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Amazon.co.uk Review
This is a tough and compelling account of how, according to King, football violence was and always has been, part of the fabric of male, working-class life. Page after page describes the adventures of King and the Chelsea fans as they follow Chelsea across the country, taking "ends" (the area of the ground usually reserved exclusively for the home team's fans) and engaging in organised fights, often on a terrifying and brutal scale. There are some wonderful sections on the vagaries of football fashion throughout the 70s and 80s and the cameraderie which unites the guild-like groups of fans is evoked with great skill. But King is often too quick to hide behind claims that innocents were never hurt in the violence he actively pursued and that the media has blown the problem out of all proportion. Nevertheless Hoolifan raises some uneasy and still unresolved questions about the nature of football violence. --Jerry Brotton
Product Description
Hoolifan is the story of one man, Martin King, and his experiences spanning three decades with the country's foremost soccer gang. Chelsea have always been at the cutting edge of football violence, and King himself was at the heart of the evolving Chelsea mob for some 30 years. From his first visit to a football ground in the early 1960s, he charts his development from a rattle-waving child through to a fully fledged member of the notorious Chelsea Shed in the 1970s and finally to his exploits as a key player in the most feared football gang of the 1980s and 1990s - the so-called Chelsea Headhunters.
King describes the leading characters of the various eras, not just from Chelsea but from across the country. He also records every clash, ambush and act of revenge in vivid detail, as well as the camaraderie and style of this most infamous soccer gang.
This is not just another book on the well-trodden subject of football hooliganism, as, unlike so many authors, Martin King makes no attempt to distance himself from the violence and leaves readers to draw their own conclusions.
At times provocative, often humorous and always honest, Hoolifan places the phenomenon of football hooliganism in its true social context.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
One for the 'Loaded' readers.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hoolifan: 30 Years of Hurt (Paperback)
Another cash-in on the late 90's postmodern 'lad-culture'. Written in the style of how a 15 year old might describe his weekend, always the 'noble hero', full of unnecessary embellishments (and cultural inaccuracies), heavy on the fantasy...talk about self-eulogizing. Image first, facts second. If you want believable pain, read Steve Cowens book on The Blades.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking,
By A Customer
This review is from: Hoolifan: 30 Years of Hurt (Paperback)
Whilst on the surface Hoolifan can be seen as a romp through the decades with a football mob it is undoubtedly an important social document. The psychology of young men and gangs is intentionally or unintentionally laid bare as is the social framework they operate under. Searching questions are raised over the institutionalisation of football and policing and society's attitude towards violence generally.An entertaining and often comedic read from many angles and my only criticism is: have the authors allowed some very lateral and compelling thoughts to become obscured among the action, dialogue and event driven prose that drives the book?
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing,
By aldogreenock (scotland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hoolifan: 30 Years of Hurt (Paperback)
I genuinely read this book in one night. Couldn't put it down. The harshness, humour and insight into football violence spanning over 3 decades is second to none!
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