Was anyone here a member of a football hooligan firm/gang in the 70s/80s/90s?

golden_blunder

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If so, which one? What age were you? Why did you do it? Why did you stop? IF you could still do it today would you?

give is a little insight
 

lsd

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Always found the idea a bit pathetic to be honest . Grown men who can only fight if they greatly outnumber the other person .

Seemed like they were in denial about something too. I suppose it would be interesting to see what happens them twenty years down the line
 

K Stand Knut

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I was a bit obsessed with them at uni, and by obsessed, I mean I read a lot of the books written by people in the firms.

They are all exactly the same and pretty ducking boring in hindsight.

I met one of the Cardiff City Soul Crew in Barcelona once and this was where I started to dislike it all. He was clearly a bell-end, aside from his football hooligan antics, and clearly just wanted loads of attention.

He didn’t try to fight me, which I guess was a bonus but he came across as a massive twat.

Anyway, this has contributed nothing to this thread.

Soz
 

Jam

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Have family who are United fans, and family who are Leeds fans. They used to take each other to the games and took them away from where trouble would be.

Reprehensible shit. Too young myself to have experienced it but thank Christ the game has largely left that culture behind.

There’s a difference between going to an away game and feeling an intimidating atmosphere around you, to going and having to actually fear for your safety of getting jumped.
 

Ludens the Red

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
 

K Stand Knut

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Have family who are United fans, and family who are Leeds fans. They used to take each other to the games and took them away from where trouble would be.

Reprehensible shit. Too young myself to have experienced it but thank Christ the game has largely left that culture behind.

There’s a difference between going to an away game and feeling an intimidating atmosphere around you, to going and having to actually fear for your safety of getting jumped.
Exactly this.

A good moody away trip is part of the excitement for me but fearing for my actual safety does not fulfil that need.
 

esmufc07

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A mate of mine moved over from the US to London in the early 00’s. He was a journalist but ended up getting in with some really bad West Ham hooligans. When they found out he was a journalist they nearly killed him. One fight ended up with the leader getting killed. My mate moved back to the US after a few months as he decided he’d end up dead if he carried on.
 

esmufc07

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..
Fair play yours was better than mine. 7/10 would read again.
 

balaks

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
How incredibly sad. I mean sad in the Norn Iron sense.
 

MC89

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A mate of mine moved over from the US to London in the early 00’s. He was a journalist but ended up getting in with some really bad West Ham hooligans. When they found out he was a journalist they nearly killed him. One fight ended up with the leader getting killed. My mate moved back to the US after a few months as he decided he’d end up dead if he carried on.
Is that you Matt Buckner?
 

Hernandez - BFA

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Glad the culture seems to have died - seemingly. I was a child during the 90s so wouldn't remember much, but I used to read a lot about it.

This is the only bit of "hooligans" I'd be supporting.

 

The holy trinity 68

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...

:lol: Well played.
 

No Love

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Wankers. They should give it up and step into any local boxing club if they want to fight so badly. They’ll find any number of people willing to oblige them.

What’s the general opinion on these guys these days, just seen for the clowns they are or are they generally still accepted as being “hard”?
 

duffer

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Glad the culture seems to have died - seemingly. I was a child during the 90s so wouldn't remember much, but I used to read a lot about it.
I remember being in primary school in the 80s and a rumour went around that the Headhunters were coming to give us all Chelsea smiles and we were genuinely scared.

I was not the brightest kid. Why the feck would they want to come into a local school and attack a load of 8 year olds who were mostly Chelsea fans?
 

RedTiger

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
I bet you could make a film out of that.
 

Jagga7

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My girlfriends uncle always tells me how he was in the Liverpool firm and he used to beat the shit out of people. He's a right knobhead.
 

Hernandez - BFA

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I remember being in primary school in the 80s and a rumour went around that the Headhunters were coming to give us all Chelsea smiles and we were genuinely scared.

I was not the brightest kid. Why the feck would they want to come into a local school and attack a load of 8 year olds who were mostly Chelsea fans?
:lol:

I suddenly remember what a Chelsea smile was. Didn't know if it was a myth or not before I googled it many moons ago.
 

11101

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Too young for it, but my wife's uncle was a fairly prominent member of The Gooners and did some time for it back in the day, and a lot of family friends were in the Naughty Forty. All middle aged family men now and a bit embarrassed of ever being involved.

Apparently it's all on the rise again, which makes sense given the general state of the country.
 

RedTiger

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I remember being in primary school in the 80s and a rumour went around that the Headhunters were coming to give us all Chelsea smiles and we were genuinely scared.

