An Interview with…John Ruddy

I’m really excited about this interview as John is a current Premiership player. He has kindly taken some time to send me his answers between training sessions with Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the resumption of Premier League football.

First of all, how have you been coping during lockdown?
To be honest, I really enjoyed the unexpected time off. It was time with the family that myself and us as footballers would never get.
At home, the kids were off school so it is probably the longest time we have ever spent together consecutively and as I said I really enjoyed it.

What have you been doing in training since you returned?
Since we started back, we had the first week of individual hour-long sessions followed in the second week by small group training.
We have now been back in full-contact and it’s been a seamless transition. The club deserve a lot of credit in the way that they have adapted and prepared us for coming back and the protocols they have put in place have been exceptional. From the set-up with the gym equipment to providing us with food on a daily basis and food parcels once a week too, it’s been a great effort.

You made a great start to your professional career, saving a penalty and keeping a clean sheet for Cambridge United. What are your memories of the day?
To say I was nervous is an understatement! I had been told a couple of days before by the manager Herve Renard, so I could prepare in a way.
Once the occasion arrives, it is very difficult to know the emotions that you go through. I remember for the first five to ten minutes I was fortunate that they never had a shot on target because I’m not sure what would’ve happened!
My goal kicks were struggling to reach the halfway line and even getting any height on the ball was an issue but once that initial ‘settling-in’ period was over then I felt much more comfortable.
The penalty was surreal. I can’t remember the incident or who conceded it but I remembered Matt Lockwood took it. He had a very good left foot, and I got the feeling he was going to hit it firmly to my right.
It was actually a re-taken penalty I saved too. The encroachment rule had come into the game fairly recently and I think the referee was looking for it to be fair. Lockwood scored the first penalty and the referee indicated it had to be retaken and I’d gone the right way for the first so it turned into a battle of mind games between us I guess.
The second penalty I’d decided early I was going to go the same way, luckily so did Lockwood and I thought at the time it was a super save.
It was only afterwards when I’ve seen pictures of it that I realised I’d actually gone slightly passed it and the ball actually ended up hitting my chest, but it didn’t matter as it was an amazing moment for me. The journey on the way back to Cambridge was enjoyable that’s for sure!!

Your debut was on the final day of the 2003/04 season and you then became Cambridge’s number one for the following campaign. Cambridge were relegated but you put in some great performances over the season. What was it like playing regularly at such a young age in a team that just couldn’t get a run of results together?
Obviously it was a fantastical opportunity for me to be the number one in a League Two team, but it nearly never happened.
I remember the club offered me my first professional contract and they offered me £150 a week with £150 per game bonus. I knew one of the other young lads was on £300 a week with a game bonus so I went back and asked for the same. The club said ‘no’ and they made Herve come to me and tell me that if I didn’t sign the deal they had offered that I wouldn’t be playing. This was after Herve had told me a couple of weeks before the season that I would be starting.
I remember we played Norwich in our last pre-season game, we lost 3-0 or 3-1, but that was a great experience on its own.
The season as you say was a bit bittersweet for me because I had done well, a 17-year old in his debut season in a league where the strikers were desperate to let you know you were in men’s football now.
We kept 11 clean sheets I think, which isn’t terrible for a relegated team! The season for us was disappointing as it obviously resulted in relegation. We started with Herve who was probably a little ahead of this time in the way he wanted us to play. He didn’t want us to play typical ‘League Two football’ but it was difficult to try and get the ball down in a league where physicality was the main attribute and the pitches just didn’t allow it.
Then Steve Thompson came in half-way through the season and his methods were somewhat more ‘old-school’ shall we say.
It was difficult for the players to go from beginning to transition and understand what Herve was asking and then shift back into what many people were used to.
Like any league at any level though, if you don’t take chances to win games, concede too many goals and you can’t string a run of results together then you will suffer. Unfortunately that what happened for us.

I read that you had a trial at Manchester United in 2004 but nothing came of it. How do trials work exactly?
I went up to Carrington in the November initially and trained with the first-team squad at Manchester United for a few days. I then went back to Cambridge just before Christmas and played for the reserve team in a game against Bury at Gigg Lane.
I think the trial came about because a lot of clubs take an interest in young players playing league football and do their scouting on them.
If the chance arises, they want to have a closer look and to be fair for a club like Cambridge, if Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson come asking you don’t usually turn them down!
It was an incredible experience though. To be able to train and see players such as Giggs, Scholes, Keane, Ronaldo, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy and the way they worked and the quality they had was invaluable.
Unfortunately I got injured in the friendly I played and it meant I would miss a month for Cambridge too. United decided against taking me but it’s a memory I will always cherish, especially growing up as a Manchester United fan!

A move to Everton came after the 2005 season but you only made one appearance in your five years at Goodison Park. How easy is it to keep focussed when first-team opportunities are so hard to come by?
It was extremely difficult and by far the most frustrating and disappointing time of my career. If I’m honest with myself, I don’t think I should have joined Everton and I don’t think they would sign me if we were to rewind time. This is purely for the fact that the gulf in standard, quality and expectation was so big that I genuinely didn’t understand it.
I’d only been playing in goal for four years, going from starting out in goal at 14 to signing for a team who has just qualified for the Champions League at 18. It was a whirlwind and unfortunately for me, I never had anyone who could or would explain that to me.

