'Everton's enforcer... and courage personified'

BBC News

02-07-2025

Dave Watson? Thomas Gravesen? Martin Keown? Who is the ultimate Everton hard man? Phil McNulty has been revealing his top five on Wednesday.In third spot...Peter ReidPeter Reid was Everton's great midfield general, the master of dictating tempo and the engine of the great mid-80s team in partnership with the vastly underrated (although not by anyone at Goodison Park) Paul Bracewell.Reid was courage personified, not simply in the manner in which he battled back from career-threatening injuries, but in his fearless approach on the pitch. No battle was too intense for the hugely popular Huyton-born Reid, who revelled in an era when no quarter was given in midfield.He would stand toe-to-toe with Graeme Souness at Liverpool, Norman Whiteside and Bryan Robson at Manchester United, who all had total respect for Reid, both as an opponent and a personality. There is no doubt at times he took on the role of Everton's enforcer.A boyhood Red, Reid joyously tells the tale of how he was being verbally abused by a Liverpool fan at Anfield after fouling John Barnes - only to find the supporter in question was his Uncle Albert.Reid was so much more than a hard man, as his success with Everton and England proves, but he also had that cutting edge required in what was hostile midfield territory in the 1980s.And come back in a few hours to see who McNulty has at the top of his list, plus the chance to have your say on who should have made the cut.