Milo Books

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Service Crew

Paris, 1975. Chelsea, 1984. Birmingham, 1985. Bradford, 1986. Bournemouth, 1990. Some of the most shocking riots in football history have involved the hooligan gangs of one club: Leeds United. For forty years they have rampaged across country. Yet they have remained fiercely secretive – until now.

BBC journalist Caroline Gall spent two years interviewing participants from several generations to piece together the history of the Leeds soccer mobs, from the Shipley Skins of the Don Revie era to the Infant Hit Squad of today. The apex of this hooligan army was the Service Crew, who adopted their name in the early 1980s from the service trains they took to matches. Young, ruthless and organised, they became feared by their rivals, bolstered by the Very Young Team, a band of thieves and fighters who brawled at rock concerts and on legendary Bank Holiday trips to Blackpool.

The police eventually launched Operation Wild Boar to take down the ringleaders, only to convict a small number of minor players. Service Crew chronicles some of the worst incidents of terrace disorder in modern times, and is the definitive story of football’s most vilified fans.

What they said:

‘One of the most feared firms in Britain.’ DAILY SPORT

‘Charts their role in some of English soccer’s blackest days.’
YORKSHIRE EVENNG POST

About the author:

Caroline Gall is a journalist for BBC News Online and has written for national newspapers and magazines. She is the previous author of Zulus: Black, White and Blue – The Story of the Zulu Warriors Football Firm.

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