Rovers hard men

[Tricky]

The game is soft these days, but who wouldn't you like getting on the wrong side of?

JRC loves a challenge and Travis is always getting involved, but both seem fairly lightweight and the latter can be quite cowardly at times though that's part of his bantz.

Hyam seems too nice, we thinking between Carter or Tronstad? 

[Andy]

Owing to a lack of genuine technical ability, I've always been a bit of a shithouse on the pitch.

And, honestly, there isn't a single player in the current squad who I wouldn't fancy going up against.

If anything, Jake Garrett is one who'd go right through you. And with a bit of experience, I reckon he'll be the one out of the current lot who could assume this role for us.

[rigger]

I don't think JDT wants a hard-man type of midfielder, hence we don't have one.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

That was the trouble with the early 1960’s team. Great footballers but they needed a few nasty bastards in the side. John Bray was a rough handful but that was it, the rest didn’t put it about much. Later on the likes of Ken Knighton is exactly what we’re short of now. Then there was John McNamee after that. You only needed John.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

14 minutes ago, rigger said:

I don't think JDT wants a hard-man type of midfielder, hence we don't have one.

It’s a lot harder to get away with things now with all the cameras.

[rigger]

14 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

It’s a lot harder to get away with things now with all the cameras.

A clever hard man can do what he does within the laws of the game.

[jim mk2]

John Bray frightened the life out of me - and that was standing watching from the safety of the terraces. I'd have hated to play against him

We've had some hard lads over the years - Keeley and McNamee were in a class of their own, but the likes of Fazackerley, Branagan, Mail, Todd and Savage were hard too.

Every team needs an enforcer, and we don't have one at the moment. Preston showed why we do. 

[LeftWinger]

28 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Savage were hard too.

Give over! Absolute wind up merchant - definitely not one I'd class as hard.

I like this story about the time Dean Windass was going to punch him and he claimed a random couple were his mum and dad....

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/savage-parents-dean-windass-punch-30362786

[oldjamfan1]

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

John Bray frightened the life out of me - and that was standing watching from the safety of the terraces. I'd have hated to play against him

We've had some hard lads over the years - Keeley and McNamee were in a class of their own, but the likes of Fazackerley, Branagan, Mail, Todd and Savage were hard too.

Every team needs an enforcer, and we don't have one at the moment. Preston showed why we do. 

Savage wasn't hard. Todd wasn't either. He was just a stupid thug. Apart from those already mentioned, off the top of my head Mickey Speight, Lucas Neill, Ryan Nelsen, Howie Gayle, Nicky Reid, Colin Hendry, Henning Berg, Gael Givet, Alex Baptiste, Jermaine Jones, Michel Salgado, Aaron Mokoena. Proper hard men.

We haven't had a proper hard man for a long, long time. Travis? Ha ha ha  

[DeeCee]

Howard Kendall was tough.

[rigger]

2 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

That was the trouble with the early 1960’s team. Great footballers but they needed a few nasty bastards in the side. John Bray was a rough handful but that was it, the rest didn’t put it about much. Later on the likes of Ken Knighton is exactly what we’re short of now. Then there was John McNamee after that. You only needed John.

Knighton would be able to fit into todays football. McNamee would not finish any game, he really believed in the "killing zone".

[jim mk2]

1 hour ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Savage wasn't hard. Todd wasn't either. He was just a stupid thug. Apart from those already mentioned, off the top of my head Mickey Speight, Lucas Neill, Ryan Nelsen, Howie Gayle, Nicky Reid, Colin Hendry, Henning Berg, Gael Givet, Alex Baptiste, Jermaine Jones, Michel Salgado, Aaron Mokoena. Proper hard men.

We haven't had a proper hard man for a long, long time. Travis? Ha ha ha  

 

What's the difference between a hard man and a thug?. If you're going down that route Neill was a thug too. 

I think we need a definition of "hard" and most of those I wouldn't classify as "hard" at all, just normal players who could give and take a tackle. Is that hard? I don't think so.

 

[oldjamfan1]

34 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

 

What's the difference between a hard man and a thug?. If you're going down that route Neill was a thug too. 

I think we need a definition of "hard" and most of those I wouldn't classify as "hard" at all, just normal players who could give and take a tackle. Is that hard? I don't think so.

