John Anderson played for Newcastle United between 1982 and 1992, making over 300 league appearances for the English club. He was part of an iconic team that earned promotion back into the top flight in 1984, alongside stars such as Kevin Keegan, Chris Waddle, Peter Beardsley and Terry McDermott.
To this day, the Republic of Ireland international remains a bit of a fan favourite at St James' Park. As a centre-back of the 80s, Anderson was no stranger to a tough tackle. Indeed, he came up against a number of physical opponents and played alongside a few notorious hardmen, too.
Wth that in mind, he was asked by the BBC to name his five hardest Newcastle players ever. Interestingly enough, he snubbed current stars like Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes. Explaining why he did not choose any current players on his list, he said:
"The game has changed, and you can't do what we used to do. There is nobody in the modern era who jumps out and makes you think you wouldn't want to play against them."
He also overlooked arguably the Premier League's hardest ever player: Duncan Ferguson. Instead, he picked these five men.
5 Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson - Huddersfield Town Manager
Peter Jackson was a central defender who played for a number of English club during the late 1970s up until the end of the 1990s. He started out a Bradford City but played for Newcastle United between 1986 and 1988. He would make 60 league appearances for the club, regularly lining up in defence alongside Anderson during that period.
After retiring in 1997, having also spent time at Huddersfield Town, Chester City, and Halifax Town, the Englishman moved into management. He spent two spells as Huddersfield manager before joining Lincoln City. His last coaching job was with former side Bradford in 2011.
4 Kenny Wharton
Coach Kenny Wharton - Newcastle United Reserves
Kenny Wharton was another stalwart for Newcastle in the 1980s, coming through the academy as a local lad and playing over 300 times for the senior team, having made his debut in 1979 as an 18-year-old. He left in 1989, but a knee injury sadly stopped him from having much of a career from that point on.
Wharton returned to Newcastle in 1999 and worked in the youth set-up, later becoming academy director and then as part of the reserve team coaching staff. He now works as the first team manager for Newcastle Blue Star, who currently play in the Northern League Division One, the ninth tier of the English football league system.
3 Brian Kilcline
Brian Kilcline at Newcastle United
Brian Kilcline spent a couple of seasons with Newcastle United in the early 1990s and is most easily recalled for his long hair and moustache. His best years were spent with Coventry City, whom he captained to victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the 1987 FA Cup Final at Wembley.
Kilcline was actually the first player Kevin Keegan signed for the Magpies as manager, and quickly made a mark thanks to his phenomenal physical presence. Earning the nickname 'Killer', the defender was named captain right away and helped the club earn promotion as First Division champions during his 32-game spell.
2 David McCreery
Liverpool's Steve McMahon and Newcastle's David McCreery
David McCreery started out his career at Manchester United in the 1970s but played his best football fot Newcastle the following decade as part of that promotion-winning team in 1884. He was a versatile and reliable player, which may have explained why he was often named as a substitute in the days when only one change was allowed.
He also played 67 times for Northern Ireland, representing them at both the 1982 and the 1986 World Cup. After retiring in 1995, he went on to coach Carlisle United and Hartlepool United, as well as Myanmar club Magway and, most recently (2013), with Sabah in Malaysia.
1 Billy Whitehurst
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When it came to selecting his number one spot, Anderson had no doubts in his mind. He picked Billy Whitehurst, who only spent a year at Newcastle (from 1985 to 1986) but left a big impression on his former teammate, who said he is comfortably the toughest footballer he ever came across:
"He would fight anybody and run through anybody. He is top of my list and I don't think anybody comes close. I had the misfortune of playing against him and I just kept standing off him."
These five names might not be the most well-known by the average English football fan, but in the era just before the Premier League, they were evidently among the toughest men around.