{"id":91570,"date":"2024-01-25T22:21:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T22:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/25\/i-played-against-lunatic-roy-keane-but-duncan-ferguson-is-the-hardest-opponent\/"},"modified":"2024-01-25T22:21:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T22:21:48","slug":"i-played-against-lunatic-roy-keane-but-duncan-ferguson-is-the-hardest-opponent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/25\/i-played-against-lunatic-roy-keane-but-duncan-ferguson-is-the-hardest-opponent\/","title":{"rendered":"I played against lunatic Roy Keane but Duncan Ferguson is the hardest opponent"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Darren Bent has named Duncan Ferguson and Roy Keane among the toughest players in Premier League history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The talkSPORT host played in the top flight in a golden era of talent for the English game, but he also rubbed shoulders with some of football’s toughest cookies.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

And Bent’s lived to tell the tale… but had a close shave with one of them<\/span>Credit: YouTube\/talkSPORT<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to Andy Goldstein, Bent discussed his toughest opponents, including Kevin Muscat.<\/p>\n

Muscat spent much of his career in Australia and then with Wolves, but it was during Bent’s time at Ipswich that he faced the tough-tackling midfielder as a Millwall player.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy, I promise you, is awful,” said Bent. “Some of the tackles \u2013 I think he got banned in Australia for potentially ending someone\u2019s career. Some of the challenges were disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was at Millwall. He\u2019s a player who [former Ipswich manager] George Burley said, \u2018if he\u2019s anywhere near you, let him take the ball\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t scared but there\u2019s certainly scenarios where you just think \u2018no\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was one particular time when the ball was going out for a throw and I was running and I slid to try and keep it in and missed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I slid to keep it in, as I turned he went whisking past me and I remember Marcus Bent went, \u2018I know what you tried to do, Muscat\u2019 \u2013 he tried to finish me off. <\/p>\n

“He assumed my body would be in a certain position so that he could two-foot my legs, but I didn\u2019t turn that way so he just went sliding past me. Nasty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ferguson<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Ferguson was feared by defenders due to his aggressive style of play<\/span>Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Bent<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Bent also feared Neil Ruddock after hearing some stories about him from teammates<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As well as recalling stories he’d heard about Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock and Duncan Ferguson – who famously thought he’d killed someone who had broken into his house<\/a> – Bent discussed what it was like to face Roy Keane<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Manchester United<\/a> legend goes down as one of the Premier League’s toughest ever players, leading Bent to explain: “He\u2019s got to be in there, hasn\u2019t he? <\/p>\n

Jimmy Bullard recalls infamous Duncan Ferguson incident and reveals he offered Scot out, but bottled it when Big Dunc waited for him in the tunnel shirtless<\/span><\/div>\n

“He was a lunatic, angry\u2026some of the tackles and his whole demeanour on the pitch \u2013 obviously there\u2019s some rumours about him being quite tough off the pitch, I wouldn\u2019t know anything about that, but that\u2019s what I heard…<\/p>\n

“He was my coach at Villa and I got on really well with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final player who made Bent’s top five was one of the toughest characters ever to grace the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Andy Todd played for Bolton, Charlton and Blackburn during his top flight career and as someone who saw his prime years during the early 90s, the defender was someone to be feared by an up-and-coming striker like Bent in the 2000s.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Keane<\/a><\/p>\n

4<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Keane was one of the most aggressive players in the Premier League for many years<\/span>Credit: Getty Images – Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy god, this guy was so hard,” recalled Bent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were stories about him beating up Phil Brown and Dean Kiely \u2013 people used to tell me stories about him before joining Charlton and even playing against him and seeing his face and his demeanour, I was thinking, \u2018I\u2019m not sure about this\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then he tackled me and I got up and he went, \u2018well played, fella\u2019 and I thought, \u2018what a nice guy!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was at Blackburn too, but anyone who played with him would say that he was hard as anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Premier League has changed markedly since the early 2000s, meaning like characters like Keane and Todd are something of a dying breed.<\/p>\n

But let’s not pretend that we don’t miss that side of the game, just a little bit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n