 

There's nothing 'hard' about booting someone in the gonads when they are lying on the floor, elbowing someone in the face or headbutting an old man in training (all Todd). What has Savage ever done to warrant a 'hard man' tag?

 

[jim mk2]

5 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

There's nothing 'hard' about booting someone in the gonads when they are lying on the floor, elbowing someone in the face or headbutting an old man in training (all Todd). What has Savage ever done to warrant a 'hard man' tag?

 

You could say the same of any of Speight, Neill, Nelsen, Gayle, Reid, Hendry, Berg, Givet,  Baptiste, Jones, Salgado or Mokoena. 

[arbitro]

John McNamee, Graham Hawkins, Micky Speight, Ken Knighton, Glenn Keeley, Faz, Ryan Nelsen, Alan Shearer and Craig Short were tough players and immediately spring to mind. The game has moved on immeasurably since some of them played and the real tough guys are pretty much a dying breed. I can't think of one modern day player who I would categorise as a hard man.

[oldjamfan1]

1 minute ago, jim mk2 said:

You could say the same of any of Speight, Neill, Nelsen, Gayle, Reid, Hendry, Berg, Givet,  Baptiste, Jones, Salgado or Mokoena. 

If you don't think the likes of Micky Speight or Ryan Nelsen were hard men then I don't really know what you're looking for. or what you're watching. 

[jim mk2]

4 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

If you don't think the likes of Micky Speight or Ryan Nelsen were hard men then I don't really know what you're looking for. or what you're watching. 

Normal players who could give or take a tackle - as stated

We need a definition of hard men - real hard men. 

[wilsdenrover]

5 minutes ago, jim mk2 said:

Normal players who could give or take a tackle - as stated

We need a definition of hard men - real hard men. 

You could try google - but maybe have SafeSearch enabled. 

[Mercer]

Some interesting names and perceptions.

My views (mainly based on those names already mentioned with a handful thrown in for good measure):

Hard, uncompromising and able to look after themselves: Knighton, Kendall, Branagan, Speight, Nicky Reid, Speedie, Shearer (no one bullied or dared to bully Alan), Batty, Givet, Stephen Reid

Hard, menacing and sometimes went 'looking for it': McNamee, Keeley, Flitcroft, Lucas Neill, Andy Todd, Mokoena

WUM supreme: Diouf and he could handle himself

WUM: Savage - certainly not hard and needed 'protection' around him of which he had plenty in Hughes' Rovers' team

Sadly, we have no one at present who frightens or intimidates the opposition.  Any of the above would have Travis for breakfast before spitting him out dismissively.

 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Mercer

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, jim mk2 said:

 

What's the difference between a hard man and a thug?. If you're going down that route Neill was a thug too. 

I think we need a definition of "hard" and most of those I wouldn't classify as "hard" at all, just normal players who could give and take a tackle. Is that hard? I don't think so.

 

Give a kick and take a kick - Kevin Moran.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Killer Keeley could dish it out.

[simongarnerisgod]

5 minutes ago, SIMON GARNERS 194 said:

Killer Keeley could dish it out.

i remember him shutting the genuinly hard billy whitehurst down when he was playing for reading,whitehurst was all elbows and late tackles,keeley gave him as much back,so much so,whitehurst got sent off for an elbow to many

anyone remember the battle against portsmouth in 1985,pompey had some right s**thous players at the time,wood,tait and kennedy the chief culprits

branagan does a good job of impersonating bruce lee with a shocking challenge on kennedy and keeley takes out wood ,who had been hacking at him all game,with a tackle so over the ball his studs end up in woods nether regions,honourably mention to colin randal as well,with his sneaky rabbit punch on kevin dillon 😀

[Upside Down]

We've gone from being the bully boys to the little boys.

Ones for contention:

Billy McKinley, Craig Short, Shearer

Super Atko anybody?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

There’s the players not to take liberties with and then there’s the other type of player that you need to be looking over your shoulder for.

[simongarnerisgod]

9 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

There’s the players not to take liberties with and then there’s the other type of player that you need to be looking over your shoulder for.

you need to keep an eye out for the ones that don`t say anything!!!they usually leave you with a stud mark down your shin