Ruddock interview in the Grauniad

[Harry Squatter]

44 minutes ago, Ronnie Whelan said:

I heard a rumour that is likely true from a mate that Rushie and Ronnie Whelan kicked off at Souey after training one day at the antics at the club around that time and he told them that they were past it and they could find a new club if they weren't happy. Apparently Souey was very defensive over his signings. 

 

I heard him on sky a few times and he acknowledged that some of the older pros were his friends as team mates and he wanted to drive a wedge between that and let them know he was their boss now. Ironically, it wasn't an issue for Kenny. He seems to have recognised the mistakes that he made and has a lot of regrets. It's almost sad because you can tell how much he loves the club.

 

Rightly or wrongly, the players you mentioned and  Big Jan,  Stevie Nicol and Brucie probably realised that they weren't going to influence management and knew that there was a big drop off from Liverpool even if they were legends of the game. They also played in an era when football made someone very comfortable but not eccessively wealthy like now. 

 

 

It just seems strange that those players who were used to being part of a successful and professional squad with Ronnie Moran barking at them every time they would rest on their laurels would be happy about tits like Ruddock ruling the roost.

 

There's probably a lot of truth in that rumour though.

 

I think Ruddock was the biggest knobhead of the spice boys era.

[Jairzinho]

1 hour ago, Section_31 said:

Would pay good money to hear what see Roy Keane thinks of kick the fuck out of him.

Yes, likewise.

[VladimirIlyich]

Just now, Doctor Troy said:

It just seems strange that those players who were used to being part of a successful and professional squad with Ronnie Moran barking at them every time they would rest on their laurels would be happy about tits like Ruddock ruling the roost.

 

There's probably a lot of truth in that rumour though.

 

I think Ruddock was the biggest knobhead of the spice boys era.

I look at Ruddock compared to Mark Wright. Wright had a bit of a disasterous start at the club and was made Captain under Souness. Evans took over and ripped the shit out of Wright and stripped him of the captaincy. Wright could easily have fucked off but worked hard,upped his game and got back into a half decent Liverpool side of the time. Wright wasn't the greatest but I always liked his attitude and he didn't take the piss. Ruddock is whole different cunt and the fact that the fat bastard James Corden buzzes off him tells you everything you need to know.

[Section_31]

Caught a vid before of him saying he meant to break Andy Cole's legs and was glad he did. What a scummer.

[Jairzinho]

I liked Mark Wright.

[Curly]

12 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

I look at Ruddock compared to Mark Wright. Wright had a bit of a disasterous start at the club and was made Captain under Souness. Evans took over and ripped the shit out of Wright and stripped him of the captaincy. Wright could easily have fucked off but worked hard,upped his game and got back into a half decent Liverpool side of the time. Wright wasn't the greatest but I always liked his attitude and he didn't take the piss. Ruddock is whole different cunt and the fact that the fat bastard James Corden buzzes off him tells you everything you need to know.

Agree with all that, but you don’t half seem to have it in for Roy, mate.

[Harry Squatter]

It was funny on that Harry's heroes when Merson pulled him up for acting like a cunt and slowly killing himself with ale. Yet all he did was say "shat ap Merse, we both know I'll put you through the door". Fat cunt couldn't move unless it was to go to the bar. 

 

Plus you know your life is fucked if Paul Merson is telling you that you're a massive twat who drinks too much.

[Crazy Dave]

5 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

I look at Ruddock compared to Mark Wright. Wright had a bit of a disasterous start at the club and was made Captain under Souness. Evans took over and ripped the shit out of Wright and stripped him of the captaincy. Wright could easily have fucked off but worked hard,upped his game and got back into a half decent Liverpool side of the time. Wright wasn't the greatest but I always liked his attitude and he didn't take the piss. Ruddock is whole different cunt and the fact that the fat bastard James Corden buzzes off him tells you everything you need to know.

Strange that Roy Evo started off hard by immediately binning Paul Stewart, Julian Dicks and Don Hutchinson plus consigning Mark Wright to the reserves for a long time but then the likes of Ruddock was allowed to basically run the show and things slowly turned to shit. 

 

The stories from that era are legendary and do not reflect well upon Roy and the remaining senior players at all. Whether it's passing the pound around during a game, Paul Ince making academy kids go to the offy to buy ciggies for him during training or Fowler moving Roy around in a headlock out on the training pitch, it's amazing how unprofessional the squad was. 

 

God knows what Houllier made of all this fucking nonsense when he turned up. 

[aRdja]

6 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

I liked Mark Wright.

He was the main guy at the back when I started supporting us. I thought he was great. 
 

3-5-2

James; Babb, Wright, Matteo; McAteer, Redknapp, Barnes, Bjornebye, McManaman; Collymore, Fowler

 

Decent team. Definitely underachieved.

[Jairzinho]

7 minutes ago, aRdja said:

He was the main guy at the back when I started supporting us. I thought he was great. 
 

3-5-2

James; Babb, Wright, Matteo; McAteer, Redknapp, Barnes, Bjornebye, McManaman; Collymore, Fowler

 

Decent team. Definitely underachieved.

95/96 season?

 

I can just about remember a season or two earlier with Clough, Walters and Hutchinson as well. Think Nicol and Whelan were still there actually.

 

I have almost no recollection of the Souness era, my awareness started pretty much as soon as Evans was manager. January 94, I think.

[Crazy Dave]

5 minutes ago, aRdja said:

He was the main guy at the back when I started supporting us. I thought he was great. 
 

