The Muckers
Encyclopedia
The Muckers are a football
hooligan firm linked to the football club Blackpool F.C.
They take their name from the word mucker, a colloquialism
meaning good friend.
Although Blackpool are a relatively small club, there is a long history of hooliganism which had all but disappeared until recent times. Part of the reasons given for this history of violence is that a feature of Blackpool
life is fighting especially as in the Summer months groups of young men would visit the resort
giving the locals ample opportunity to fight whenever they wanted. Benny, one of the leaders of another Firm associated with Blackpool, Bennys Mob stated that “Blackpool is full of mobs, especially in the Summer. You could easily be fighting every week.” Whilst many other Firms have retained the same name throughout their history such as the Chelsea Headhunters
or the Inter City Firm
who follow West Ham
, there have been a number of names for the Firm who follow Blackpool - Rammy Arms Crew, Bennys Mob, BISONS (or Bisons Riot Squad, The Squires Gate Knitting Circle, The California Raisins and now The Muckers.
was rife in England, the BBC Six O'Clock News
had a special report in which they listed the worst Football gangs creating mayhem across England. They listed the six worst clubs:
It was the culmination of years of hooliganism surrounding Blackpool.
at Blackpool's home match with Bolton Wanderers
.
In 2009, Blackpool supporters raised money for a memorial plaque for Olsson. In August of that year, on the 35th anniversary of his death, the plaque was unveiled on the front of the North-West Corner, beside the club shop.
.
The Rammys' most famous moment was when they led the England fans charge into Italians in Turin
at the Italy vs England match in 1980. As a result of which, at least one member of the Rammy Arms Crew would later adorn the jacket cover of one of the first hooligan books, ‘‘Hooligans Abroad ‘‘ by John Williams.
In the late 1970s as Punk rock
became popular in the UK, football fans would also attend Punk Rock concerts. And in 1978 at a concert in Blackburn King Georges Hall a Skids concert (incorrectly reported as being The Dickies) was the scene of a near full scale riot as a group of about 50 Blackpool fans (Rammy boys) clashed with over 250 Blackburn Rovers
fans, disrupting the concert, before riot police were called in to restore order, as reported in the local Blackpool Evening Gazette. Then on 6 May 1978 at a concert by The Vibrators
in Preston a young man from Preston was stabbed to death during clashes between Preston and Blackpool fans. This ushered in a new era of hatred between fans of the two clubs, following the attempts by Blackpool fans to burn down the Town End at Prestons Deepdale
stadium the year before, when two fires were lit during a match between the two clubs.
at Blackpools Coach Park. They also clashed with Sheffield United
fans in 1982, when a Sheffield fan was stabbed during clashes between fans in the West Paddock at Bloomfield Road, while police were already dealing with an incident in the South Stand involving the Rammy Arms Crew. The Blackpool Evening Gazette headline ran "Fan sought after Pool stabbing" as the police tried to find the person(s) responsible.
However, it was in 1984 that the Blackpool hooligans started to earn their reputation. In March, Rochdale F.C. were totally overwhelmed when 3,000 Blackpool fans descended on their Spotland Stadium
when they usually had crowds of about 1,300. A mob of Blackpool fans went on the rampage causing “A trail of havoc” according to the Manchester Evening News
headlines who continued, “21 cars were damaged, two parked vehicles overturned and 4 Police cars damaged.” By April, 1984 according to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, the police were worried about an army of about 200 hooligans and vowed to drive them out.
In May 1984, Rammy Arms Crew and Benny's Mob led a weekend of violence and chaos in the seaside town of Torquay
. Police had made the game a 7.30pm Saturday kick off with Torquay United to try and avoid trouble, but it backfired totally as hordes of Blackpool fans travelled down on the Friday instead and stayed over until Sunday, where they caused 24 hours of carnage. The local Torquay newspaper headline read, “Soccer Mob Storms Resort”. 61 Blackpool fans were arrested, 5 people treated for stab wounds, including a man from Liverpool
who was attacked with a carpet knife and received a 15 inch wound. Thousands of pounds worth of damage was done to the town with The Yacht House pub wrecked and a nightclub front demolished. Two Rammy Arms members were even convicted of stealing a four poster bed from a luxury hotel. Helen Chamberlain
a presenter of Sky Sports
Soccer AM
show, and a Torquay United fan, would many years later on the show state that “Blackpool fans are mad”.
