At times this season, John Ruddy has enjoyed possibly the best view in the house. “We have had some games where I am literally just watching in awe of what they are doing,” the Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper says. His team-mates may have lit up the Championship but the ever-present Ruddy has brought plenty to the table too, notably 15 clean sheets, more than any other team in the country.
He is engaging and erudite, and makes tremendous company at the club’s training complex during a conversation that spans from never giving up on playing for England to being at ease on the lawn mower. But inside 45 seconds he inevitably stumbles upon the P-word. “I think the club and the hierarchy, in terms of the board and the owners, are fully focused on developing and progressing the club and obviously with that comes … promotion,” Ruddy says. It is difficult not to imagine Wolves returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2012; they have not lost since October.
If and when the runaway leaders get over the line, it is hoped Carl Ikeme will be at the heart of any promotion party. Ikeme returned abnormal blood tests before being diagnosed with acute leukaemia in July. That crushing news prompted Wolves to revisit a move for Ruddy, a player they previously sounded out to provide competition for Ikeme, last season’s No 1. He signed four days later as Ikeme began a course of chemotherapy.
“It was difficult circumstances because I am pleased that I had joined an ambitious club but also the circumstances surrounding that were very delicate as well,” Ruddy says. “Having competed against Carl for a number of years I know what a very good goalkeeper he is, and a great guy as well. Everyone at the club is still supporting him in whatever aspect he needs and will continue to do so. It puts everything into perspective; football is a game at the end of the day, and your families, health and livelihoods always come first. With Carl and his family, everyone is just making sure he is on the long road to recovery.”
Ikeme is a Wolves legend, his name among those on a glass “100 club” plaque – featuring players past and present including the captain Danny Batth and Conor Coady – in reception at the training base. In December, before Wolves’ win at St Andrew’s and two days before treatment that is expected to run until April began, Ikeme took the squad by surprise. “We had reported to a hotel in Birmingham city centre and he suddenly came in as we were having lunch,” Ruddy says. “I think he had been texting a member of the staff just to sort it out but he never told any of the players. It was brilliant to see him.”
There have been auctioned signed shirts and a 24-hour penalty shootout at Molineux, as well as a giant flag on matchdays carrying an image of Ikeme. But there has been a swell of support far beyond Wolverhampton; Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen was among those to send his best wishes and more than £110,000 has been raised for Cure Leukaemia. “Everyone’s thoughts are always with Carl and you know it makes this season even more special if we can achieve what we want to achieve,” Ruddy says. “I am sure Carl will be a part of any celebrations that we have, because he has been a fantastic servant and is an integral part of the club.”
Listening to the former Norwich goalkeeper talk about his thirst to improve, it becomes apparent that he is a slightly obsessive professional, as he says himself. He likes working with the “really relaxed but also very demanding” Nuno Espirito Santo, a former goalkeeper at Porto and Dynamo Moscow, though his manager stays away from throwing on the gloves these days, allowing his goalkeeping coach, Rui Barbosa, to take control of that department. “It’s brilliant as a player for me to say my goalkeeping coach has worked with the likes of Iker Casillas, Ederson, Jan Oblak and Cássio from Brazil – it’s not a bad CV is it?” Ruddy says. But in between keeping fit to ensure he returned in the “best shape ever” there was another, less obvious, place in which to find him last summer.
“I was gardening, knocking about on the lawn mower,” he says. “We had a bit of lawn relaid so I was making sure I was out there watering that for about 12 hours a day. It was a bit of a nightmare, but we got there in the end. I don’t mind pottering around the garden. I like it, and to be fair I have got a decent lawn mower. I can just sit on that with my headphones and away I go. When I am on the lawn mower, it’s nice and chilled. There might be a career as a groundsman yet.”
For now the focus is on clinching his third promotion out of the second tier, with Wolves hosting Nottingham Forest on Saturday after an FA Cup third-round replay at Swansea on Wednesday night. At 31, Ruddy has made more than 400 appearances but he is happy as essentially the father figure of a youthful, diverse and hugely talented group. “There are lads in the dressing room like Ruben Vinagre and Morgan Gibbs-White who are closer to my son in age than to me,” he says.
As for adding to that sole England cap, against Italy in 2012, Ruddy believes he has to be playing in the top flight to be considered by Gareth Southgate. “It is the proudest moment of my career being able to represent my country, something I’ll never ever turn my back on and something I’ll never think is out of reach because I believe in my own ability,” Ruddy says. “And, where I want to go as a player will hopefully – eventually – take me back to the pinnacle that is representing England.”
Talking points
• The reported figures surrounding Jack Rodwell’s contract at Sunderland make for grim reading. Thought to have signed a £70,000-a-week deal upon joining from Manchester City for £10m in August 2014, he has since made 76 appearances, 53 of which were starts. That would mean Sunderland have shelled out £299,000 per appearance, and £4,700 for every minute he has played. No wonder the Championship’s bottom club are in such a sorry mess.
• Birmingham City no longer have to worry about midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld’s future. The 27-year-old fans’ favourite was a target for the club’s former manager Gary Rowett at Derby but has signed a new two-year contract.
• The relief when the Oyston family put Blackpool up for sale was palpable, described by the supporters’ trust as though Christmas and birthdays had come early, all at once. Two months down the line Sam Oyston, son of the chairman, Karl, has been named as the new chief executive.
• Halfway through the transfer window, various clubs have bolstered their ranks. But at Notts County confirmation that the on-loan Nottingham Forest winger Jorge Grant was staying until the end of the season was the best news fans could have wished for. The 23-year-old has been a revelation, scoring 17 goals, and retaining him enhances County’s hopes of gaining promotion out of League Two.
