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Product Description
To say that Andrew Bennion had it tough would be an understatement. His early life, in fact, makes Cass Pennant's upbringing look like Little Lord Fauntleroy's. Bennion was forced to live rough on the streets of Manchester from the age of eleven, where he supported himself through shoplifting, burglary and other petty crimes. He spent the night wherever he could: in supermarket skips, in a sleeping bag next to Gorton reservoir and for a time in Manchester airport. In and out of care homes, young-offenders institutions and even adult prison Bennion discovered the one thing that gave his life meaning: football violence. A founder member of the notorious Guvnors, which attached itself to Man City, Bennion found there the acceptance and camaraderie he had never experienced in his personal life. The Guvnors quickly established themselves as one of the top firms in England, and there are no-holds-barred accounts of their vicious battles with mobs attached to, among others, Everton, Tottenham, Newcastle, Millwall, Middlesbrough and Chelsea. The Guvnors' main rivals were of course their fellow Mancunians, the Red Army, and Bennion provides fascinating insights into epic encounters between the two mobs. These include the Battle of the Whalley Hotel, skirmishes before and after Manchester derbies and the notorious Town Wars, which resulted in highly credible threats to his life. As one of the most high-profile hooligans in the city, Bennion was the main target for Operation Omega, a major operation launched by Greater Manchester Police. At the subsequent trial in Liverpool Crown Court, Bennion was convicted for his part in organised violence, as well as receiving a lengthy football banning order. Thoughout the book Bennion frankly acknowledges his part in a wide range of violent incidents, including a brutal assault on a police officer inside Piccadilly station. Denied the adrenaline fix that football violence gave him Bennion entered a very dark place, resulting in him becoming addicted to amphetamines, an addiction that pushed him once more into serious criminality. Bennion's personal life also went downhill, a situation that wasn't helped by the death of his grandmother, the only person who truly understood him. His relationship with the mother of his child broke down and much to his regret he lost touch with his baby son. Although he found happiness with a new partner he found that once again he had to pay a heavy price for his drug habit. This is clearly a very uncompromising, and at times harrowing, book. It is also a frequently violent book. But it is nonetheless a moving account of a life lived in the most adverse of circumstances.
About the Author
Andrew Bennion was a founder-member of the Guvnors, the notorious hooligan gang that attached itself to Manchester City.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought Guvnor General was quite an eye-opener. It's amazing that such a different and shocking world runs in parallel with the one most people inhabit. Andrew Bennion has obviously had a very difficult life and it is easy to see how he became inculcated with violence at an early age, even if you don't agree with violence itself. I think the book is an interesting sociological comment; Bennion comes across as valuing some quite noble ideals, such a loyalty and honour, yet he is considered by mainstream society as an outcast and a criminal. Perhaps Bennion's resort to violence is indicative of the desperation to escape that so many people feel, a desire usually sublimated into other activities such as work, sport, art and literature. It is ironic that the same drive that inspires creativity in some people can lead to much more destructive pursuits in others.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book a load of old tosh.
Re hashed and cliched as most of these
tough guy football bully boy thugs books are like.
I hope they bring Jackanory back i think
theres an opening there for the author.
Re hashed and cliched as most of these
tough guy football bully boy thugs books are like.
I hope they bring Jackanory back i think
theres an opening there for the author.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A good read,not the usual bragging crap found in other books.
This bloke really has had a hard upbringing,and to be fair to him has come out
a stronger man.Tells about other football firms aswell,with no lies.
Sorry to finish the book.
This bloke really has had a hard upbringing,and to be fair to him has come out
a stronger man.Tells about other football firms aswell,with no lies.
Sorry to finish the book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Worth buying
I don't know the Author, but I was interested in reading about the local derby battles in Lancashire, the book was a good read, with plenty of humour with it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mr. A. Abraham
so much more than your average hooli
bought the book more to see how he grew up and the background behind the man and coming from the broken home he came from you can understand how and why the man grew up with so... Read more
Published 11 months ago by triggersfc
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