Razor made his debut at Millwall and then went on to have a long football career playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and finally concluded his career as a player and coach at Swindon Town.

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”.

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.

Since his retirement from football, Neil has gone on to take part in a number of reality television shows such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and Total Wipeout. He is now therefore a well-known household name and can appea

l to all kinds of audiences with his tales of football, jungles and other adventures.

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Neil “Razor” Ruddock

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