Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79123 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

Review
'A great read with no shortage of humour.' (Loaded magazine)
--LOADED

Synopsis
The Inside Story of Britain's Most Violent Hooligan Gang; The Cardiff Soul Crew are recognised by police intelligence officers as the most violent football hooligan gang currently active in Britain. Their 400-plus members have been involved in mass disorder at matches for more than twenty-five years. Yet they have largely escaped the notoriety of their English counterparts - until now. Two men closely involved with the gang tell its history from its origins through to the present day: their leaders, their fashions, how they organise and who they fight. "Soul Crew" relates how an infamous clash with Manchester United's Red Army in the mid-Seventies was the impetus for the formation of the mob. A core group of hardcases from the tough Docks area of Cardiff was joined by alienated, unemployed youths from the valleys and former pit villages of South Wales. They took their name from their love of soul music and adopted the 'casual' fashion of designer-label clothes. In time they would fight fierce battles with rivals like the Frontline Crew, the Bushwhackers, the Gooners and the Central Element.

"Soul Crew" also reveals for the first time the network of alliances and communications between the leading hooligans around the country: the so-called "Category C" thugs who organise much of the violence. And it tells of their cat-and-mouse relationship with the police spotters who now follow them everywhere From the publishers of the best-selling Guvnors and Blades Business Crew, "Soul Crew" is the best evocation yet of life running with a soccer mob.

Customer Reviews

Honest and refreshingly modest
The Book is written with an unflinching sense of honesty which is a rarity among a book of this genre. Both authors do their best to admit that their respective roles, although significant,were in no way paramount to the chartering of a football firm which on its day can muster up unprecedented numbers.
I liked the fact that despite the press hype the authors are relatively modest in ther claims for infamy conceeding that the likes of Chelsea and Midddlesbrough have indeed 'clipped' the wings of the 'Blubirds'. Unlike other football hooligan books the Soul Crew, although itself a fearsome and tough mob do not claim the pretence of being invincible unlike the much over-hyped ICF.
The style in which it is written keeps the readers interest and is not a repetitive diatribe of season after season of violence.
The book is more thematic than a typical book of this type, the casual scence is continually woven in to the patchwork of football aggro, thus providing a sense of depth and scope which makes it all the more readable.
It is also written with a dry and sardonic wit which has proven to be a revelation to those of us who want more than just a chronological documentation of violence. The authors obvious intelligence helps purge the crass notion that football hooligans are mindless morons. It is fascinating that men who are patently quite bright should choose such a turbelent vocation '..when saturday comes'.
Set against the backdrop of one of Britains most deprived social areas the boys of the Valleys and the less affluent areas of Wales' capital city tap into the football casual phenomena during the early 1980's and contine unabated right to the present day.
The idea that football hooliganism is dead is unfounded according to the compelling reading of Tony Rivers side of the story, partly no doubt due to the fact the English media and Police authorities still perceive Wales as a haven for Rugger boys and male voice choirs. According to this book, the Soul Crew phenomena is a complete antithesis to this misguided preconception. As such the Soul Crew have been underestimated by the Authorities and rival footie firms, particularly those which orbit around the whole charade of 'the Big Smoke'.
This book if believed, and it does appear to be believable, serves to banish such simple mythologies..i.e Wales is backward and lacks the nuances of modern day street crime etc. The book was no doubt written with this in mind.
Admitedly the likes of Chelsea and West Ham were the top boys in the 1970s and 1980s as stated in this very book but to those 'in the Know' The Soul Crew have been a formidable firm during the era of the moblie phone, a recognition which would not be admitted to by the likes of Mr Pennat et al.who seem hell-bent upon perpetuating the media myth that the football scene is dead. Their way of life on the terraces may have long gone but a move away into more intence small scale incidents are now the norm. Hooligans have not run but accomodated to the pressures put on them by the likes of NCIS thus becoming a more zealous and committed breed. In a sense the mass violence of the past is seldom occurs yet according to this book Cardiff can still get massive numbers out when the need is called for, and believe me I have seen it first hand.
It is astonshing how the authors reveal how they would often befriend rivals to arrange the 'off' amicably and then kick 'seven bells' into one another before again resuming friendships. Bizarre.
All in all a good read, funny, genuine and unpretentious.

SOUL CREW a great read , thrilling and informative account!
This publication is quite an interesting read about the hooligan firm of my birthplace.It contains some detailed and interesting accounts of the history of the Soul Crew,their violent clashes and other activites,written in a style that is easy to understand it is very informative.It's unbiased on the whole although the account of the Soul Crew and the Millwall Bushwackers has been i feel slightly over-exagerrated because I had primary experience of these fixtures.But all in all a very gripping and informative read and well worth the price...

How the West was won.
This is a great read, I went through it in six hours and couldn't put it down. I attended many of the games that Dave and Tony have outlined and although I observed the 'goings on' from close quaters never got seriously involved. There is none of the hype and boasting that is normally seen in this genre and overall the detail is very accurate. Some of the facts are slightly out e.g we didn't get relegated the season we played Bradford last game, and I was dissapointed that there was not an account of a dust up in Hove Park Brighton in the mid to late 90's. It is a popular myth that hooligans are not football fans, those of this misguided opinion should take note of the regular references to scorelines, scorers and 'floating free kicks', some may be alarmed to realise how much these lads feel for the club.