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Amazon.co.uk Review
Martin King first went to see a football match in the early 1960s at White Hart Lane. Immediately hooked, he soon became an avid Chelsea fan, or as the title of his book suggests, a Hoolifan, as over the years he became one of Chelsea's "top boys", a ringleader in orchestrating the violence on the terraces and city streets which made Chelsea so notorious throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.

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

Synopsis
The story of Martin King and his 30 years of involvement with football hooliganism, particularly as a member of the notorious Chelsea Headhunters. He describes the leading characters, famous fights, planned ambushes and sets hooliganism in its social context.

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28 Reviews 5 star:  (19) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (3)           Average Customer Review (28 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: I was THE top boy, I'm a proper man me., 4 Mar 2008 By  peterkayisatwat (uk) - See all my reviews Yeah I was the top boy in Camberwick Greens the Intercity Cheap Day Return Cutting Crew Fisticuffs Firm and I ran all of youse. There was me, Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub and we gave every other firm a spanking. I'll always remember the derby against Trumpton in '84 when we ran them, I decapitated their top boy Windy Miller than went home and impressed everybody by telling them what a big man I am and how I get a buzz out of violence and being a sick sociopath. I'll always remember in the 80's after coming back from seeing Chelsea Liverpool how a group of grown men, Chelsea supporters, went up to a young boy of about ten in Euston station who happened to be wearing a Liverpool hat, pulled the hat off his head threw it on the platform and verbally abused him. I warrant he never went to a football match again. I bet they dined off that one for years, is that proud moment in one of these books? If anyone wants to discuss this with me I'll be in the Frog and Cabbage on Ilford High Street tonight. I'll be wearing a ginger beard and wig, brown checkered flares and holding a large aubergine, my traditional rucking gear. Come on then if you think you're hard enough!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   5 of 7 people found the following review helpful: Brilliant!!!, 2 Jun 2003 By  "burnley_til_i_die" - See all my reviews This book gives the reader an excellent insight into one of Englands most notourious hooligan firms, "The Chelsea HeadHunters." The book isn't promoting hooliganism but explaining it and a great footballing folk law. Its a journey of one man Martin King and his football life. Once I started to read this book I couldn't put it down, a must but for a football fan who can relate to Martin Kings story!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   4 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Terrace Culture Remembered, 20 Feb 2002 By  hugh_jenkins@hotmail.com (Perth, Australia (originally Wales)) - See all my reviews Anyone who went to football matches in the eighties will find this book brings memories flooding back. It made me realise that I'd forgotten so much about those days, and perhaps highlights just how mcuh football has moved on (or at least I have). The book doesn't attempt to moralise on the subject of hooliganism and there's no remorse on the part of the author for his actions. In fact, he appears to take blatant pride in his violent activities and you'd be led to believe that no innocents were victims of his actions. I suppose the author should be commended for his forthrightness and honesty, but it would be nice if the author could have shown some belief that the world's a better place without the sort of character he was.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 28 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews Hoolifan is not a fictional account Hoolifan is not a fictional account, the stories and characters are the real deal. Although never a hooligan myself I am a Chelsea fan and I attended nearly all of... Read more Published 6 months ago by Four Crests Great Read This book is a must have for those who want a wider knowledge of hooligan-ism in the early 1960's to the 1980's. Read more Published on 15 Feb 2006 by stan_barnett Hoolifan: 30 Years of Hurt This book was an excellent read. I simply could not put it down Though this was meant to be fictional, it was very easy to appreciate the reality of the battles that took place... Read more