Bill Gardner: the Man, the Myth, the Legend

Bill Gardner: the Man, the Myth, the Legend
Title Bill Gardner: the Man, the Myth, the Legend PDF eBook
Author Bill Gardner
Publisher
Pages 270
Release 2020-11-17
Genre
ISBN

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Bill Gardner: The Man, The Myth, The Legend ★★★★★ Bill Gardner's childhood in 1950s East London was plagued by chronic vulnerability, due to shocking parental abuse. He endured relentless school bullying, unbearable solitude, mental health problems and homelessness by the age of 14. No value, no self-respect, no self-worth. However, between the late '60s and the early '80s Bill had changed. He was now acknowledged by peers, and the authorities alike, as British football's 'public enemy number one', as the terrace movement reached its most savage. Following his terrace 'retirement', his depiction in acclaimed movies including 'Cass' and 'Rise of the Footsoldier', alongside his citation in books, blogs and social media, fuelled a celebrity status he never craved. Autograph hunters had become selfie-seekers, and his terrace activities the stuff of legend. Yet, until now, only the closest of the close have known the real Bill Gardner, the one-time shy teen who craved acceptance from the 'West Ham family' - in his words, "the only family I ever had". Bill often wore a metaphoric mask in battle, and now even expresses certain degrees of regret. For the first and final time, Bill Gardner: The Man, The Myth, The Legend peels away that mask to reveal how a tragic past led to a ferocious future. As ever, Bill recalls this 'nature vs nurture' struggle in a brutally honest way.

Good Afternoon, Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner

Good Afternoon, Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner
Title Good Afternoon, Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner PDF eBook
Author Bill Gardner
Publisher eBook Partnership
Pages 230
Release 2012-11-05
Genre Sports & Recreation
ISBN 1909270679

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He arrived to rally the troops, the main man in the Inter City Firm and his greeting passed into football fan history. 'Afternoon, gentlemen, the name's Bill Gardner.' That introduction alone was often enough to provoke sheer terror in his opponents. He is a genuine legend to anyone who's ever stood proud on a football terrace. No serious book on the culture would be complete without at least one mention of him. And now at last, he's telling his own, long-awaited story. For the first time, Gardner himself reveals what made him the top man, including his innermost thoughts and his memories of the classic years for football fans. And many familiar faces have queued up to add their comments in this book which shows just what it is that makes Bill Gardner unique among the toughest and the greatest of them all.

Terrace Legends - The Most Terrifying And Frightening Book Ever Written About Soccer Violence

Terrace Legends - The Most Terrifying And Frightening Book Ever Written About Soccer Violence
Title Terrace Legends - The Most Terrifying And Frightening Book Ever Written About Soccer Violence PDF eBook
Author Cass Pennant
Publisher Kings Road Publishing
Pages 320
Release 2015-01-01
Genre True Crime
ISBN 1782192352

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Meet the men who, for decades, have ruled the football terraces. They are the faces behind the biggest firms in football history; behind the rucks, the rules and the respect. They have caused chaos for the public and the press and struck fear into rival fans that have crossed their path. In this book, the men behind the mobs have joined forces to reveal their experiences as key figures in the most notorious terrace fights. From the bovver boys of the sixties and seventies to the football casuals of the eighties, the names central to the biggest firms - the names that were to become the stuff that terrace legends were made of - have all been tracked down and interviewed. They tell their stories in this book.

Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum
Title Robert Mitchum PDF eBook
Author Lee Server
Publisher Macmillan
Pages 628
Release 2002-03-06
Genre Biography & Autobiography
ISBN 9780312285432

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Traces the life and career of actor Robert Mitchum in a biography of one of Hollywood's biggest and most colorful stars.

Naughty

Naughty
Title Naughty PDF eBook
Author Mark Chester
Publisher eBook Partnership
Pages 653
Release 2011-04-01
Genre True Crime
ISBN 0956836895

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In 1985, forty hooligan followers of Stoke City FC experienced a riotous trip to Portsmouth - and the Naughty Forty was born. It became one of the most notorious soccer gangs in Britain.Mark Chester was a founder member of the N40. Already a hardened fighter, he had been expelled from school after an unsettled childhood and joined the Staffordshire Regiment, only to be discharged for misconduct. Stoke City's emerging 'casual' mob became his family. 'Right or wrong, I was ready to be a committed football hooligan,' he says.He recounts tales of raucous coach trips from the Glebe pub and the pivotal clashes with the likes of Everton, Manchester United and West Ham that defined the new firm. Formidable characters came to the forefront, men like the giant Mark Bentley, Philler the Beast and the legendary Miffer, while hair-raising clashes with the likes of Millwall, Spurs, Aston Villa and Manchester City saw the gang's reputation spread.The N40 code was simple: whatever the odds, they would always make a stand. Many times they fought when heavily outnumbered yet often came out on top. They developed a closeness and cohesion rare among the football gangs. Loyalty was their watchword.Soon they were joined by the Under-Fives, a younger element determined to win acceptance from the terrace legends they admired and who carved out their own niche as well as fighting side by side with the old-school heads.Police operations, bans from the ground and the introduction of ID schemes have prevented many from attending games, but the author, long 'retired' from the scene, argues that in the new millennium the gangs are back - and as ferocious as ever. NAUGHTY is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the illicit but seductive lure of terrace combat, the emotional ties of a gang and the addictive buzz of Saturday afternoons.

Guvnors

Guvnors
Title Guvnors PDF eBook
Author Mickey Francis
Publisher
Pages 194
Release 1997
Genre Social Science
ISBN 9780953084715

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A first-hand account of how Michael Francis and his brothers ran the Guvnors, a Manchester City based hooligan gang that wreaked havoc on the streets and terraces of Britain. Hard hitting and atmospheric, the story recounts Francis' childhood in the notorious Moss Side area of Manchester, his initiation into soccer thuggery, his rise through the ranks of the hooligan hierarchy, and the bitter clashes with other football gangs.

Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride

Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride
Title Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride PDF eBook
Author Michael Wallis
Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
Pages 423
Release 2008-03-17
Genre Biography & Autobiography
ISBN 0393075435

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"This might be the best Billy the Kid book to date." —Fritz Thompson, Albuquerque Journal In this revisionist biography, award-winning historian Michael Wallis re-creates the rich anecdotal saga of Billy the Kid (1859–1881), a young man who became a legend in his time and remains an enigma to this day. In an extraordinary evocation of the legendary Old West, Wallis demonstrates why the Kid has remained one of our most popular folk heroes. Filled with dozens of rare images and period photographs, Billy the Kid separates myth from reality and presents an unforgettable portrait of this brief and violent life.