I was not the brightest kid. Why the feck would they want to come into a local school and attack a load of 8 year olds who were mostly Chelsea fans?
And yet you still started to support them after they threatened you and your 8yo mates. Thats proper Stockholm syndrome duffer.
 

ROFLUTION

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I remember being fascinated by Tony O'Neill's Red Army General book, having references for the London Subway by where Red Army fought their way in and out of trouble / back from away days. Fighting sometimes 3 London teams when playing away :lol: Such a strange way of getting to know London. In the book Leeds really seemed like a shithole back in the day, where you could easily get knifed.

Then I saw an actual smaller hooligan fight in Manchester a couple of years later and realized how idiotic and primitive caveman-ish it actual is in real life.
 

Thiagoal

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I occasionally go to Northampton Town games as they’re my local team. Must admit a large number of the fans are pillocks and wannabe hooligans. Some of the songs these ‘men’ sing are grotesquely misogynistic and really cringe worthy. United away games are far more enjoyable. Anyone else notice this further down the leagues? Maybe supporting your ‘local’ team makes you have a more territorial view of things?
 

pav1790

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
:wenger: :wenger::wenger:
 

Kasper

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
A mate of mine moved over from the US to London in the early 00’s. He was a journalist but ended up getting in with some really bad West Ham hooligans. When they found out he was a journalist they nearly killed him. One fight ended up with the leader getting killed. My mate moved back to the US after a few months as he decided he’d end up dead if he carried on.
:lol:
 

Red_toad

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Always found the idea a bit pathetic to be honest . Grown men who can only fight if they greatly outnumber the other person .

Seemed like they were in denial about something too. I suppose it would be interesting to see what happens them twenty years down the line
Bolded part is very wrong, were guys who just loved to fight 1 on 1 to prove who was top. Plus the challenge of taking on a fight and being vastly outnumbered was a real challenge to them. I know a few guys n they still love a scrap and well into their 50’s still hard as nails, though never going to win a beauty contest.

Never got involved in any such thing, as I knew/ know a few guys and I knew how they armed themselves and feck slashing someone else’s face for some insane train of thought. I’d look into how they were brought up, rather than being in denial over something, family violence/abuse happens.
 

the chameleon

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Back when I supported West Ham I was in the GSE (Green Street Elite) . As I wasn’t from East London I had to adopt the accent and it was god awful. Anyway got into loads of scraps, most notable with the Red Army, Birmingham Zoolos, Yid Army and Millwalls NGO.
Actually had my brothers wife brother come over from American too and join us. He was well short but could handle himself well. Anyway gave it up after a clash with the Millwall lot. Tommy Hatchet, Millwalls head guy, beat the shit out of me so I gave it up. Good times though..

Now I‘m more into being a biker...
:lol:
 

K Stand Knut

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Wankers. They should give it up and step into any local boxing club if they want to fight so badly. They’ll find any number of people willing to oblige them.

What’s the general opinion on these guys these days, just seen for the clowns they are or are they generally still accepted as being “hard”?
Well, one of them has his own YouTube channel so is still clearly in need of some attention and a cuddle.
 

Dirty Schwein

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Are the firms completely gone now? My daughter is getting too an age soon where I want to take her to some local football games (Watford, Luton, Arsenal, Spurs)...
 

K Stand Knut

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Are the firms completely gone now? My daughter is getting too an age soon where I want to take her to some local football games (Watford, Luton, Arsenal, Spurs)...
I think it’s certainly gone from PL level for whatever reason.

There is still elements of it lower down, in fact, from experience there is still a tiny bit from a few PL clubs but it is a tiny, tiny minority.

Palace spring to mind specifically
 

Rolandofgilead

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Are the firms completely gone now? My daughter is getting too an age soon where I want to take her to some local football games (Watford, Luton, Arsenal, Spurs)...
Most of this crap takes place away from the grounds these days. You shouldn't have too many issues.
 

Dirty Schwein

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I think it’s certainly gone from PL level for whatever reason.

There is still elements of it lower down, in fact, from experience there is still a tiny bit from a few PL clubs but it is a tiny, tiny minority.

Palace spring to mind specifically
Most of this crap takes place away from the grounds these days. You shouldn't have too many issues.
Great. Thanks. Can't wait to start taking her. She watches it with me on the TV and keeps asking to go. Think she'll be disappointed when she realises Luton's Mpanzu ain't no Fernandes :lol:
 

Vidyoyo

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At uni, I befriended this guy from Ukraine who moved over from Bahrain (and was clearly very wealthy).

He showed me videos of the fights he used to get in. Literally 100 men running at each other in a mud strewn field or car park. Wasn't sure how to react but it was quite amusing and he held it up like a badge of honour.

Was a nice guy.