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Topics: Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Vinnie Jones
Ryan Smart
Tony Adams agreed with Vinnie Jones in naming a former Chelsea and Luton star as being among football's hardest men.
Adams, a four-time top division winner with Arsenal, was known as being one of the toughest competitors of his era.
A towering centre-back, Adams captained the Gunners across three decades, and his final month as an active professional footballer saw him win both the Premier League and FA Cup in 2002.
The 66-cap England international has held various managerial roles since retirement, including at Portsmouth and Spanish side Granada, though it is in his charity work that he has made the biggest impact.
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Adams founded the Sporting Chance Clinic in 2000 to support footballers with mental and emotional health problems.
The charity also provides treatment for addictive disorders, with Adams revealing during his playing career that he was a recovering alcoholic. He has been sober since 1996.
In Adams' era, English football in general was far more physical than it is today, leading to the birth of the term 'hardmen' to describe some of the toughest footballers.
Adams could certainly be classed as among them - as could Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' enforcer Vinnie Jones.
Speaking to talkSPORT in a recent interview, Jones was given the names of several football 'hardmen', including Roy Keane, Duncan Ferguson and John Fashanu.
Jones stated that he was harder than all of those names - but not Mick Harford, who played for Chelsea, Luton Town and Lincoln City, among a number of other clubs, during a distinguished playing career.
Harford, now 66, was a striker by trade but also could play as a midfielder, and struck fear into First Division opponents during his prime years.
He was 33 years of age when the inaugural Premier League season kicked off in 1992, but was still hugely effective and netted nine goals in 28 matches as Chelsea finished 11th.
Jones described Harford, who is now a legendary figure across various roles at Luton, as a 'monster' - and Adams used a similar description.
Speaking at an event in Birmingham in 2014, Adams reeled off some of his toughest opponents (via the Birmingham Mail): "I came up against Cyrille Regis in one of my first few games.
"He was so strong and physical, and obviously Mick Harford was another.
"[John] Fashanu bust my nose. Kenny Dalglish may be a surprise but he was very tough."
Underlining how football has evolved over the years - even during his own career - Adams added: "I had my nose broken by players five times in the 1980s, but never got a scratch in the 90s as the game changed."