10 Hardest Men Who Ever Played For Everton

By Mark Langshaw /

4. Dave Watson

You won€™t see mild-mannered defender Dave Watson crop up on many €˜hardest footballers€™ lists, but he was the kind of solid centre-half who didn€™t need to shout his mouth off or provoke the opposition to prove how tough he was. A servant for the club for 25 years, the former Blues skipper once shrugged off the flu to face Wimbledon and played most of the match with a bloody eye following a collision with John Fashanu€™s elbow in the opening minutes. Now that€™s what you call hard. Watson captained Everton to silverware in 1995 when they won the FA Cup and served as the club€™s interim manager for the remainder of the 1996-97 season after Joe Royle resigned in March. An unsuccessful spell as Tranmere Rovers gaffer followed before Watson took up the post of youth coach at Newcastle United.