10 Hardest Men That Ever Played For Newcastle United
3. David Batty
Parachuted in from Blackburn to add some bite to Newcastle's midfield as we chased the Premier League title in 1995/96, Batty was the hardman that Keegan craved to solidify the central core in final few months of the season. The Yorkshire-born midfielder was a typical blood and thunder player, albeit one with excellent technical attributes, and lived up to his reputation on more than one occasion in a black and white shirt.
One incident came in a 1996 UEFA Cup clash with Metz when Batty traded blows with Brazilian midfielder Isias, emerging from the scuffle with blood gushing from a wound on his eyebrow. The Toon enforcer shrugged it off and stayed on to hunt down his assailant whose disappearing act rivalled that of a David Copperfield illusion. Another was in the 5-0 battering of Manchester United when young Nicky Butt thought it clever to take issue with Batty after the pair clashed in a tackle, naively pushing the Newcastle man in the chest as they squared up. Batty responded in kind by viciously grabbing Butt by the throat with a murderous glint in his eye and almost lifted the future Magpie off his feet as every inch of colour drained from the 21-year-old's face.