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Congratulations, You Have Just Met the I. C. F. | 
 enlarge | Author: Cass Pennant
Publisher: John Blake Publishing, Limited
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $8.96
You Save: $26.03 (74%)
New (23) Used (8) from $8.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 489133
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1904034853
Dewey Decimal Number: 364
EAN: 9781904034858
ASIN: 1904034853
Publication Date: October 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Cass Pennant was one of the best-known figures of the I.C.F. He has used his unique position as a West Ham insider to bring together these first-hand accounts of the men who were at the eye of the storm, both on and off the terraces. These tales from the terraces range from the inflamed East End rivalry with Millwall to the shed-end-battles with Chelsea, from aggravation at Anfield's Kop to the disaster at Heysel. The stories unfold against a backdrop of sharp fashion and music, such as The Cockney Rejects and Sham 69, that became the hallmark of the hoolifans.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Good evening Gentlemen... April 10, 2008
The title of the book is their business card, I think it's brilliant on their part though I can't say I'm sorry I was never handed one. Or perhaps I am. There are probably large cardboard boxes full of what's written about football hooligans. They analyze the why and the how; violence seems to attract a sort of fascination and I admit I am not immune to it. And I am not immune to a level of admiration for anyone like Bill Gardner who could walk up to the mob of another firm and say "Good afternoon gentlemen. The name's Bill Gardner." And then the ruck's on. It's a sort of utter fearlessness and abandon, and this book won't analyze anything, it'll bring it to life for you through the words of all the right faces in the Inner City Firm. It's stories of the West Ham supporters through the height of violence in the 70's and the 80's, along with a glimpse into the meaning of the violence from some of the most feared men of the I.C.F. You'll find no academics or reporters talking about hooligans here, I love it because here people get to speak for themselves.
Interestingly enough, though, there's very little said about West Ham or football itself. A great book with a lot more about football is Eduardo Galeano's Soccer in Sun and Shadow, highlighting the great games and the great players and the politics behind it all, a great counterpoint to give context to a book like this one...
 Excellent from start to finish December 31, 2007
Its not unusual to see black people at
football matches these days but back in the 70's and early 80's there
were a lot of skinheads on the terraces and they were mostly extreme
right wing racists. I didn't go to football at all in the UK in the
70's but I remember going to see my first England match in 85 and
being quite shocked by some of the racist chanting from some sections
of the crowd at our own players. In short if you were black and
standing on the terraces behind the goals (where all the hardcore
fans gather) then you were seriously hard. Cass Pennant was that, a feared man as well. His writing is clear and focused, and this book is a great account of West Ham United's main firm, the Inter City Firm. Their rucks with rivals are still spoken of with awe, and one didn't venture into their turf on a game day without expecting to catch a beat down! Wild tales, especially to us Yanks!
 OK but not first hand. July 28, 2007
Cass wasn't there a lot of the time.
Too much 'secondhand' knowledge, to keep me gripped for long. But an easy read and entertaining all the same.
I'd like to read more of what these people are thinking and feeling, than just related events.
Cass, Gardner, Swallow, Leach and co, write your stuff 'first hand' - it would be facinating.
No doubt these books are the life breath of DVDs like 'Green Street' or 'Football Factory'; both of which bear no resemblence to what really went (goes) on.
Buy 'Good Afternoon, Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner' by Bill Gardner and Cass Pennant - good read. Gardner is a diamond. Totally loyal to WHU and all it stands for. He certainly has my resect.
West Ham usually win in their battles. A tough bunch indeed.
They are definitely the second hardest firm since the Great War.
The hardest being Millwall of course. Always outnumbered, never outdone. Sounds like a good title for a MFC book.
If you REALLY want to know about WHU, buy Bobby Moore: By the Person Who Knew Him Best by Tina Moore. A GREAT read. He is WHU.
Lord Moore of Dagenham, I refer to him as.
interesting read January 27, 2007
the book was a interesting read a little one sided i have years of experience in these sort of things and felt we only heard one side of the story. Otherwise very entertaining.
ALL ONE WAY TRAFFIC January 3, 2007
FOUND THIS BOOK VERY INTERESTING BUT IT WAS ALL ONE WAY TRAFFIC.. I REALY GOT INTO ALL THE STORIES AND IMAGINED AT TIMES I WAS ACTUALLY THEIR INVOLVED WITH EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON.. THE ONLY DISAPPOINTING THING WAS THE FACT THEY NEVER SEEMED TO GET DONE. THEY ALSO SEEMED TO BELITTLE THEIR CLOSEST RIVALS AT TIMES BUT I MUST ADMIT THEY WERE AT THE TIME AWESOME BUT NOT INDESTRUCTABLE AS THIS BOOK LEADS YOU TO BELEIVE.
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