Catching up with... Ruel Fox

“I’m a humble guy and I know it’s many people’s dream to play professional football. So, I am very appreciative for the career I had and the size of the clubs I got to play for,” reflects Ruel Fox.

Born in Ipswich on 14 January, 1968, Fox began his professional career by scoring 25 goals in 219 appearances for Norwich City between 1986 and 1994. He signed for Newcastle United in February, 1994 with then-Magpies manager Kevin Keegan describing him as, 'the best player in his position in the country' at that time. After netting 14 times in 71 matches for the Tynesiders, Fox was on the move again in October, 1995, when he signed for us

He made his Spurs debut in a Premier League match against Nottingham Forest that month – the first of 129 appearances for us prior to an August, 2000 move to West Bromwich Albion. He netted 15 times during his Spurs career and featured in three League Cup matches during the 1998/99 season en route to us winning the competition.

Since retiring from playing professional football in 2002, Fox has been running his own personal fitness business and also offers one-on-one football coaching sessions as well as being chairman of non-league club, Whitton United.

First of all Ruel, can you tell us how your move from Norwich City to Newcastle United came about back in 1994?

Ruel: "It was a bit of a surprise. I was driving to training one day and I got a phone call from the chairman, asking if I could go and see him. He started the conversation by offering me a new contract. I said I didn’t want to sign one and then he mentioned ‘oh, by the way, Newcastle have made a bid for you’. I’m not sure why they offered me the new contract as I’d signed one six months prior. Maybe the idea was to get me to sign it and then to ask Newcastle for more money or maybe they genuinely wanted me to stay? Anyway, I was given permission to travel up to Newcastle to speak to Terry McDermott and Kevin Keegan. I didn’t go to training, I literally went on the next available flight to Newcastle. When I got up there and heard about the plans for the club and the direction they wanted to go, it was a no-brainer to join them. Kevin didn’t want me to go home, just in case I changed my mind. So I stayed up there, which meant I was wearing the same clothes for two days. He eventually got someone to send some clothes up to me before I went back home to get my stuff after watching Newcastle play Luton in the FA Cup."

You must have been delighted with your first half-season at Newcastle in 1993/94, appearing in all 14 league matches after you signed and scoring two goals as the Magpies finished third in the Premier League?

Ruel: "We had a really good team. That was Newcastle’s first season back in the top flight and we made it into Europe. That was a real achievement. We had a great squad and recruitment was really good while I was there."

And in your first full season at Newcastle, you scored 12 goals in 51 appearances…

Ruel: "That was another good season… I think we finished sixth in the Premier League. Kevin Keegan never rested on his laurels. The idea was to keep bringing in players to improve the squad and to create competition and that’s what he did."

What attracted you to make the move south to sign for us?

Ruel: "Unlike my move from Norwich to Newcastle, which was out of the blue, I got a bit of an inkling about the possibility of moving to Spurs because there were stories in the press. We’d just signed Keith Gillespie at Newcastle, which meant more competition for places. That was fine… I was quite happy there. For Newcastle, there was the opportunity to get double what they paid for me a year earlier. I remember Kevin saying to me it was my choice to stay or go. There were a number of factors in me eventually joining Tottenham including family reasons. I wanted the opportunity to play regularly, which looked like more of a possibility at Tottenham. And also, I was joining another huge club. I’d had a really good previous season with Newcastle, scoring goals, making assists. And the season before, I was one of the main assist-makers in the division. I was happy to fight for my place at Newcastle but equally, I didn’t want to be sitting on the bench when I was playing well. We had four wingers during a period in football when you didn’t have ‘squad rotation’. You were dropped!"

Ironically, one of your first Spurs appearances came in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United on 29 October, 1995…

Ruel: "That’s right. I think that was my third appearance for Spurs. It often happens doesn’t it, playing against your old club soon after leaving them? I also remember playing for Norwich against Newcastle not long before moving to Tyneside!"

Your first Spurs goal came in a 3-2 Premier League away win at Coventry City in November, 1995. Any memories of that one?

Ruel: "Yes. I’d not been at Spurs that long. I was playing wide with Teddy Sheringham and Chris Armstrong up front. My goal came from a free-kick which Teddy headed on and I volleyed it in. I remember the goal celebration – we were rubbing our thighs which was something we’d been doing in training. The celebration came from the TV show Shooting Stars. It was great to score in a win. You always want to get off to a good start when you go to a new club."

And you must have been pleased with your performance – which included an assist – in our 2-1 Premier League win against Arsenal later that month?

Ruel: "We played well in that game. I never got too nervous or excited for the derbies during my career. I was always quite relaxed and I think that was a good thing. I played against Nigel Winterburn throughout my career, who I was up against that day. I felt comfortable going into the game and I was able to put in the cross for Teddy’s goal on the day and we won 2-1. Chris Armstrong got the winner, I think. So, it was a good day."

You played your part in our League Cup success in 1998/99, appearing in three matches, including wins against Liverpool and Manchester United. How do you reflect on that cup run that season?

Ruel: "It was a bit of a bitter-sweet experience for me. I’d played in some of the previous rounds of the competition as you say and my form was good. So, to miss the final was very disappointing. You’re part of a team group of course and I was happy to play my part in the Club reaching the final. But yes, it was a hard one to take not playing at Wembley in a final."

How do you look back on your time with us overall?

Ruel: "I loved my time at Tottenham… I loved my time at all my clubs. I suppose the only thing about Spurs looking back is that, given the talented squad we had, we never really achieved what we probably could and should have done. You think about some of the players we had when I was there… Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton, Sol Campbell… quality players and the list goes on! On our day, we were a match for anyone but we just couldn’t get results and performances on a consistent enough basis."

What prompted your departure to West Bromwich Albion in August, 2000?

Ruel: "Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson, Laurie Cunningham and Remi Moses were players I looked up to as a young, black player. So, it was special going on to play for the same club they’d done so well at. Gary Megson was a big factor in me going there too, as a former team-mate of mine at Norwich. I was speaking to three or four other clubs at the time, including Sam Allardyce at Bolton. But as soon as I spoke to Gary – someone who I always got on well with as a person – my mind was made up. And, of course the bonus was meeting Cyrille when I signed for West Brom. That was a huge honour for me."

Finally, can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to since retiring from playing?

Ruel: "I have been running exercise boot camps for the last 15 years or so in the Ipswich area. I also offer one-on-one football coaching sessions. I work with quite a few academy players from both Ipswich and Norwich. I work with them off-season and also during the season if they need to work on a particular aspect of their game away from training. I’ve been doing that for the last five or six years. I also run wellbeing walks for the local council. On top of that, I am chairman of Whitton United. That’s where football started for me, so I’ve always had links there. It’s a full-on role. It’s a typical grassroots club, so I can be doing anything from working on the pitch, fixing the fences to doing admin stuff. We’ve got a clubhouse and a bar to run. And our manager stepped down recently, so I’ve been involved on the football side of things more too. It’s certainly full-on but the good thing about it is you see the smiles on the faces of kids involved with this club and we do good things in the community. So as long as that positivity is there, all the effort is worthwhile."