Here's something you never see anyone mention but is still desperatley needed, a hardman. Almost all of the most successful teams are built around them. You could argue that Russell Duncan and Ross Tokely are the "hard men" of ICT but they're hardly thuggish in the Roy Keane, Fernando Ricksen, Terry Butcher kinda way and with Ian Black offski it's desperatley needed. Anyone got any ideas on who'd be a good hardman signing for next season?

Edited March 2, 200916 yr by Renegade

Got to give him a shot? He would scare them off for the wrong reasons.

What about Manny Pacquiao : :018: :thumb04:

The way he destroyed Hatton the other day suggests he is hard.

What about Manny Pacquiao : ;) :thumb04:

The way he destroyed Hatton the other day suggests he is hard.

floyd mayweather :018:

Ill give you a small list i have created:

Number 1

or

Number 2

The steward in the orange at Midden would give Black a run for his money.....

Read this on hardmen......

http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/3408/38/

None of the so called 'hard men' were ever as athletic as the likes of Ferdinand. Keen may have been closest but they could never match todays top players with the emphasis on fitness, diet and tactics. The ongoing medical checks on todays top players is a far cry from the beer swilling antics of days long gone.

The refs also play a part at keeping the 'hard men' in check now, especially in Scotland. I realise that Ian Black is enjoying a better time in the SPL re cards from the refs BUT the refs are equally aware of his better behaviour.

It must be a discussion topic when refs meet to recount the problem they have with certain players and this must therefore put the other refs on their guard for any small problems that then arises, when they are in charge and this then can lead to over reaction.

I am sure that Ian was a victim of this for a long time, conversely I think he gets away with a bit more now due to his reformed behaviour.

Rossco is maybe seen by opposition as a hard man but we all know he is just a big pussycat and like any cat he can take exception to someone but that is another story. He has had his fair share of cards but I do not see him as being 'hard'!

Barton, now, he is just a thug!

I think the distinction needs to be made between 'hardman' and 'thugs' or 'wanabees'

In my opinion, players like Tokely, Cherry, & Mann to name a few from ICT or Yogi Hughes, Terry Butcher & Roy Aitken to name a few older players now in management would be classed as 'hardmen'. They tackled hard, and mostly fair, got on with the game and didnt complain much if they were on the receiving end of a tackle.

On the other hand, players like Barton and others are just thugs .... others are just wanabees who act it out on the park when dishing it out but cant take it.

The two links below are to articles by Kenny Clark and are quite interesting. The first is ostensibly about Ronaldo cheating and mentions how hard it is to ref certain players. The other is about Hughes slagging off refs and has a paragraph in it that epitomises his spirit as a 'hardman'.

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/ho...icle2261907.ece

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/ho...icle2144854.ece