'Never take the ball off him in training' - is this Everton's hardest player?
- Published
Throughout Wednesday, BBC Sport's Phil McNulty has ranked the hardest men to play for Everton.
And in top spot...
Johnny Morrissey
Morrissey was signed by Everton from Liverpool in 1962 for £10,000. It was a deal done without Reds manager Bill Shankly's knowledge, and he was so enraged that he vowed never to let such an incident happen again.
And Shankly's admiration for this tough, but very talented, winger was confirmed in a decade at Everton in which he played in two title-winning sides.
He figured in 1962-63, but more memorably and prominently when he stood out - even among the greats of Alan Ball, Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall - in the 1969-70 triumph, his crosses a rich source of supply for the young Joe Royle.
Morrissey was beloved among Everton fans, who worshipped both his great ability and his attitude. He still cut a sprightly figure at Goodison Park, at 85, when he was part of the parade of former players at the final men's game at the stadium in May.
In the wider game, Morrissey had a reputation as a hard-as-nails character who was not to be trifled with at any time - a winger happy to give any full-back taking liberties a taste of their own medicine.
Liverpool's famous 'Anfield Iron' Tommy Smith admitted even he was wary of Morrissey, while former colleague Kendall said Ball's advice to him on his first day at Everton was: "Never take the ball off Johnny Morrissey in training."
Leeds United were the template for the hard teams of that era, but Morrissey used to send a shudder through that battle-hardened Elland Road dressing room, his running battles with Jack Charlton the stuff of legend.
John Giles, no shrinking violet in the physical exchanges, wrote in his book how he could look after himself "like Peter Osgood did, like Mike Summerbee did, like Johnny Morrissey did - well OK, maybe not quite like Johnny".
Scroll down to 14:53 BST for Duncan Ferguson and Peter Reid in second and third, and 08:33 for Kevin Ratcliffe and Pat van den Hauwe in fourth and fifth.
Now it's over to you. Do you agree with Phil's selections?