To go from playing regularly to not being anywhere near was tough.
I remember that I was made to play with the under-19’s and that was tough to take. I’d gone from playing League Two football week-in, week-out, to now seemingly taking two steps back at back with a youth team!
That was the main reason for my loan moves. I didn’t want to stagnate and just become another training goalkeeper. I wanted to continue my development and play first-team football, so Everton and I jumped at almost every loan that came up!
With hindsight, I think we should have chosen moves with a bit more care, working out what loan moves would have had a bigger benefit for me. Ultimately I just wanted to play football!

Nine separate loan moves in that time, did you enjoy the moves or find it disruptive to be uprooted continually?
Everton did their best to make it easier by having me train with them for the first part of the week, as long as there were no midweek games.
I would then go to my loan club on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday, train and play with them. In terms of disruption it was never too bad.

Paul Lambert came in for you at Norwich and you were promoted in your first season there. What was Lambert like as a boss?
Paul was brilliant. I struggled when I first joined Norwich and he made it clear that I was his number one and that he would back me.
That gave me massive confidence and enabled me to settle in much better. In terms of on the training ground, he never got too involved on the pitch. Most of the tactical sessions were taken by Ian Culverhouse, who was a top-quality coach.
Paul would join in some sessions and run the show too which always brought a good laugh.

Paul really came alive though on match-day. An hour before kick off, he just went into the zone, dead-aim focus and made sure we that knew our jobs, what he expected and demanded us to deliver.
If I recall correctly, I don’t think we lost back-to-back games in my first season at Norwich, which for a team that had come up from League One was exceptional!

You were sent off for a foul on Ramires against Chelsea in your first season of Premier League football. What do you remember of the incident?
To be fair, I genuinely didn’t think he would get to the ball and I thought we had players covering round. My only red card to date and I still think it was harsh!

Roy Hodgson called you up for his Euro 2012 squad. Can you remember when you got told that you’d made the squad?
It was the morning after the season had finished. We’d just beaten Villa in the last game of the season at Carrow Road and the squad went out with their wives and girlfriends. It turned into quite a late and heavy one!
I woke up the next morning and had a phone call about 10 o’clock from the great Ray Clemence and thought it was a wind up! I soon came around and realised it was for real and was in complete shock.
Obviously during the season there had been whispers, but I never really believed that I would actually make the squad, so that was a very special moment for me and my family.

Injury then prevented you going to the Finals. Was this the worst moment of your career?
Yes and no. Yes, because it prevented me an opportunity to be part of a major tournament with my country. No, because it also made me appreciate how far I had come. To even be in contention, let alone selected, meant that if I carried on performing and working hard, the opportunity would still be there in the coming season.

Your only England performance came against Italy in a friendly. You came on as a half-time substitute for Jack Butland. What do you remember of the game?
I remember being disappointed that I didn’t start the game. Jack Butland started ahead of me and I felt that due to the previous season, I should have merited a start.
It may sound very pedantic but being able to walk out with everyone else and sing the national anthem was the best bit about representing your country and I never got that experience. Although the fans behind my goal in the second half did sing the national anthem at the start and I sang along with them so I guess I got to in a way.
The game itself was a bit of a blur. I remember I afterwards I felt like I’d done everything I needed to do and done it well. I’ve never watched it back though and I’m not even sure if I can get it anywhere, so if anyone reading this happens to have a copy I’d be grateful to receive one!

You had a great time at Norwich, putting in some great performances. What are your favourite memories of your time at the club?
I think that the two promotions are obviously the stand-out moments.
The first one in my first year under Paul was special because no-one expected it. The second one was the Play-Off Final victory which if you could guarantee a way to go up then that would be it! It was an amazing day and occasion. Given that at Christmas of that season I think we were lying mid-table, so to finish how we did and then take that momentum into the play-offs was brilliant!

You have been at Wolves for the past three years and are now second choice behind Rui Patricio. How is the set-up different to Norwich?
They are two very different clubs. Wolves obviously have Chinese owners who have invested vast amounts of money but have done it in the right way. They have invested into the infrastructure of the club instead of just concentrating on the playing side of it.
Even in my three years here, the difference is incredible. The training complex, the pitches and the stadium have all improved significantly.
It’s a credit to Fosun for doing it the right way.

Norwich on the other hand, as every one knows, can’t really afford to splash money like Wolves. The owners simply don’t have the resources.
What the clubs do have in common though is that they have invested in the right areas. Norwich re-invested in the training ground which was in desperate need of an update. It is now a fantastic place for the first-team and academy alike to go and work and improve. (My son trains up there once a week which is why I know!)
Norwich’s focus is now giving younger players a platform to improve and then move on for a sizeable profit. If we’re being honest, that is what every club outside the top six look to do. Develop players, give them a platform and then sell them.
Stuart Webber has done a fantastic job since going in and the first-team and the club in general is reaping the rewards for that.

Finally, what advice would you give to a young, aspiring goalkeeper?
Self-belief is massive. Everyone will tell you that goalkeeping is a lonely position, so that means your mental strength and ability to overcome a mistake will be invaluable.
Never dwell on a mistake, certainly not in a game. Move on and wait for the next action. Don’t go and ‘chase’ the game. Allow it to come to you and trust your goalkeeping instincts to kick in when they need to.
Another big piece of advice is ‘Find what works for you’. Too many times in my career have I been too eager to impress my coach and adapt my game to what they want. A coach’s job is make you better and if they suggest things that do that then take them on board. If you try something and it doesn’t work for you then don’t do it, you have to feel comfortable in what you are doing. After all, a coach won’t be the one making the save in a game so be comfortable, confident and composed and then more importantly…ENJOY!!!

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