Ranking the 20 Most Intimidating Players in English Football History
One of the great hallmarks of English football is the physicality that accompanies it.
English football has carried a reputation as being one of the toughest leagues around, and much of that came about from the tenacious tackling and physical nature of several great players. Some of those played 50 years ago; others will still be around this upcoming weekend.
Soccer players—by nature—need to be intimidating, so when we couple that with the pre-existing physical nature of the Premier League, we're bound for an exciting array of hard-nosed talent. Let's take a look at the top 20 intimidating players in the English football's history.
20. Brede Hangeland, Fulham
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Kicking this list off is a current player, which might be somewhat surprising. However, when you watch the game and aggressiveness of Fulham captain Brede Hangeland, it's not that surprising at all.
Hangeland isn't the quickest or most skillful player in the Premier League these days—especially against some of the more modern defenders—but he is full of heart and certainly an imposing figure at the back.
Standing at 6'6" certainly helps.
19. Lee Dixon, Arsenal
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David Ginola will be the first to attest to how intimidating Lee Dixon was at Arsenal.
The pair had several infamous run-ins in their time, and most of them finished with Dixon laying an incredibly tough tackle on his opponent—most of which wouldn't be allowed in the modern game.
Dixon was simply a tough, hard-nosed player and one that opposing players rarely got the better of. And when they did, they knew that Dixon would only be a step or two behind, waiting to crunch them.
Talk about intimidation.
18. Martin Skrtel, Liverpool
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Martin Skrtel looks like a tough dude, and he is one tough dude.
The Liverpool man has endeared himself to fans with his strong tackling and never-say-die attitude, and remains a real focal point whenever he appears in the Reds' defensive line.
He's that tough, he eats nails for breakfast. Literally.
17. Kenny Burns, Nottingham Forest
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Kenny Burns might have been better known as a striker, but the Nottingham Forest man actually started his career as a defender before making the move up front—thus making him eligible for this list.
And what an inclusion he is.
Burns typified the uncompromising style of a hardworking footballer in his time, and that attitude was fundamental to the success that he had in becoming a Forest legend.
And it seems that didn't change off the field either—dropped as a match-day host for the club in 2011 (according to The Daily Mail) for being too "vociferous."
16. Martin Keown, Aston Villa and Arsenal
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Passion. Determination. Leadership.
Martin Keown was a very tough and committed defender for the Gunners, and one that formed an integral part of the ferocious back four throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Rarely was Keown ever beaten by his man without a fight.
15. Robert Huth, Stoke City
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Along with Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth has formed one of the most potent defensive combinations currently in the Premier League—built on physical play and very tough tackling.
Huth loves to use his size and strength to his advantage and muscle up against strikers—making him a very formidable and imposing figure to have marking you.
He's one of the biggest reasons why the Britannia Stadium is such a difficult place to journey to.
14. Jaap Stam, Manchester United
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It was a rare sight to see a forward come off better against Manchester United defender Jaap Stam.
Stam was an all-conquering force when at PSV Eindhoven and that continued at Old Trafford—striking fear into the hearts of many a player with his tough tackling and uncompromising style.
Not the tallest guy in the world at 6'3", Stam was full of heart and showed it every week.
13. Sol Campbell, Arsenal
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I'm sure there's a meme out there somewhere saying "one simply does not move from Tottenham to Arsenal." For when one does make the London switch, they've got to be prepared to face a backlash.
Sol Campbell made the switch just after the turn of the millennium and drew the ire of Spurs fans as a result. However, the Gunners man was certainly willing to give it back and quickly became a favorite among fans for his strength at the back and tough nature.
Owner of the world's longest slide tackle, Campbell had big shoes to fill at Arsenal in terms of being an intimidating defender, but he certainly lived up to expectations.
12. Nobby Stiles, Manchester United
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One of the greatest man-markers ever to play the game, Nobby Stiles completely personifies the notion of a tough and imposing Premier League (and international) defenders.
He played every minute of England's 1966 World Cup campaign and for good reason.
Forwards simply didn't have it easy against him.
11. Julian Dicks, West Ham
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Nicknamed "the Terminator," it's little surprise to see Julian Dicks on this list.
