Curtis Woodhouse picked one of Sunderland's greats as the hardest player of his area when responding to a tweet earlier in the week. Footballer turned boxer Curtis Woodhouse has named one of Sunderland's greats as the hardest opponent And the four-time former England U21 international speaks with some authority, having made 368 career appearances whilst juggling a successful fight career. Woodhouse was transferred to Birmingham City in a big-money £1 million move in 2001 but after subsequent stints at Rotherham, Peterborough and Hull City, Woodhouse claimed he had "fallen out of love" with football and decided to turn to professional boxing, despite no previous experience. Having squared off against Derry Matthews and Franke Gavin, who rank as two of Britain's toughest competitors, the ex-Sheffield United midfielder's ring record stands at a respectable 24 wins and seven losses. Now Bridlington Town manager, Woodhouse is a former British and Commonwealth champion and once challenged for the WBO Intercontinental strap, so speaks with a degree of authority when it comes to ranking toughness. please log in to view this image Bally in action. Fan Ryan MacDonald, speaking to Woodhouse on Twitter, asked: "Who was the hardest player of your era? I’ve always had Roy Keane as a bit of a myth." And Woodhouse, nicknamed the Driffield Destroyer, responded: "Kevin Ball." The news won't come as a surprise to Sunderland fans who enjoyed "Bally" and his brand of tough tackling, inexhaustible work rate and often underrated passing ability for a nine-year stint between 1990-1999. Since retiring in 2002, the former Burnley man has held a number of positions at Sunderland, including twice stepping in as caretaker manager. Ball currently works as an ambassador at the club but chairman Stewart Donald has previously hinted at re-involving the former Fulham man in the youth coaching setup. yep 100%agree with this could do with another like him
Lee Howey mentioned Vinny and all his Wimbledon mates in his book and didn't seem to think they were particularly hard.
Anyone remember Billy Whitehurst playing for us? Very, very hard. Also very, very crap. I remember watching him from a cage on the big old terrace at the Goldstone Ground against Brighton. 3-0 defeat and about as low a point as l can remember. Think it was the first season up after promotion from the old third division...?
Joe Bolton didn't take many prisoners. Jimmy McNab was another who quietly went about his business whilst Charlie Hurley took most of the plaudits. Given time in sure I could think of one or two more.
Jimmy McNab stand shoulder to shoulder with Ball, in my opinion. He didn't make any fuss about anything, just got on with the solid job of stopping the opponent, while Charlie and Stan took the praises. But like Charlie he was good on the ball too, not just a hardman, a skilled hardman. From time to time there is a 'what's the best team you could pick from your time watching' type of thread. Reverting to the 2/3/5 formations of my youth my half back line is ALWAYS Anderson, Hurley, McNab
