Ron 'Chopper' Harris was my favourite hatchet man - v skilled at kicking players off the ball. Love to see him or the Leeds players of the 70s play nowadays. What amazed me was how players seemed to accept getting lumps kicked out of them.
As Jimmy Greaves said, there was nothing you could do about it when Billy Bremner raked his studs down the back of your shin when you were waiting to come on to the pitch. How about Claudio Gentile- "Sometimes the man gets past me, sometimes the ball, but never both"
The players of the 70's had no option but to get up and get on with it, the protection they received from the referee was greatly reduced from what you see today.
The Leeds team of the 70's were in the words of Brian Clough 'a disgrace'. It was bad enough they played in a dirty fashion, but it was made worse, in my opinion, by the fact that when they wanted they could play good football (i.e. the fouling & cheating was unnecessary, they could have won fairly).
The Barcelona of the last few years remind me in way of Leeds of the 70's, they are not dirty like Leeds but feign injury & dive, which spoils your impression of them.
In terms of outright level of violence - Kevin Muscat. In terms of constant niggly little fouls - Shearer of Kevin Davies. Special mention for Michael Brown too.
In recent times, Gennaro Gattuso - the heir to Gentile, never a flat out nasty thug but carried out a stream of niggling fouls, elbows left in, going in slightly too hard and over the top and would then protest every free-kick given against him.
In the UK - players like Viv Anderson and Graeme Sounness. Souness worked on the principle that referees would rarely book or send players off for an early foul, so he made a habit of going in and intimidating opponents early on. But then he played for Liverpool the media darling's...
Muscat....I doubt whether his own team-mates even liked him.
Others who knew what they were doing....Stewart Robson, Gerry Gow, Steve Perryman, Paul Miller, Graham Roberts, Bryan Robson, Mick Kennedy, Billy Gilbert, Martin Kuhl, Noel Blake, Roy Keane, Micky Droy.
These days I couldn't really name one. Stephen Hunt would only come under the category of "niggly"
Some of you are young, or have short memories. Muscat is an angel compared to Mark Dennis, Terry Hurlock and Graeme Souness. Goikoetxea was the filthiest bastard I have ever seen play football though. An absolute, utter animal.
Comments
The players of the 70's had no option but to get up and get on with it, the protection they received from the referee was greatly reduced from what you see today.
The Leeds team of the 70's were in the words of Brian Clough 'a disgrace'. It was bad enough they played in a dirty fashion, but it was made worse, in my opinion, by the fact that when they wanted they could play good football (i.e. the fouling & cheating was unnecessary, they could have won fairly).
The Barcelona of the last few years remind me in way of Leeds of the 70's, they are not dirty like Leeds but feign injury & dive, which spoils your impression of them.
In terms of constant niggly little fouls - Shearer of Kevin Davies.
Special mention for Michael Brown too.
If individual acts Timar on Todorov and Blizzard on Basey are up there.
In terms of constant niggling the elbows of Shearer and Kevin Davies in recent times.
In the UK - players like Viv Anderson and Graeme Sounness. Souness worked on the principle that referees would rarely book or send players off for an early foul, so he made a habit of going in and intimidating opponents early on. But then he played for Liverpool the media darling's...
Hunter.
Chopper and Hacker Harris.
Hockey.
Others who knew what they were doing....Stewart Robson, Gerry Gow, Steve Perryman, Paul Miller, Graham Roberts, Bryan Robson, Mick Kennedy, Billy Gilbert, Martin Kuhl, Noel Blake, Roy Keane, Micky Droy.
These days I couldn't really name one. Stephen Hunt would only come under the category of "niggly"
i would i think find it very difficult to be in the same room as without confronting him for what he done to matty holmes
Hurlock was a beast an orrible fecka oc a player but i always wanted him to play for us
I always also thought rhino stephens was a dirty bstd
But the list could go on and on
However
The shout on michael brown for being a dirty niggling bstd is spot on