Product Description

For almost 25 years, Tony Sullivan has been a member of some of the most violent gangs following Manchester City. He has also toured Britain and Europe as a professional 'grafter'. Sullivan ran with the Mayne Line Motorway Service Crew in the early 80s. Here he details how they gained a fearsome reputation nation-wide. From St James' Park to Upton Park, the Mayne Line ruled British football, the most fearsome football mob during, hooliganism's 'Golden Age'. Now, with his hooligan career at a close, 'Sully' looks back on this violent era and relives the good hidings handed out and the kickings received. He also details some of the stunts he and his mates pulled - using the cover of his fellow fans to 'earn' a living in an era before extensive CCTV surveillance, often with unexpected results. Along the way he contrasts the exploits of the various supporters groups he encountered - the scouser's well known propensity for using a blade, the United supporter's unwillingness to take part in a fight unless they were certain to win it and the craziness of a typical away day in Newcastle city centre in the early eighties. Later, as police cracked down on hooliganism, many left the scene and the Mayne Line disbanded. Still Sully carried on regardless, the violence and buzz still a 'drug'. Unfortunately, several custodial sentences curtailed his career including, in 1991, an incidental involvement in the Strangeways Riot and its aftermath. The 1990s also saw a slew of hooligan memoirs hit the nation's bookshelves, often written by people with tenuous connections to the incidents described. Others sought to celebrate hooligan culture as some-kind of weekly fashion parade. Sully has little time for either as he explains: 'Over the years I have been beaten, stabbed, had bottles cracked on my head and had lads threatening to come round my gaff - but you won't hear me complain. This book is a true account of those years, devoid of sensational bullshit'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #170381 in Books
• Published on: 2008-12-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 211 pages

Customer Reviews

Sully - The Inside story
This book was a great read from start to finish. Tony Sullivan really does tell it like it is and you really get a feel for his experiences.
I feel that the author tells his stories without all the "hulla-balloo" and you can feel yourself in thoses same situations and ask yourself what would you have done.
Great read and keep it handy when you get an hour spare, well done "Sully"

Honest stuff
This is a decent enough book but as with all 'hoolie' books its difficult to rewrite a fight 50 times over 150 pages without it being very repetitive. However, the book moves on and the last few sections are interesting and lift this above most books of similar ilk. City didn't win anything in the book which just proves it's not a work of fiction.

ALWAYS ENJOYED THE MAN CITY BOOKS
BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE PREVIOUS BOOKS.
Author of Diary of the Soul Crew 1&2 and 3 other books Annis Abraham Jnr.