How Liam Ridgewell left the Premier League behind and became a cult figure in MLS Exclusive interview: Ex-Aston Villa, Birmingham and WBA defender on life in the US, his love for Portland Timbers and a possible return home

If you’ve ever seen the comedy series ‘Portlandia’ you’ll be familiar with the stereotypes and cliches associated with the city on the Pacific North-West coast of the United States. Liam Ridgewell also became an embodiment of these stereotypes for a while – tattoos, beard, man bun. “I look back at photos now and think I shouldn’t have bothered,” the former Aston Villa, Birmingham and West Brom defender, now at the Portland Timbers, laughs. “Having two [tattoo] sleeves before I came here made me fit in a little easier.”

Portland, described by Ridgewell as being “like somewhere in the east end of London,” has been the 34-year-old’s home for the past four years. For a player who had, until then, played almost exclusively in the West Midlands it was a peculiar, and unexpected, move. By Ridgewell’s own admission, the Timbers weren’t a team on his radar when looking to leave West Brom in the summer of 2014. It was only through a 30th birthday jaunt to Las Vegas that he ended up visiting Portland in the first place.

“Right from the moment I came here, it was something different,” he says. “That was something I needed to try and ignite my career again.” And that’s what he did, with Ridgewell a key part of the Portland Timbers side that won, for the first time in the club’s history, the MLS Cup in 2016. He has since fallen out of the Timbers’ starting lineup this season, dropped by new manager Gio Savarese at the start of the year, but remains something of a cult figure for the world renowned Timbers Army.

Timbers Army hero

That, the Timbers Army, is one of the things that drew Ridgewell to Portland in the first place. “The very first game I watched, they were playing FC Dallas,” recalls Ridgewell, “and they were 2-0 down at half time. I couldn’t hear myself think when the players were coming in at half time for the fans singing. Not shouting or chucking things, as I was used to, but singing. I though ‘yeah, that could work for me.’”

‘You can’t even get in to a stadium with a glass bottle back home, let alone a chainsaw’

Indeed, the Timbers Army present the face of a modern, vibrant MLS. Across the division, there are supporters groups who have all in their own way contributed to moving the North American game into a new age, but none are as influential as the Timbers Army. From their colourful choreography to their sheer numbers, they are transcendental. Viral, on social media.

“The atmosphere is up there with anything you have in England,” Ridgewell expands. After all, not many clubs can boast a club mascot who just so happens to be a bearded lumberjack equipped with a fully functional chainsaw; Timber Joey. “You can’t even get in [to a football stadium] with a glass bottle back home, let alone a chainsaw,” the centre back notes.

Coming home

Every Timbers goalscorer is handed a log slice by Timber Joey and Ridgewell has had a table built out of the ones he has taken home. It’s stood in his back garden for the past three years, although it might not be staying there for much longer. Ridgewell has another year on his contract at Portland, but with the 34-year-old currently a peripheral figure under Savarese he admits an “adult” discussion will be required with the boss at the end of the season. “I’ve not played as much as I want this season and I want to finish my career back home,” he says.

Ridgewell’s £20 note controversy Ridgewell was described as “The vilest footballer in Britain” by the Sun newspaper in 2012 after being pictured squatting over a toilet and wiping his backside with a wad of £20 notes. He described the stunt as a joke to wind up a friend, but it did little for his reputation among fans in England.

Management is in his mind for when retirement eventually comes, but in ‘Thomas Royall’ Ridgewell co-owns a swimwear company with former Brentford midfielder Sam Saunders and former Chelsea captain John Terry. That keeps him busy. “Myself and Sam had been to pool parties in Vegas, Marbella, Ibiza… we were looking to do something outside of football for when football kicks us aside,” he explains. “We were thinking about hats and tracksuits, but that’s all been done.”

Notable for their distinctive blue band – “Sam came up with that” – they are now worn by Premier League stars like Raheem Sterling and Jamie Vardy.

The future of MLS

But while Ridgewell might soon be heading back over the Atlantic, others will surely be heading in the opposite direction. MLS has had no shortage of English superstars over the years – Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, just to name a few – but it’s players like Dom Dwyer, Jack Harrison and Bradley Wright-Phillips, players who looked to MLS as a genuine destination at a younger age, that provide the most encouraging precedent.

“I think that’s the way MLS needs to go,” says Ridgewell. “Yes, they need a couple stars to keep people talking, but they need to get youngsters in and develop them. Look at what Vancouver did with Alphonso Davies (who moved to Bayern Munich for $13.5 million in July).” Ridgewell is keen to stress that MLS isn’t necessarily easier for young players, highlighting the stresses of travelling such long distances for away games. “I used to moan about three-hour bus journeys and then you come here and you have a five-hour layover flight to New York,” he says.

Nonetheless, MLS offers an opportunity for young players who have found their route to the top obstructed. Ridgewell stands as an example too. He might have moved Stateside in his 30s, but he will return, as per his own word, a champion. He could still pick up another MLS Cup winners medal, even if it’s as a substitute, with the Portland Timbers currently competing in this season’s play-offs.

Another giant log slice from Timber Joey, though, might pose more of a problem. “I’m not sure they would fit in the suitcase back to London.”