The top 12’most infamous football businesses’ have been identified and ranked, and Millwall fails to make the cut.
In the 1960s, there was an increase in football hooliganism in Britain, as groups of supporters from various clubs, referred to as “firms,” would arrange violent, confrontational, or unruly actions on matchdays.
During the 1990 World Cup, hooliganism peaked, and documents show that Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government briefly contemplated pulling out of the competition.
Although incidents continued to happen semi-regularly until the turn of the century and still happen sometimes now, England’s journey to the competition’s semi-finals was somewhat of a turning point in the decline of football violence.
Clubs in London Although violence happened throughout England, Scotland, and Wales, Millwall, West Ham, and Chelsea were among the cities most frequently linked to hooliganism, especially in the 1970s and 1980s.
As part of a Metropolitan Police investigation in 1987, police officer James Bannon spent months within the Millwall “Bushwackers” enterprise, posing as Jim, a painter and decorator.
In his book “Running with the Firm,” Bannon wrote about his experiences and the connections he made with the people at the core of the Bushwackers company.
The Bushwackers lost out on the top place in a ranking of the 12 most infamous companies in English football history published in February by Lower Block, a website devoted to football culture throughout history.
Their list is as follows:
The top 12’most notorious football businesses’ with rankings
12. Stoke City’s Naughty Forty
11. Sheffield United’s Blades Business Crew
10. Aberdeen Casuals Football (Aberdeen)
9. Service Team Leeds United (Leeds United)
8. The Celtic Jungle
7. The Ibrox Boys of Glasgow Rangers
The sixth is the Tottenham Hotspur Yid Army.
The fifth is Cardiff City Soul Crew.
4. United Manchester Jibbers from Manchester United’s Inter-City
3. Chelsea (Chelsea) Headhunters
2. Bushwackers from Millwall
1. West Ham United, or Inter City Firm
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