Brit footy hooligans who virtually died – fractured cranium to prime boys gunned down

We recently brought you a chilling read looking inside the ‘City of Knives’ where football hooligans chop off hands and murder rivals.

Barbarians in Krakow brought blades to the gruesome ‘Holy Derby’ matches in scenes much more dangerous than the walk up Seven Sisters for Tottenham away.

But while that may be true, bloodthirsty football hooligans once dominated the terraces in Britain, with an obscene level of violence in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

READ MORE: Infamous football hooligan banned from every stadium now unrecognisable after transformation

READ MORE: West Ham hooligan ‘beat up infamous kid killer in prison toilet’ after lags asked him to

The gruesome stories are still being told today and Cass Pennant – the founder of West Ham’s Inter City Firm (ICF) – recently tweeted: “What could be the ideal present for Dad on Father’s Day? A signed by the author copy of bestselling reads by Cass Pennant, that’s what.”

And the title of his latest book – You’re Going Home in a F***ing Ambulance – gives some insight into the brutality that once plague our beautiful game.

With that in mind, below we look inside the lives of three of the most notorious hooligans in British history who all had near-death experiences.

Cass Pennant

Where better place to start than the already mentioned Cass, now 66, who was actually born with the name Carol – but changed it after being inspired by Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay) before co-founding the ICF.

He became a Hammer after his neighbour’s son invited him to a game when he was just eight years old – one year after England won the World Cup.

His infamous ICF was later made up of ruthless members who left calling cards on their victims that read: “Congratulations, you have just met the ICF.”

Cass went on to spend two stints behind bars but the reformed hard man is now living proof that people can transform their lives.

His upbringing was dramatised in a 2008 film called Cass and Pennant went on to become a writer, actor and film producer. One of the short films he has produced is called Beverley and stars Vicky McClure.

He also has his own clothing range called Old School FC and when he is not working on projects he can usually be found supporting his beloved team at The London Stadium.

But his future was almost snatched away when he was shot three times at point-blank range after an ugly feud with a rival firm.

Almost losing his life partly inspired him to ditch hooliganism in 2002 and at the start of his autobiography, he said: “I’ve been involved in more violence than most people will experience in a hundred lifetimes. My favourite weapons were my fists, the axe and Uncle Stan – my trusty Stanley knife.”

Tony O’Neill

Tony O’Neill, now in his 60s, referred to himself as the ‘general’ back in the 1970s when he became the key figure in two Manchester United firms called Red Army and later the Casuals.

He is originally from Wythenshawe, once the largest council estate in Europe, and he started watching the Red Devils home and away as a teenage boy.

Similar to Cass, he also went to prison multiple times, and he also survived being shot, despite it being a close call.

This happened almost 20 years ago in 2004 when he was blasted in the stomach in the Sedge Lynn pub in Chorlton. He was left in a serious condition but survived.

The former hardman has since turned his life around and it was revealed in 2017 that O’Neill had started working at Hotel Football – a hotel outside Old Trafford owned by Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.

Neville picked O’Neill, who was banned from going to matches because of his previous offences, to work security. And speaking about being headhunted by the former defender, he said: “Gary, who runs the hotel, through the management, he came to me.

“They said Gary Neville wants to move on with the hotel and wants to create more for the fans. He turned to me and the missus, Debbie, and we fit the bill because of our understanding – regardless of what people think. The hotel management turned round and said, ‘This is what we want and we think you’re the one to do it’.”

Tony now runs a successful YouTube Manchester United fan channel called Webby & O’Neill where he has 71,000 subscribers and has interviewed the likes of Jamie Carragher, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

Ginger Bob

Infamous Millwall hooligan Ginger Bob claims that he started fighting on the terraces at the age of 11 – before almost losing his life seven years later.

He made the startling revelation on Danny Dyer’s Real Football Factories when, speaking from a boozer, he said: “When I was 18, I had a fractured skull, two broken cheekbones, lost 12 teeth, broken nose, broken jaw, four broken ribs and a broken collarbone and internal bleeding – and I still got up.”

Unfortunately, there was no further context to the bonkers story, but the former thug, now 66, explained how Millwall was the toughest firm in the country because it was made up of former boxers, martial artists and special armed forces men.

Not much has been published about him since the Dyer documentary – because according to him, it was “so secretive” at Millwall.

But last year he spoke on the Anything Goes with James English podcast because he wanted to get his stories out there after a near-death experience.

Speaking about the toughest firm he faced, he said: “I’ve got to give it to Cardiff City. Cardiff had an around 3-4,000-person-strong firm while Millwall – with around 300 – had nowhere to run. My mates thought they were going to die.

“The best row I had ever seen was on March 18, 1976. We had 300 firm and they had 2,000… and some of our people were getting stabbed. One of my friends got captured by Cardiff and he was being beaten to death… so I’ve gone back into Cardiff’s firm and pulled him along the floor.

“Because of the adrenaline I managed to pull him back, but when we got back to the station, Cardiff’s firm and the police were all laughing.”

Ginger Bob is now a grandad with a home in Blackpool where his eldest daughter and her children are based. He also has a rented flat in London – saying he will never totally leave the capital.