3-5-2

James; Babb, Wright, Matteo; McAteer, Redknapp, Barnes, Bjornebye, McManaman; Collymore, Fowler

 

Decent team. Definitely underachieved.

Watching the old season review clips from YouTube I think I forgot how sensational McManaman was during the mid-nineties. 

[Dr Nowt]

Always remember Mark Wright shouting “You fucking beauty” as he raised the FA Cup in 92 and some BBC nonce apologising if there were any lip readers watching or similar.

[aRdja]

8 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

95/96 season?

 

I can just about remember a season or two earlier with Clough, Walters and Hutchinson as well. Think Nicol and Whelan were still there actually.

 

I have almost no recollection of the Souness era, my awareness started pretty much as soon as Evans was manager. January 94, I think.

1996/97 I think, *just* before Michael Owen broke out. 

[Jairzinho]

Just now, aRdja said:

1996/97 I think, *just* before Michael Owen broke out. 

Managed to miss us losing a cup final to United then. 

 

Fowler was absolutely phenomenal that season. Think he got about 30 in the league.

[easytoslip]

I remember watching Mark Wright when at Southampton, one in particular against Everton, I said to our Jimmy, Evertonian, he's getting his head to everything he looks pretty good, I thought he was he was a good player. 

[KMD7]

41 minutes ago, Jairzinho said:

I liked Mark Wright.

Me too

[VladimirIlyich]

59 minutes ago, belarus said:

Agree with all that, but you don’t half seem to have it in for Roy, mate.

I didn't have a problem with Roy Evans at the time but in hindsight he was our Colin Harvey in the way Harvey was a significant drop from Howard Kendall and they won fuck all with him. Evans really should have done better with what he had at his disposal and a solitary League Cup was a very poor return.

[Ronnie Whelan]

2 hours ago, Doctor Troy said:

It just seems strange that those players who were used to being part of a successful and professional squad with Ronnie Moran barking at them every time they would rest on their laurels would be happy about tits like Ruddock ruling the roost.

 

There's probably a lot of truth in that rumour though.

 

I think Ruddock was the biggest knobhead of the spice boys era.

The mad thing is Bugsy was still around. I think sometimes no more than in any work situation, a toxic environment can take over and be hard to stop. There were still a lot of big legends around the place, but you wonder did they all just lose the drive to challenge the likes of Ruddock and even the younger lads about how they behaved. Ultimately, you can have the old pros trying to set the standards, or Ronnie Moran roaring, but if the management is poor (Souey) or weak (Roy) it ultimately means little.

 

 

 

 

[aRdja]

5 hours ago, Jairzinho said:

Managed to miss us losing a cup final to United then. 

 

Fowler was absolutely phenomenal that season. Think he got about 30 in the league.

Definitely. He was my first football hero. Well him and Macca. Torres was the last the heartbreaking twat.

[General Dryness]

7 hours ago, Jairzinho said:

95/96 season?

 

I can just about remember a season or two earlier with Clough, Walters and Hutchinson as well. Think Nicol and Whelan were still there actually.

 

I have almost no recollection of the Souness era, my awareness started pretty much as soon as Evans was manager. January 94, I think.

95/96 would have mostly been Scales instead of Matteo if I remember correctly. I liked Scales, he was a cool head whenever things got frantic. Shame he was so afflicted by injuries towards the end of his time with us.

[DalyanPete]

Former football agent and music promoter Eric Hall has died aged 73 after a short battle with coronavirus.

Players on his books included Dennis Wise, Tim Sherwood, Paul Walsh, John Fashanu and Neil 'Razor' Ruddock

 

No surprise there then.

[The Guest]

Most if not all of these stories are complete bullshit.  The players tell them because it makes them money on the after dinner circuit of gets them on tv panel shows.  They will have been on the ale like most teams and some daft things will have happened.  I’ve never bought that they were passing a pound coin around the pitch all game or any of this other nonsense that comes out of certain players.  It’s so obvious Ruddock is a bullshitter.  We were a pretty good side and finished in the top 3/4 right through that period when Evans took over.  We had specific periods where we would lose our way and James would be throwing it in his own net but even then we would always have one of the best defensive records in the league.  If the players behaved the way some of them claim we would have been relegated.

[Pete]

11 hours ago, Doctor Troy said:

It just seems strange that those players who were used to being part of a successful and professional squad with Ronnie Moran barking at them every time they would rest on their laurels would be happy about tits like Ruddock ruling the roost.

 

There's probably a lot of truth in that rumour though.

 

I think Ruddock was the biggest knobhead of the spice boys era.

He's certainly the biggest these days. 

[Total Longo]

23 hours ago, belarus said:

Was it Houllier who asked him who he was when he first met him or something? Then Ruddock was fuming and started gobbing off to all his little bum boys around him? It was in the “oh aye yeah, of course you don’t know who I am” line of shite talking. Sure I’ve heard that somewhere.

Yeah that's true, mate. Brilliant by Houllier, frankly. 

[Total Longo]

13 hours ago, Dr Nowt said:

Always remember Mark Wright shouting “You fucking beauty” as he raised the FA Cup in 92 and some BBC nonce apologising if there were any lip readers watching or similar.

Used to see him all the time, his auld fella was a Scouser and ran a glazing business (imaginatively called The Wright Windows, i think) and lived on Pitville Avenue, about 100 yards from my Ma's house. Wright always used to let on as well.  Seemed like a sound fella.