Latest news with #toughesttacklers
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Like being hit by a cannonball' - who Smith sees as Sunderland's hardest
Throughout Thursday, we have been revealing the players that ex-Sunderland attacker Martin Smith has picked as the Black Cats' all-time toughest the top spot goes to...?Well, in the former player's words: "There can only be one number one" - and that is former captain Kevin Ball."I think some of the hardest players in the country have said that he is the hardest player they have ever played against," Smith explained on BBC Radio Newcastle. "As soon as you mention hard men, it has to be Kevin Ball."I remember Vinnie Jones saying he was the hardest opponent he ever played against. It has been said many times that he trained the way he played, which was horrendous for us fair players!"Unless you have been on the end of one of his tackles, it is hard to describe what it was like. It was like being hit by a cannonball. The force he could tackle with used to just send shivers through you."So here is the final list of Sunderland's top five hard men, according to Smith:Kevin BallJohn KayGary BennettLee HoweyLee CattermoleDo you agree with this list or is there someone else that ought to have been thrown into the mix?Let us know hereListen back to the full discussion on BBC Sounds
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Who are Sunderland's greatest 'hard men'?
Throughout Thursday, we are going to be revealing who former Sunderland attacker Martin Smith has selected as the Black Cats' all-time toughest fifth place is Lee Cattermole, who Smith says he was "a big fan of" and describes as being "the last of an era of real hard men" in football."He was playing when you could still get away with stuff that you just can't get away with now because of VAR," Smith told BBC Radio Newcastle. "He enjoyed the physical side of the game."He used to go round geeing up the team and, if the chips were down, he would still be there. He was just a proper captain. He loved pulling on the strip and he would always give everything."You always knew what you were getting from him."Coming in at number four is Sunderland-born fan favourite Lee Howey, who Smith describes as "the big man"."He was just a real solid fella," he explained. "He was given the nickname 'Lunge' because on training days, if the ball managed to get away from him, he would just lunge and take everything that was in front of him with him."He would run through brick walls for the team. He would put his head and feet where others wouldn't."I used to take corners and I knew that if I put the ball in an area, he would come hurtling towards it and would do everything he could to get to it."He was a horrible player to play against really, up front and at the back."But who does Smith see as the greatest hard man?Find out on BBC Sounds now - or come back to this page a little later today
