Hibs Boy: The Life and Violent Times of Scotland's Most Notorious Football Hooligan

Product Information

Last Friday, some of the fans who travelled to Benidorm took a pasting when they clashed with a bigger gang from Leeds. There is no suggestion Wilson was involved in the trouble. Findlay, Russell (9 June 1996). "We're ready for Euro war". Sunday Mail . Retrieved 24 August 2011. Bowditch, Gillian (9 August 2005). "Family and football". The Scotsman . Retrieved 9 September 2013.

A spokesman added “A significant step has recently been taken through our policy of ending automatic early release for dangerous offenders and sex offenders.” In the book, Blance says: "Some players had more destructive and expensive tastes. I am not just talking here about Hibs players - I have enjoyed nights out with players from a range of Scottish clubs.

She said: “Until they scrap it, we are going to continue to see these kinds of cases, where people indulging in this kind of mindless behaviour are let off with a slap on the wrist.” The book is about my time with the Hibs casuals and everything that went on - but I have to say that is all in the past now." Dykes, Derek (26 May 2008). These Colours Don't Run: Inside the Hibs Capital City Service. Fort Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-905769-12-4.

Andy Blance, another member of the CCS elite who later wrote about his experiences in the 2009 book ‘Hibs Boy,’ described the incident as “madness,” admitting the group’s behaviour overstepped the mark. Ryan Low, 25, from Edinburgh – tagged for 100 days, 300 hours of unpaid work and a two-year football ban.Pennant, Cass (2006). Top Boys: True Stories of Football's Hardest Men. John Blake Publishing, Limited. ISBN 9781844542765. For obvious reasons, I can't name him, or even the clubs he has played for, but I hope he managed to make his peace with the gangster, who is not someone you would want to mess with." But it was a petrol bomb. Aberdeen got the fright of their lives and ran into the train station, the first time they had ever run.

In the early 1980s, Hibs away fixtures were regularly attended by fans travelling on supporters' buses from amongst areas in Edinburgh such as Leith, Niddrie, Tollcross and Granton. This afforded the opportunity for bonds to be forged through the shared experiences of following the team and responding to the actions of opposing fans. An away match in November 1983 against Airdrie resulted in a clash with the well-known local hooligans, Section B, which further strengthened these connections and helped bolster the young Hibs boys confidence into forming a casual-style hooligan firm. This new friendship of youths from different areas of the city was a contrast to the existing area gang ethos that had been a feature of the capital since the 1950s. The camaraderie branched out from match days as the gang members also hung about with each other during the week. [41] Word soon got round and the basis of the first known unified Edinburgh gang was in place. [42] Rivers, Dan (2007). Congratulations, You Have Just Met the Casuals: The True Story of Aberdeen's Staunchest Fans. John Blake Publishing, Limited. ISBN 9781844543076.

Pennant, Cass; King, Martin (2003). Terrace Legends. John Blake Publishing, Limited. ISBN 9781844540921. The incident, recounted by former CCS leader Derek Dykes in his book ‘These Colours Don’t Run, saw the firm gain a measure of revenge after one member of the group was put into a coma during a previous fight. The hibs mob were able to swagger into the hibs shed no problem and didn't get grief at all, if they had tried that in the Hearts shed that would've been torn to pieces. So all the young lads who wanted a mob in Edinburgh went to Hibs including a lot of Hearts casuals and other boys who either supported other teams or supported no teams at all and just wanted to be part of a huge mob. I knew plenty of Hibs casuals who couldn't even name two hibs players at that time. Blance claimed his gang plotted against the late Hearts chairman Wallace Mercer after he tried to take over Hibs in 1989.

We didn’t become Scotland’s top mob overnight, in the beginning, we took some right beatings,” Dykes recalled in 2008. Smith, Stanley (2012). "Football Years 1983-2011". Dressers: Pt. 1. Greymatters Media. ISBN 9780957034006. The Hibs casuals were out-numbered three to one and took a pasting in the fight near the resort’s Ibrox Bar. Edinburgh at that time had become known as the AIDS capital of Europe due to the rampant heroin use that existed there. [43] Coupled with the ongoing poor economic climate throughout the country, for young men who wished to maintain pride in themselves as well as a sense of belonging to something the new casual hooligan culture was an alternative route to embark upon. [42] Politicians were stunned McCann had been let off so lightly, despite promises by the Scottish Government to get tough on football hooligans.The book is an honest and often brutal account of the casuals in the 80's and 90's and tells of how these guys lived for a Saturday and why they were the top crew in Scotland. It also goes into how the main protagonist was into shoplifting, being a doorman, how others were into extortion, drugs and the deaths of a few people along the way. It's graphic and explains that the path these guys took was fraught with danger not just fighting with rival casuals but police brutality as well.