John Thomas Gordon Ruddy, better known as Thomas Ruddy, is an English goalkeeper who was born on October 24, 1986 in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. Nicknamed “Ice”, John Ruddy earned a call-up for the England Under-19 football team in 2005, after being under the observation of Ray Clemence, England goalkeeping coach. , Everton manager David Moyes expects him to be picked as the goalkeeper of the England national team in the future.
John Ruddy settled down as a goalkeeper after trying out many positions in his youth. He made his professional debut as a goalkeeper for Cambridge United in the last game of the 2003-04 season on May 8, 2004 at Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road stadium, where he kept a clean sheet and made a penalty save. In the 2004-05 season, John Ruddy made a total of 42 appearances for Cambridge United and was successful in keeping a clean sheet 12 time. In the summer of the 2004-05 season, he made a big move in the league by shifting to Everton Football Club.
In September 2005 John Ruddy was loaned out to Walsall, where he made four appearances for the club in League One, the third highest division overall in the English football league system. Soon, he came back to Everton, following which he had stints with Rushden & Diamonds and Chester City on loan.
The first team match for John Ruddy as an Everton goalkeeper came on February 2006 against Blackburn Rovers. He proved his goalkeeping skills, by not letting the Rovers score, eventually leading to a 1-0 victory for Everton. He was loaned out again in September 2006 to Stockport County on a one-month deal, which was extended to three months due to his exceptional performance. Following a short stint with Wrexham in 2007, John Ruddy was again loaned out to Bristol City for a week to help the team move closer to promotion.
In 2008, John Ruddy returned to Stockport County to start his second spell with the club and played remarkably well, managing not to concede any goals in five of his six appearances. In recognition to his stunning performances for Stockport County, John Ruddy was named the League Two Player of the Month for March. He was chosen ahead of Andy Bishop, Keith Andrews, and Aaron Mclean for the award. Stockport County boss Jim Gannon acknowledged his immense contribution to the team with his fantastic saves and predicts that he is destined for great things.
As of May 2008, John Ruddy has made 13 appearances for Stockport County in his second term on loan with the club.
