Neil Ruddock

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Neil Ruddock
Ruddock eating what appears to be a Hamburger
Personal information
Full name Neil Ruddock
Date of birth 9 May 1968 (1968-05-09) (age 40)
Place of birth    Wandsworth, London, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Defender
Youth clubs
1984–1986 Millwall
Senior clubs1
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		 000 0(0)
009 0(0)
002 0(1)
107 0(9)
041 0(4)
115 (11)
007 0(0)
042 0(2)
020 0(2)
015 0(1)
358 (30)   
National team
1989
1994
1994		 England U21
England B
England		 004 0(0)
001 0(0)
001 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Neil "Razor" Ruddock (born 9 May 1968 in Wandsworth, London) is a retired English footballer, playing as a central defender.

[edit] Football career

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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).

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 "Saved by the Ball" 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.

[edit] External links