25 KEVInMUSCAT
REPUTATION:InhisWolvesdays,theAussie
puncturedCraigBellamy’skneecapandwas
suedbyMattyHolmesfora challengethat
almostledtothemidfielderhavinghisleg
amputated.Muscatwassentoff 12 times
duringhiscareer,whichendednotlongafter
hewasbannedforeightgameswhileplaying
forMelbourneVictory.Thisyear,hebecame
themanagerofBelgianoutfitSint-Truiden.
RAZORSAYS:“Ineverplayedagainsthim,
buthe’dhavegotit if I had– hewasinmy
littleredbook.Muscat,you’rea bully:I’ve
seenyoudopeopleandhurtlittlewingers–
you’reatNo.25,butyou’reonlyonthislist
soyouknowI haven’tforgottenyou.I hope
tobumpintoyouoneday...”[Evillaugh]22 ROn HARRIS
REPUTATION: Well, he wasn’t nicknamed
‘Chopper’ for his love of helicopters. Nope,
the stopper was renowned for mercilessly
hacking down strikers during two decades
at Chelsea. He helped turn the 1970 FA
Cup Final against rivals Leeds into one of
the most physical finals of all time, taking
out Eddie Gray less than 10 minutes into
the replay as the Blues won. Several years
later, Gray presented Harris with a screw-in
stud. “Where’s that from?” queriedHarris.
“My kneecap!” responded theScot.
RAZOR SAYS: “I did a dinnerwithChopper
once and he didn’t look veryscarytome.
But if my dad said he was hard,hewas.”23 BILLY BOnDS
REPUTATION: “Six foot two, eyes of blue,
Billy Bonds is after you” echoed the terrace
chant for many of his 21 years at West
Ham. The fearless Bonds occasionally saw
red – he was lucky to escape suspension
for the Hammers’ FA Cup final triumph in
1980 after being sent off for scrapping with
Birmingham’s Colin Todd. The pair even
continued to kick each other on the floor.
Bonds later managed West Ham, then had
the cojones to boss arch-rivals Millwall.
RAZOR SAYS: “Billy’s era was before my
playing days, but ‘Bonzo’ has to be on my
list for all the stories I heard from my old
West Ham mates and Hammers fans.”REPUTATION:TheScotgainedthenickname
of ‘Iron Man’ during his time at Hearts. Nine
years at Spurs followed, where striker Jimmy
Greaves described him as a “genuinely hard
bastard”. That glowing endorsement was
best personified when Mackay schooled Billy
Bremner in 1966 – angrily grabbing the Scot
after the Leeds man had gone into a tackle
targeting Mackay’s left leg, which the Spurs
defender had twice previously broken.
RAZOR SAYS: “I’ve got to pick Dave Mackay
for that wonderful photo of when he had
Billy Bremner by the throat – Bremner was
meant to be a hard man...”24
DAVE
MACKAY
HARDEST
PLAYERS
EVERAbove “This is how
we do our neck rubs
in Australia, sport”