Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Ski Jumpers and Kio's Wasn't In It..., 4 Dec 2004
I have just finished Tony O' Neill's honesty-fest hooligan tale, and was well impressed at his refusal to pander to current trends and depict himself as a "casual". Instead, he told a unique story of a young lad growing up fast in an era that many have dismissed as a mere stepping-stone to what went on later. It is definitely an honest account of United's exploits, but we have to remember that when Tony is being truthful in telling you that the lads got a slap, a lot of the time it was in the process of doing things that other crews simply didn't do - or even dream of doing, namely, steaming into other peoples' "ends" and trying to take them by force! Most other "honest" hooligan accounts are about defending home turf against United, or else making it to and from some moody gaff without getting too much of a pasting. I don't know much about it but O'Neill sounds like a credible gentleman criminal in that he disagreed with the use of weapons and other misdemeanours, such as burglary, etc, instead choosing to be the director of operations where it mattered, like the account of the tube station at West Ham, or the routing of the scousers at Maine Road. I just wish the book was longer, and with more pictures. I read it in about three hours straight, and it left me wanting more. Maybe I'm a poofy "casual", or maybe I just appreciate a story by someone with a more original perspective - and this was definitely that. The second part comes out next year.......
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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome!, 9 Jan 2005
this was the first hooligan book that I bought, and I admit, I only chose this one because I am a lifelong united fan, so it made sense. I think, judging by some of the titles i have read in the last couple of months since reading this book, i now rate this one very highly. Unlike what some people think, Red Army General doesn't claim that United never got done in, but quite the opposite. O'Neill is quick to give credit to rival firms who gave it to United, like Middlesbrough, Arsenal and Spurs.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in hooliganism, or just football in general. I wasn't born in the seventies, but this book really opened my eyes to what it must have been like back then. I personally cant wait for Men in Black the sequel to come out. This book goes to show what can be accomplished in prison, as O'Neill wrote the majority of this from jail.
One negative point: the criticsm of today's 'Stone Island Cyber-Hooligans' as i personally know some of these, and they are solid!!!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
At last, the genuine article, 1 Dec 2004
By A Customer
Red Army General is unique in it's genre - a completely honest account from Britain's most respected hooligan, Tony O'Neill.
Unlike many of it's ilk, this book is refreshingly frank in dealing with not only the Red Army's many famous victories over their fiercest rivals, but also their occasional fearsome beatings at the hands of often suprising opponents.
This in turn adds to it's crediblility - you won't find any claims of invincibility which litter similar books from the likes of the I.C.F and other supposedly 'untouchable' London firms.
Instead the author tells us how it was that Man United became and still are Britain's number one hooligan firm.
It never mattered to United whether they took a beating or lost their 'unbeaten' tag. What mattered most was turning up, having a go and, to quote the author, "Whatever happens, happens".
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