They were the players who had the crowds wincing.
The Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion players that flew into the tackle with scant regard for the opposition or themselves.
Crowd-pleasers and players that gave that extra inch for the cause.
Take a look below as we reveal the toughest tacklers to grace our local stadiums. We published this earlier in the year but here's a reminder in case you missed it.
Have we missed anyone? Let us know in the comments below...
Shaun Teale in his Aston Villa days.
The man of steel was so hard that he played for Villa at Wembley with a broken nose. In fact the defender who lined up alongside Paul McGrath had four hernia operations, broke his nose twice, snapped his medial ligaments, suffered a depressed cheekbone, a jaw fracture and damage close to his right eye. It’s easy to confuse hardmen with players who are dirty. But Teale was hard and clean, he rarely mis-timed tackles and opposing players felt the full wrath of his challenge if they weren’t quick enough. He was as solid as can be, but so was his centre-half partner as he recalls: “McGrath was a very tough lad. I don’t think people realised how hard he could be if riled.” 1 of 17
2. Ally Robertson: Long before Robert Hopkins joined Albion, the then Blues midfielder was given his own, personal tour of The Hawthorns courtesy of Alistair Robertson.
It was a League Cup replay in the early 1980s when the Baggies centre-half sent the young upstart flying over the advertisement hoarding and into the stand, heralding the dawn of the Hawthorns redevelopment long before any bulldozers arrived.
Robertson also got sent off in the tunnel for a brawl with Watford striker, and future-Baggies flop, George Reilly. 'Ally Rob' - not only a great defender, but a visionary too.
Long before Robert Hopkins joined Albion, the then Blues midfielder was given his own, personal tour of The Hawthorns courtesy of Alistair Robertson. It was a League Cup replay in the early 1980s when the Baggies centre-half sent the young upstart flying over the advertisement hoarding and into the stand, heralding the dawn of the Hawthorns redevelopment long before any bulldozers arrived. Robertson also got sent off in the tunnel for a brawl with Watford striker, and future-Baggies flop, George Reilly. 2 of 17
3.
Believe it or not, and Craig Bellamy won’t want to believe this for one, Muscat was an absolute gentleman off the pitch. An utterly smashing bloke. On it he was a full-back most wingers wouldn’t opt to face. ‘Uncompromising’ is the word. The fans loved his commitment. 3 of 17
4. Martin Jol
Back in the day this tall and skinny - yes, tall and skinny - Dutchman had lank, blond hair and called himself Maarten. He knew how to look after himself. Jol was brought into replace Bryan Robson. And it showed. When he wasn't enjoying a pint around Carters Green or walking his dog at Dartmouth Park, Jol kept himself amused by throwing himself into tackles and generally failing to keep up to the pace of our game. He spent a lot of his early time in English football spelling out his name to dim referees. The highlight came in the 1982 League Cup semi-final first-leg against Spurs when Jol was sent off for rucking with Tony Galvin. A conventional hard man he wasn't. But he tried his best. And that voice earns him respect if nothing els 4 of 17
5. Andy Lochead: Throwing that famous thinning head in where others would fear to tread, Andrew Lorimar Lochhead was able to baldly and boldy go into Villa folklore.
The kind of guy who would attempt to nod a medicine ball in to the top corner from 40 yards if you asked him, the Scottish striker was more fearless than out-and-out hard. Lochhead scored 44 goals in 154 appearances, including 25 overall in 1971-72 as Villa reached the League Cup final and won the Third Division title, but it was at Burnley where he achieved legendary status. Throwing that famous thinning head in where others would fear to tread, Andrew Lorimar Lochhead was able to baldly and boldy go into Villa folklore.
The kind of guy who would attempt to nod a medicine ball in to the top corner from 40 yards if you asked him, the Scottish striker was more fearless than out-and-out hard. Lochhead scored 44 goals in 154 appearances, including 25 overall in 1971-72 as Villa reached the League Cup final and won the Third Division title, but it was at Burnley where he achieved legendary status.
Throwing that famous thinning head in where others would fear to tread, Andrew Lorimar Lochhead was able to baldly and boldly go into Villa folklore. The kind of guy who would attempt to nod a medicine ball in to the top corner from 40 yards if you asked him, the Scottish striker was more fearless than out-and-out hard. Lochhead scored 44 goals in 154 appearances, including 25 overall in 1971-72 as Villa reached the League Cup final and won the Third Division title, but it was at Burnley where he achieved legendary status. Click through on the links to see the rest of the hard men 5 of 17