Premier League

Ruddock shares story from his time at West Ham

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Image for Ruddock shares story from his time at West Ham

Neil Ruddock shared the story behind his and Ian Wright’s infamous celebration during West Ham’s clash with Southampton in 1998.

The former Hammers defender appeared on Goals on Sunday and was asked by Ben Shepard to explain the celebration he was involved with during that clash, that saw him push Wright to the floor.

Ruddock explained that the pair had planned to mock then Saints forward Paolo di Canio’s push on referee Paul Alcock the week before and went ahead with that plan once Wright opened the scoring.

The retired footballer pointed out that Di Canio ended up joining the Hammers shortly after and didn’t forget about the incident, with him quickly calling Ruddock and Wright crazy upon arriving.

“I had two years at West Ham and it was the funniest time of my life,” said Ruddock on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday (12:40, Sunday April 7th).

“We got to Europe twice, there was Stuart Pearce or Julian Dicks left-back, me, Rio, Lomas…

“Yes (about a celebration with Ian Wright’s celebration against Southampton) that was about Paul Alcock, god bless him, he isn’t with us anymore, I think it was just after the Di Canio situation.

“So Ian Wright shared that when he scored, not if, he was going to ‘do the Alcock’ to Di Canio, so he scored within two minutes and I pushed him over.

“Then like 10 days after I think we signed Di Canio, we went in front of the FA and had to give some money to charity.

“I don’t remember the exact game but he (Alcock) was assistant referee and said absolutely brilliant (about the celebration) it was hilarious, and I hope he is still laughing.

“But we signed Di Canio and everyone said he’d forget about it, but he said ‘You two are crazy’.”

OPINION

It’s always good to hear Ruddock speak on his days at West Ham, and this story about how Di Canio reacted to Wright’s mocking celebration will no doubt have a few supporters cracking a smile. It’s quite funny that at the time Ruddock and Wright playfully mocked Di Canio’s ridiculous decision to push Alcock in a previous game, only for him to become their new teammate shortly after. While Di Canio comes across a fiery individual on and off the field, it’s good to hear he took Wright’s celebration in good humour. For the forward to only call the pair crazy before moving on, is probably the best the duo could have hoped for. If Di Canio had opted to hold a grudge then who knows how his move to the Hammers would have panned out. While 1998 was a few years ago, it’s fair to say Hammers supporters would love to see more characters like Wright, Ruddock and Di Canio be in their current dressing room.

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