10 Hardest Players In English Premier League History
8. Patrick Vieira
A man who somewhat surprisingly has racked up more red cards in his illustriously decorated Premier League career than a fair majority of the more vicious vindicators on this list - that many that he set a joint record alongside two other players (one of which we'll get to later). Patrick Vieira, who is now recognised as one of the league's most influential and resilient captains, was a midfield maestro just as much as he was a midfield marauder.
His feud with arch-enemy Roy Keane is one of the most well-documented grudges in all of sport with the infamous "tunnel incident" being a mainstay in the collective memory of football fans young and old.
This added to the gravitas that big Paddy already had, as the Frenchman proved time and time again that he feared absolutely nothing that came his way. If anything, he instilled fear into other opponents through his reputation alone. It also didn't hurt that he had a propensity for butting heads with some of the most fearsome players in domestic, European and International competition either - well not for him at least, imbued through moments such as his wild elbow on Marco Materazzi, as well as his overall unbridled willingness to get stuck into opponents that saw him dismissed more times than most.
His nature of enforcement wasn't malicious by definition, which is why he finds himself quite low on this list.