Rovers hard men

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Roy Keane was a pussy. What he did to Haaland was a cowards move. Real hard men can take it as well as give it

Shearer had him on toast. Keane took a swing at him right in front of the ref and Shearer just casually stepped back to move out of the way. Then 'hard man' Keane was doing the whole "hold me back, am Ard as fuck me" but looked absolutely ridiculous as David Beckham was the one 'restraining' him.

The bloke was and is a complete and utter cock womble.

Great player though. In his prime it was like having two players in one.

[oldjamfan1]

1 hour ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Great player though. In his prime it was like having two players in one.

Yeah he was. If only he'd signed for us...

[BlackburnEnd75]

Like others have said it depends how you define a hard man. Someone who is combative, someone who is hard in the challenge when in one and someone who withstand a kicking and be unaffected.

A player who comes to mind for is Garry Flitcroft who could hold his own in the challenge and liked a tackle.

If you look at that team from 04/06 period under Hughes for a modern side there are a lot of players in there who could fall into those categories: Todd, Nelson, Flitcroft, Reid, Dickov, Bellamy, Mokeona, Neill. 

[bluebruce]

Surprisingly little mention of Hendry in here.

[rigger]

Jones, pre ManUre. 

[smiller14]

20 hours ago, Upside Down said:

We had a few of those players that would fit the bill for being hard without being overly aggressive.

Warnock was another that could give everything that he got.

Remember in Ince's reign we beat Everton1-0. The goal came from Warnock smashing into one of their players with a cracking tackle, then flew into another one. Got everyone up for it and next thing we scored a late goal. 

Seen Bellamy mentioned. Someone from Cardiff mentioned they played him in a charity football game quite recently, 5 a side. Apparently he was a nasty, overly competitive bugger even in that. Got kicked from pillar to post for us and always got back up.

2004/2005 was a team full of battlers for us. Loved that time under Hughes - it was very Labore at the start but really Arte et Labore by the end. 

[unsall]

Going back a bit, George Sharples was definitely a hard man, and as others have said  would put Andy Todd and Morrison in the hard men category.

[Upside Down]

9 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Yeah he was. If only he'd signed for us...

A real hard man is a man of his word.

[Southside Rover]

13 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Yeah he was. If only he'd signed for us...

Imagine Keane and Zidane....

[riverholmes]

Maybe, Damien Duff? He got kicked so much but he just kept getting up and running with the ball. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that he had an issue with a shoulder that got dislocated a couple of times and Chelsea got him to do some judo sessions to try to reduce impact of falls - though not sure if it had any effect.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by riverholmes

[LeftWinger]

14 hours ago, Southside Rover said:

Imagine Keane and Zidane....

Midfield trio of Keane, Zidane and Super Atko.

[Aqualung]

I thought Branagan and Keeley would have been mentioned. 

Im sure in a game against Portsmouth in the 80s.. Both players put in some X rated challenges. Gerry Gow for them was another character. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

10 hours ago, Aqualung said:

I thought Branagan and Keeley would have been mentioned. 

Im sure in a game against Portsmouth in the 80s.. Both players put in some X rated challenges. Gerry Gow for them was another character. 

Yeah Gow could put it about alright.

[LeftWinger]

From the years I've been watching Rovers, I reckon this team would be pretty hard:

Kelly

Salgado, Samba, Todd, Hendry, Givet

J.Jones, Flitcroft, Hughes

Shearer, Bellamy

Probably not the most creative, but you wouldn't need many chances with that front two. 

[oldjamfan1]

17 hours ago, Aqualung said:

I thought Branagan and Keeley would have been mentioned. 

Im sure in a game against Portsmouth in the 80s.. Both players put in some X rated challenges. Gerry Gow for them was another character. 

This game? 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by oldjamfan1

[Aqualung]

8 minutes ago, oldjamfan1 said:

This game? 

 

That's the one. Although I think I got Gerry Gow mixed up with Mick Tate. 

[simongarnerisgod]

keeleys gonna get ya😁

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Keeley straight for the crown Jewels!😆

[wilsdenrover]

5 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

This game? 

 

Why’s no one rolling around like a tart??

[GHR]

1 minute ago, wilsdenrover said:

Why’s no one rolling around like a tart??

'Anticipating contact' wasn't invented then

[Mattyblue]

Prime pompous Jimmy Hill there 😁

[Upside Down]

I always hated Jimmy Hill and his massive chin. He was always a smug twat.

[Lancs Rover]

Rovers Pompey was often a needle game in those days.

So was Rovers Soton, too, at one time. Around 1978? When their star player Steve Williams came in for some stellar on-field treatment.

I recall seeing Rovers away at Fratton Park around the same time (late 70s, early 80s?). Micky Quinn was the target of much abuse from players and supporters in those days and earned a reputation. 

More of a mard man than hard man, though. I remember him spitting into the away crowd that day. And laughing about it.

Imagine trying that nowadays.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Tabula Rasa

[Oldgregg86]

On 24/11/2023 at 09:16, LeftWinger said:

From the years I've been watching Rovers, I reckon this team would be pretty hard:

Kelly

Salgado, Samba, Todd, Hendry, Givet

J.Jones, Flitcroft, Hughes

Shearer, Bellamy

Probably not the most creative, but you wouldn't need many chances with that front two. 

Batty has to go in 

[JohnD]

Lucas Neil

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/16c1d334-7c83-498f-ab2e-b25d91735e8e?shareToken=1ea0313e45fff000a5d88d9f6cb7e45b