Bobby the Wolf: The True Story of Britain's Most Notorious Football Hooligan, and the West Ham’s Intercity Firm’s Top Boy

Product Information

There is, of course, a practical side to all this acceptance and camaraderie. While Cass and Riaz speak eloquently of an almost pastoral duty of care from the gangs they joined, Danny Brown is in no doubt that, while there’s no one-size-fits-all reason for such allegiances, there’s a safety in numbers game at play. There is something of the survival instinct at play, but also a sense of duty and an almost instant loyalty that came simply from being listened to and taken seriously. Cass Pennant was one of the founding members of West Ham’s Inner City Firm. Their reputation went before them, along with most away fans – at considerable pace.

b. Last season was a trophy winning one and there's only one way to go after that, I expect a dull mid table bore fest of a season Already, the binary morality that we routinely accept as the norm when talking about young men fighting seems wanting. The force of this familial bond is felt in many such accounts, and must have seemed an inviting proposition for hundreds of young men at the time. Chilling photos show battle-scarred faces of football hard men who ruled the terraces in 70s, 80s and 90s No surprise then, that people would look to take ownership of their future rather than passively sit by waiting for things – mostly bad – to happen to them.verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Being part of a firm gave you an identity,’ says Gary Clarke – also known as Boatsy, of Nottingham Forest’s Executive Crew. No matter which stage your business is at, whether you're taking your first steps into becoming self-employed, or you're part of an international organisation, our Business VoIP solution can help you to do business better.

This formative experience, of being protected and looked out for resonated deeply with the young lad, and it was to be reinforced several years later. Travelling across town was dangerous on a Saturday, even worse for a midweek game if they jumped on your tube carriage late on

There was a bit of trouble and, even at a young age, I wanted to get involved. [I was] frothing at the mouth with eyes popping out of my head, but you can’t do much at that age. For many of the faces in this exhibition, the Seventies and Eighties provided the timeline for their tear-ups. When I explained, they left me and went looking for the gang chasing me. I had turned to police and got no help, I had been split up from the only people I knew and, alone in a hostile city I did not know, I tagged along." Cass Pennant: "There’s a sense of identity, respect, pride, belonging, brotherhood – family even. It’s male camaraderie, a feeling you’re alive. You matter and can have a say in your destiny." Jon Culley (26 January 2009). "Hull to bill Millwall for damage to stand". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14 . Retrieved 25 August 2009.

Leeds United v Millwall: Police mount anti-hooligan operation". Yorkshire Evening Post . Retrieved 28 August 2010.We were the first multi-racial football crew in Britain – it brought together youths from different areas of Birmingham during the Eighties.’ This sense of local loyalty is abundantly clear in Bob’s first taste of terrace fighting, which was at the tender age of eight: "I went to a match in Feb 1967, just before I turned nine – I used to go with my dad.