The following season saw Benny's Mob again involved in numerous fights. It also saw Blackpool charged twice by The FA
, who held two inquries into the Blackpool fans behaviour. Both times the club themselves were exonerated from blame.
In February 1985, Benny's Mob took revenge in Chester
for an earlier season attack on them by Chester City
fans. The game was held up for 15 minutes when a pre-planned invasion of 200 Blackpool fans ran onto the pitch toward the Chester fans. The police called in reinforcements, but were pelted by bricks, stones, broken terrace barriers and a Corner flag which had been uprooted and used as a weapon. The referee was also attacked. Two crash barriers were uprooted, a refreshment hut wrecked and Stand seats torn out. The first FA Disciplinary Inquiry was instigated.
The following month, 3,000 Blackpool fans went to a match at Bury
. Again, what seemed like another carefully planned attack took place. “An orgy of violence, theft and destruction” reported the Blackpool Evening Gazette. After Bury had scored a goal, Blackpool fans at one side stand started to wreck the stand, which received extensive damage whilst another group of Blackpool (Rammy Arms Crew) fans behind one goal also started to riot. All to chants of “Smash it up, smash it up, smash it up”. Pieces of the Stand were thrown onto the pitch and yet another referee had to take the players off the pitch. A brick wall was demolished and pushed onto parked cars as the Police held the Blackpool fans in the ground after the match. 64 Blackpool fans were arrested and 5 Police Officers hurt. Yet another Disciplinary inquiry was instigated.
. Furthermore, one of the principal Blackpool BISONS members was reported to have taken a gun from one of the younger BISONS gang before they set off for Brighton. It resulted in 3 fans being banned from every Football Ground in England, the first time the Courts had made such bans.
Another opportunity for revenge on Bolton Wanderers arose in the 1985-86 season, when they played them at home on Boxing Day
1985. It was the first time the two clubs had met in a number of years. It brought out the different gangs with them all joining up with other local gangs from Fleetwood
, Bispham
and other areas on the Fylde Coast. One of the first things they did that day was to attack the Ramsden Arms pub, even though it was the drinking and meeting place for the Rammy Arms Crew. However, a group of Bolton fans unwittingly had come off their train and gone into the Ramsden Arms for a pre-match drink. According to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, “Windows were smashed as louts hurled snooker balls and cues through the expensive lead weighted windows” as they attacked the Bolton fans inside. Blackpool had 100’s out that day and a number of battles took place in and around the ground.
Around this time the gangs had fights with the fans of bigger clubs like Manchester City, and would regularly fight the Leeds United Service Crew
(LSC) who had started visiting Blackpool on Bank Holiday
weekends. In 1985, more than 50 were arrested as Benny's Mob planned an attack on the LSC as a major riot ensued. A Blackpool fan was stabbed in his back in 1987. The local rivals have always been Preston North End and matches between the two clubs have usually resulted in trouble.
Blackpool played Bolton again for the first time for four years in 1989, and was again the cue for revenge attacks on Bolton fans in the Sherpa Van Trophy. The Bolton team coach was attacked, Police twice had to clear the pitch of fighting fans. In 1991 Benny was banned from football grounds for 3 years for fighting with Tottenham fans. For much of the 1990s there was no real organised hooligan firm.
state that for the past decade there has been no Firm in Blackpool and that Away fans have been left virtually to do as they wish in the town and at matches. However, since the book was published this has led to the development of The Muckers in 2005 when a group of 25 Blackpool fans, all friends started to organise The Muckers Firm.
They very soon started to earn a reputation in an era when CCTV
has severely restricted hooligan activity. The Blackpool Evening Gazette described the worst scenes of violence at Blackpool matches in years at a match against Nottingham Forest in February 2006 when Mounted Police had to separate fans as they clashed in the streets. 200 fans were involved in fights around The Castle Pub in Blackpool. After the game another 75 fans fought outside the Swift Hound Pub with both fights being blamed on Blackpool fans for instigating them.
