TT Famous Five: Bad-boy strikers

03 April 2009 09:55
Strikers play at the business end of the pitch and often provide that little bit of magic or flair that can turn a game on its head.[LNB]The best ones nearly always have some fire in their bellies, or a maverick element to their character.[LNB]But the ones we remember the most are the bad-boys, who often hog the headlines for all the wrong reasons.[LNB]Here's my top five bad-boy strikers - let me know if you agree/disagree and give us your own top five through our story comment facility, which will be updated regularly throughout the day and over the weekend.[LNB]5. Craig Bellamy: This fiery Welsh dragon has left more clubs under a cloud than the blonde one from Girls Aloud or Pete Doherty, but has also proved to be a master marksman during spells with Norwich, Coventry, Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham and now Manchester City.[LNB]Bellamy fell out with Graeme Souness, John Carver, Terry McDermott - who branded him a 'little upstart' - and Alan Shearer during a torrid time on Tyneside - and trouble was never far behind him off the pitch.[LNB]His big break came when Liverpool stumped up £6.5million for him in 2006, but his career with the Reds was always on borrowed time after allegedly showing team-mate John Arne Riise his golf swing at close range on a sunshine training camp.[LNB]4. John Hartson: The burly Welshman has beaten off stiff competition from former West Ham team-mate Paolo di Canio, who pushed him right to the wire following his hot-headed push on referee Paul Alcock while playing for Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in 1998, to make the Famous Five.[LNB]A fine record of 167 goals in 399 games means Hartson happily takes his place alongside these goal-scoring mavericks, and he will be forever loved by Celtic fans for netting a whopping 88 goals in 146 games for the Hoops.[LNB]But for all those goals, there is one incident that pops into your head when the name Hartson is uttered.[LNB]Everything seemed fine in a West Ham training session back in 1998, but then Hartson put in a strong tackle on Eyal Berkovic, prompting the diminutive Israeli to react by punching his team-mate in the leg from the floor.[LNB]All of those clinical finishes came to the fore as Hartson instantly retaliated by connecting his right boot with Berkovic's face - and it was captured on film.[LNB]The Welshman was fined for the incident and later admitted in his biography that it was 'an error of judgement' - but it got him a place in our Famous Five.[LNB]3. Eric Cantona: Crowned 'King Eric' due to his regal spell at Old Trafford, where he inspired Manchester United to four Premier League titles and two League and FA Cup Doubles in five years.[LNB]Cantona was the epitome of arrogance and coolness personified on the pitch, scoring 64 goals in 144 games for United and creating countless others.[LNB]But he will be forever remembered for his 'kung fu' kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches, after his dismissal at Selhurst Park for a 'warm-up' kick on Richard Shaw in 1995.[LNB]The Frenchman had allegedly seen rouge over a racist jibe from Simmons, and received a seven-day prison sentence, but on appeal, went on to serve 120 hours of community service, and was handed a nine-month ban from world football by the FA.[LNB]A maverick, a genius, a bad-boy - but still not my number one.[LNB]2. Fastino Asprilla: A true maverick in every sense, Asprilla burst on to the English scene after signing for Newcastle from Parma for £6.7million.[LNB]A little bit of digging into his past unearthed the gems that he had posed naked for a Colombian magazine - and turned up to a training session in Chile with a fake gun, threatening to 'shoot the players if they didn't run'. [LNB]Nicknamed 'The Octopus' due to his languid style of play and known as Tino among Toon fans, he achieved star staus on Tyneside after hitting a stunning hat-trick against Barcelona in a 1997 Champions League clash which ended in a 3-2 win for the Magpies.[LNB]That was as good as it got, though, and the Colombian fled England in 2002 after agreeing terms with then Division Three side Darlington, only to change his mind at the last minute and disappear off the footballing radar.[LNB]1. Duncan Ferguson: The Scot was a fearsome opponent due to his imposing 6ft 4ins frame and banged in 97 goals in 360 appearances for Dundee United, Rangers, Everton and Newcastle. [LNB]John Terry and Sami Hyypia have both described him as their toughest opponent, and two burglars found him a handful when he confronted them at his Lancashire home back in 2001 - one got away, the other spent three days in hospital.[LNB]Ferguson has had four convictions for assault - the most infamous his on-field confrontation with Raith Rovers defender John McStay while playing for the Gers back in 1994. A bad-boy striker - and number one in my book.[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk