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Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock was born in 1968 and played as central defender for a number of English football clubs. Known as the hardman of football, he began his career at Millwall and also played for Tottenham, Southampton, Liverpool, West Ham and Crystal Palace. He finished his career at Swindon where he was a player / coach. A talented and confident player he was powerful in the air and was excellent at bringing the ball forward out of defence.
After initially starting out at Millwall (a club which he had been linked with since the age of thirteen) he left in 1986 to play for Tottenham. He stayed at Tottenham for two years, but subsequently returned to Millwall.
Following his second spell at Millwall, Neil joined Southampton in 1989. He was a member of the 1992 side that reached the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup. In the summer of 1992 he returned to Tottenham, for a brief spell, before Graeme Souness brought him to Liverpool.
He made his debut at Anfield in match against Sheffield Wednesday where he set up one of the goals in the 2-0 win against the opposition. One of his finest appearances for Liverpool was in 1996 when playing against Leeds United. He scored two of the five goals in the 5-0 win. However, one of his most well known moments for Liverpool was in a game against Manchester United (at Anfield) during the 1993-1994 season. In this particular match he scored an equaliser (from a header) that proved to be crucial for Liverpool . However, Neil did not initially register the importance of this goal – unfortunately he had been suffering from concussion at the time! It was only once the game had finished that he actually realised the significance of his goal!
In a varied career outside football Neil has appeared on television many times. He has been a contestant on the BBC’s well known quiz show ‘A Question of Sport’ several times and once even appeared as guest captain. He also took part in ITV’s hit show ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ in 2004 (Series 3) where he was a popular and well liked member of the camp. He was also involved in the TV show ‘Football Saved My Life’ which helped young men with problems such as depression and alcoholism turn their lives around.
Neil is keen to help young footballers and has travelled the country in order to raise money for clubs at the grass roots level. In fact he has raised thousands of pounds for this worthy cause.
Neil makes an excellent after dinner speaker with his hilarious tales from both the football world and also those from his exploits on TV. He is one of the best speakers on the circuit and asa result one of the most sort after.