Blades: The Inside Story of a Football Hooligan Gang

For 20 years, Steve Cowens kept a diary of the violent exploits of The Blades Business Crew - one of the country’s most actie hooligan gangs. As leader of the BBC - he visited 91 of the 92 football league grounds - and fought at most of them. In this explosive book, Cowens reveals the links between different hooligan groups around the country, how they communicate and how they organise. He details the confrontations with many of the leading gangs of the 1980s and 1990s, from West Ham and Chelsea to Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. And for the first time, he describes many of the lesser known but equally active gangs at some of England’s smaller clubs. He also tells how Sheffield is a city fiercely divided along football lines and relates the story of the city’s bouncer wars’ that left many jailed and permanently injured.