Famous football hardman Neil 'Razor' Ruddock spoke to the Express & Star at Bar Sport Cannock, where he is watching England's Euro 2024 semi-final clash. He spoke to reporter Paul Jenkins about England's opponents the Netherlands, his prediction for the match - and how the game has changed since his day.
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00:00We're here at Bar Sport for the Express and Star, the build-up to the England-Holland game
00:06with a famous Neil Razor Ruddock, veteran of over 350 football league appearances.
00:13League appearances, five by doing one game.
00:16And one England cup.
00:18Well, I've played every level.
00:20Right.
00:2150-point goal.
00:22Yeah.
00:23Someone told me this earlier, that's why I know my stats.
00:26Otherwise I wouldn't have a clue.
00:28And you're doing some talking after dinner, speaking around the game.
00:31Big game tonight, isn't it?
00:33Massive game, man.
00:34Yeah.
00:35How do you think it's going to go?
00:36Thing is, as I look at it, there's only one player in the Dutch team gets in our team
00:42that mandate.
00:44It's like the Switzerland game the other day.
00:46Four months ago, when England...
00:48If England played Switzerland four months ago, we'd say 4-5-6-0.
00:53Because we haven't played well yet.
00:57But we've got an appearance.
00:59We have got a lot of appearances.
01:01We're all good players.
01:02We know our players.
01:03We know how well they can play.
01:05So we have got a game to soak our hands tonight.
01:09A lot of people are saying England are overdue a good appearance.
01:12That's it.
01:13Beating someone well, hoping it could be tonight.
01:16It needs to be tonight, doesn't it?
01:17Well, I think the better team we've played, the better we are.
01:20Teams that we have played, they all sit back and try and do us on the break.
01:25Now the Dutch are all good footballers.
01:27The Spanish are all good footballers.
01:29So the teams that come at you, it's better to play against the Lions.
01:33When they park the bus, start to flag it.
01:36That's why we've been playing slow balls around the back.
01:39It looks like the teams are sitting back.
01:42Dutch, Spanish, they come at us.
01:44Then we can find the gaps and hopefully eat that.
01:47When the tournament started, everyone was saying about our defence.
01:52We're going to struggle.
01:53It's all about our front six.
01:55Our front six haven't played yet.
01:57So the better team you play against, hopefully the front six will come into the road.
02:02Has football changed a lot tactically in the way it's played since you retired from the game?
02:07Yeah, because you can't kick anyone.
02:11You can't sort of put your stamp on the game.
02:15When I played, I could kick someone's referee and go,
02:17right, next time you're in the book.
02:19Nowadays, they get sent off for that kick.
02:23The art of tackling is out of the game.
02:25When I played, I could tackle.
02:27That was a skill.
02:28The game has evolved.
02:31They're all fitter.
02:33They're all stronger.
02:34But I prefer my day.
02:36What was it like playing for England?
02:38You might have only had one full cup.
02:40Played at every level.
02:41Yes, under 21s.
02:43The best thing I've ever done when I played for England,
02:45the best thing I've done playing for England,
02:46I made my dad proud of me.
02:48The dam was in the ground.
02:49It made my dad proud of me.
02:50But I was England B captain.
02:52Played for England B.
02:53But I had a past of Des Walker and Tony Adams in front of me.
02:57Better players than me.
02:59So you have to hold your hands up.
03:00You've got better players in front of you.
03:02But I had a chance to play against Nigeria.
03:04I was in the 96th Euro squad.
03:06I got injured.
03:08And then Sol Campbell took my place.
03:10And that was the end of my England career.
03:12That was a decent tournament.
03:13I had a good summer off.
03:14I went to Marbella with a lad.
03:16That's alright.
03:17I had a good summer off.
03:18When you play that Premier League stuff,
03:22we go international stuff.
03:25Premier League, European football,
03:30European Cup football, stuff.
03:31But you go international football.
03:34Because the other team, they're good players as well.
03:36We think like England, we're all good players.
03:39But the other team you play against,
03:40they're good players.
03:41Good coaches.
03:42That's a tough game.
03:43One player we're following from our patches,
03:45Duke Bellingham, Sturbridge Bourne,
03:47Black Country.
03:48What do you think of him?
03:49He's 21.
03:50He's got the world at his feet.
03:52He ain't bad.
03:55I wish he'd played at a real warm-up team.
03:58No, he's great.
03:59I think the best thing about him is that
04:02when he speaks, he's level-headed.
04:05He always goes over to his family.
04:09He's a rather good player as well.
04:11He's got the world at his feet.
04:13I just hope we don't burn out.
04:15Because when I was at Liverpool,
04:17we had Michael Owen and Bobby Fowler.
04:19When they were 28, they were both burnt out.
04:22So I just hope they look after him.
04:25It's awful tough.
04:26People think about the money.
04:28All the money they're earning,
04:30they should be doing this, doing that.
04:32Everybody's different.
04:34I mean, their bodies are different.
04:36Sometimes your body can't take it.
04:38So for me, I think Madrid, they look after him.
04:42When they play the lesser teams,
04:44hopefully they give him a rest.
04:45When you're a kid, you want to play every game.
04:47So for the older he gets, they'll rest him,
04:50save his legs.
04:51We don't want him to get burnt out when he's 20.
04:55Enjoy the build-up to the game here at Bar Sport.
04:58I know you're going around talking to a lot of people,
05:00having some pictures taken.
05:01Just one final thing.
05:02Score prediction for tonight.
05:06Football will win.
05:07I'll go 2-0.
05:08What are you going?
05:09I'm going England win.
05:11I'm not going to score.
05:13That's me being positive.
05:14Alright, 2-1.