NEIL ‘Razor’ Ruddock reveals he gets a “buzz” from hosting club nights similar to when he entertained millions of fans as a professional footballer.
Centre-back Ruddock, 54, played for Liverpool, Tottenham, West Ham and Southampton in a stellar career, also earning a solitary England cap in 1994.
Ruddock has also been the subject of national attention since his playing days finished, going through a bankruptcy, numerous celebrity TV shows and having a pacemaker fitted.
He now travels round the country entertaining fans with stories from his playing days, often in support of grassroots and amateur football clubs.
His latest appearance came in Weymouth for Dorset Premier League side Balti Sports, who raised a significant four-figure sum for the club.
READ MORE: Matt Le Tissier entertains crowd for Balti Sports fundraiser
Before he took to centre stage at the Rembrandt Hotel, where he also helped run an auction and raffle, Ruddock told Echosport how much he enjoys these nights.
He said: “I’ve been doing it for over 15 years now. I travel the country and when you’re a footballer you get that buzz.
“The best thing you can do after that is to do what I do now, because I get on stage – it could be in front of a thousand people – and I get that buzz back again and make people laugh.
“It’s a thing that all people want, especially if you’re a professional footballer, rugby player or cricketer.
“There’s nothing like walking off the pitch with a win, and to get on stage and people cheer you, you get a buzz.
“It’s not like going to a comedy club, which must be terrible. You walk on stage and people say: ‘make me laugh!’
“People have paid to come and see me, so I’m on a winner. We’ve raised fortunes for charity and I do get paid, which keeps the missus happy.
“Charities are struggling, especially after Covid. The satisfaction I get is that I do a lot of football clubs.
“You get mums and dads coming up to me asking for advice, I love to give advice to the youngsters. It is giving back.”
And Ruddock is very much involved at non-League level as a non-executive director at Enfield.
His team currently sits fifth in the Isthmian Premier League – equivalent to Dorchester Town’s Southern League Premier.
Ruddock has followed a path off the beaten track by mucking in at board level, rather than becoming a manager.
He said: “I coach them every now and then. A couple of friends of mine own the club and I train them about six times a year.
“If they’re struggling, I get the phone call. It’s nice to get the boots on and train with the lads.
“I’m a non-executive director, if there’s such a thing, but I sit in the directors’ box when I go, so that must be a good thing.”
He then joked: “Would you trust me with your football club’s money? I don’t think I would!
“No, it’s one of them. I love doing what I’m doing. If you’re going to be serious about football, it’s a 24/7 game.
“I’ve had enough heartache and craziness in my life to get involved running a club. I was a pro for 20 years and I’m still involved.
“I miss the lads but I don’t miss football. It’s all I’ve done since I was a 12-year-old, left school and done professional football.
“It’s nice to go and play golf when I want, go down the pub when I want, work and do charity nights when I want.
“If I was involved 24/7 I wouldn’t be able to do it.”
The evening was sponsored by Dave Wilson of Weymouth Precision Engineering with live music from Tommy Hastie.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here