02 BILLY WHITEHURST
REPUTATION: An ex-bricklayer who began
his pro career at Hull and Newcastle, the
forward’s menace was feared throughout
the game. He was described as “a lunatic”
by Martin Keown, while Vinnie Jones knew
him as ‘Big Bad Billy’ during their days at
Sheffield United. “It was fun around town
with him, especially if we came across some
Sheffield Wednesday fans,” said Jones. “He
cleared out a pub of them once. Billy could
have been a bare-knuckle champion.”
RAZOR SAYS: “If you spotted Big Billy in the
woods, you’d think you’d seen Sasquatch.
He was that big, a man mountain. He scared
the life out of me. I only played against him
a few times until he retired, thank f**k. You
just tried not to upset him. I played for Saints
against Sheffield United and he wasn’t even
playing, but I’d been kicking Brian Deane and
getting the better of him, so I reckon Harry
Bassett told Big Billy to go and find me at
half-time. He ran onto the pitch with his suit
on and ripped my shirt, all the way down –
it was like a cardigan with no buttons. I only
had one shirt, so I had to pull it across and
hike my shorts up like Simon Cowell for the
second half. I let Deane win all the headers
after that! Post-match, Billy was in the bar
and said, ‘Well played’. I couldn’t understand
it – one minute he was going to kill me, the
next he was saying that to me. F**king hell!”03 MICK HARFORD
REPUTATION: Moulded from girders in the
shipbuilding city of Sunderland, Harford led
the line during Luton’s top-flight days before
spells at both Chelsea and Wimbledon. Alex
Ferguson even wanted to sign him once. The
forward was the victim of a Sam Allardyce
elbow early on in his career, but soon got his
own back. “I just tried to hurt him,” revealed
Harford. “I went in two-footed and threw
elbows until I caught him on the forehead.”
RAZOR SAYS: “Off the pitch you couldn’t
meet a nicer person than Big Mick, with his
low deep voice. On the pitch.... oh my word- just keep out of his way; just be his friend
and play football. I saw him smash so many
people. Running into him was like running
into a brick wall, although he was also very
fair. He wouldn’t go out there and hurt you,
but if you took a liberty, he’d hurt you. A lot
of players didn’t fancy playing against Big
Mick – he was a brilliant player, but a scary
man. His eyes would just go, and that was
the moment you’d think, ‘Oh no...’”
01
JIMMY
CASE
REPUTATION: Case won four league titles
and three European Cups with Liverpool,
but his mean streak was never far away.
He ended the career of Everton’s Geoff
Nulty and was involved in various off-field
incidents – not least being charged with
assault in 1981 following an altercation at
a hotel in Wales. Case was sold to Brighton,
and later spent six years at Southampton.
RAZOR SAYS: “No one messed with Jimmy.
He wouldn’t go out and deliberately smash
someone, but he was old school. If anyone
took liberties with one of his Southampton
team-mates, particularly the younger ones
like me, they were going to get Jimmy-ed.
He had the knack of escaping punishment,
too – I used to see him smash people and
think, ‘How the f**k has he got away with
that?’ I remember him two-footing Graeme
Sharp under the chin at Goodison Park –
they went in for a slide tackle on the floor,
and Jimmy missed everything but got him.
He was only 5ft 9in, a wiry Scouser, but he
was tough as teak. A great player, too – he
won a lot of trophies at Liverpool. Him and
Bryan Robson had unbelievable battles, but
Jimmy always came out on top and I never
saw him get hurt. That’s why he’s my No.1.”Ruddock’s new book,
‘The World According
To Razor: My Closest
Shaves’, is out from
October 29. Hire him
to be an after-dinner
speaker by visiting
soccerspeaker.co.ukLeft “I thought that
arriving fashionably
late was the thing?”HARDEST
PLAYERS
EVER