With a shaved head and fiery look, Dicks was one of the toughest players to play in the Premier League in recent times and perhaps would have been better suited to playing the game 40 or 50 years ago than more recent times—such was his tenacity and strength at the back of the Hammers' defense.
A traditional hard man if ever there was one.
10. Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United
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Manchester United skipper Nemanja Vidic hasn't had the best run of injuries over the past few years, but it seems that's only made him even more of a tough man to get past.
Vidic is strong in the air and on the ground and is rarely caught pulling out of a challenge if there's one to be had. That's endeared himself to United fans over the years (and Serbian ones also), but it hasn't exactly made him the most loved defender around the league.
Having said that, there's certainly a great deal of respect for Vidic.
Even if players don't like coming up against him.
9. Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
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United fans won't want to see Kompany ahead of Vidic here, but he deserves to be.
The City and Belgium skipper is a tough and tenacious tackler at the back whose consistency and strength in the air makes him a very tough man to have marking you.
There's a slew of strikers around the world who will attest to that.
8. Colin Hendry, Blackburn Rovers
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Colin Hendry was an integral part of Blackburn Rovers' title-winning team in 1995 with his uncompromising tackling style and strength in the air—something that caused plenty of players serious knocks and bruises.
Banned for six international matches due to a swinging elbow (which he simply called "shrugging off a player"), there's little doubting how intimidating Hendry was at the back in his time.
7. Marco Materazzi, Everton
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Known more for being the guy that Zinedine Zidane headbutted in the 2006 World Cup final for some unsavory comments, Marco Materazzi was actually a very, very good defender in his own right. And as the Zidane incident showed, he had a natural ability to get under people's skin.
He spent a season at Everton in 1998/'99 (which makes him eligible for this list), and his long history of physical play certainly makes him one of the more imposing central defenders.
Just ask Andriy Shevchenko.
6. Tommy Smith, Liverpool
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Liverpool legend Bill Shankly's words about Tommy Smith couldn't have been more true.
"Tommy Smith wasn't born," he said. "He was quarried."
An uncompromising defender filled with plenty of fire and determination, Smith was a physical presence at the back for Liverpool and one of the biggest reasons behind their success in the 1970s.
A very tough player if ever there was one.
5. Dave Mackay, Tottenham Hotspur
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Dave Mackay's confrontation with Billy Bremner is one of the more iconic football photos in history, and it shows just how fiery the defender could be on his day.
One of the greatest Tottenham players in history, Mackay was a hard-nosed tackler and a tough combatant who came back from several "career-ending" injuries throughout his time. Little surprise, really, that he was one of the toughest defenders in English football history.
4. Norman Hunter, Leeds United
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Leeds United were a scary team in the 1970s, with a very physical—and direct—style of play.
Norman Hunter was a key part of that lineup and certainly one of the more imposing defenders ever seen in English football. After all, his nickname wasn't "Bite Yer Legs" for nothing.
3. Ron Harris, Chelsea
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Ron "Chopper" Harris is a legend at Chelsea and one of the most iconic defenders of all time.
He featured in one of the most feared defensive units of all time, with his scything tackling technique leaving many a forward worse for wear.
Harris still remains the youngest ever captain to play in an FA Cup final.
2. Vinnie Jones, Chelsea and Wimbledon
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Paul Gascoigne will be the first to attest to how tough Vinnie Jones is.
Jones wasn't a player that too many forwards messed with throughout their time, with the defender capable of snapping without warning. He was a vital member of Wimbledon's "Crazy Gang" throughout the 1980s and was never afraid to dive into a tackle or challenge if there was one to be had.
Hardly surprising that his life after football saw him depicted as an English gangster on the big screen.
1. Stuart Pearce, Nottingham Forest
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However, there can only be one man on top of this list, and he's Stuart "Psycho" Pearce.
Pearce was a tough defender—a fighter if ever there was one—and while his game might not have featured the same "brain-explosions" that a player like Jones' did, he was still a very tough man to come up against and one that few teams relished playing against.
Defenders crumble under minimal contact these days; Stuart Pearce tried to run on a broken leg.
The comparisons could not be more different.
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