The following week, after a Home game against Huddersfield Town, a coach carrying Huddersfield fans was attacked and a brick smashed the coach windows. This incident though has never been linked to The Muckers who themselves condemmned the attack as it goes against their strict self imposed "Hooligan Code" of not attacking innocent fans (what they term "Scarfers"). The local Police also did not link the attack stating, "This appears to have been a random, stupid, isolated attack. There is no link between this incident and the trouble at the previous home fixture with Nottingham Forest." Local reports would seem to suggest that this and other similar incidents since then are connected to a gang of youths from the area around the stadium.
In April 2006 seven Blackpool fans were arrested following the incidents at the Nottingham Forest game, and 12 Blackpool fans homes raided. No fans from Nottingham were arrested.
The rivalry with Preston fans reignited itself on Saturday 2 September 2006 when a mini-riot broke out on Preston railway station
between Blackpool fans returning from their match at Millwall
and local fans returning from an England
match in Manchester. Bottles, cans and signs were hurled as the two sets of fans fought each other, and two British Transport Police
(BTP) Officers were injured in what the Police described as a large scale disorder.
On 28 October 2006 Blackpool fans fought pitched battles with Bradford City
fans before and after their home match when the Princess Hotel pub had all its windows smashed as Blackpool fans attacked the Bradford fans drinking inside.
Following a home match against Swansea City on 9 December 2006 two Police Officers were surrounded in The George pub by between 30-40 fans, and one officer assaulted before he pressed his panic button for reinforcements.
(BNP) something which the BNP denied, and even with the British neo-Nazi
paramilitary group Combat 18
. The BNP held their annual conference at a hotel in Blackpool, where the pressure group Unite Against Fascism
(UAF) planned to protest. Members of The Muckers were alleged to have said that they would smash the protest. Local police stated that they had intelligence and knew in advance of the planned attack. And Blackpool stated they would ban from Bloomfield Road anyone involved in attacking the UAF protest.
The Muckers always maintained that they had no intention of attacking the UAF protest, and that they had no links with either the BNP or Combat 18. A point especially relevant considering that one of the Muckers is of Asian origin. The UAF protest subsequently went ahead peacefully with no arrests.
Millwall were the visitors to Bloomfield Road on 24 February 2007 and with the growing reputation of The Muckers, Millwall brought many more fans than they would normally bring. The Police were fully prepared for there to be clashes between the two sets of fans, with far more Police being on duty and even Intelligence Officers from the Metropolitan Police
in London
travelling to Blackpool to hunt down known hooligans. The large Police presence and awareness of the potential for clashes prevented any large scale violence which clearly otherwise would have happened. Both Riot Police and Mounted Police were employed after the game when the visiting Millwall fans were kept in the ground in an attempt by the Police to avoid clashes. Unfortunately this only led to the Blackpool fans being able to prepare themselves and a small number of about 25-30 Muckers and Bennys Mob attacked the Millwall fans.
The majority of The Muckers had already been surrounded in the Old Bridge pub, where they tried in vain to escape. The Police though surrounded the pub, even the pubs roof to ensure no-one escaped. The remaining Muckers and Bennys Mob tried to attack the Millwall fans but severely outnumbered, they for the most part stood their ground, but were beaten back by the Police. Up to 15 younger Blackpool Service Crew (BSC) - a separate Youth Firm, together with a couple of older members were alleged to have run, and local reports would suggest that main, older members of Bennys Mob and The Muckers dealt with them severely for doing so. There were a number of small fights in town centre pubs following the game with some Millwall fans staying the night in the resort
. Several arrests were made for Public order offences.
would once again happen on the pitch with each club being in The Championship in the 2007-08 season. And in June 2007, following threats by football hooligans, from Blackpool Muckers and from Preston, to cause mayhem when the two clubs meet next season, Prestons top Police officer, Chief Superintendent Mike Barton warned that "The history of these derbies means we will have to have a significant policing operation both at Deepdale and Bloomfield Road." The Muckers also warned that they would be out to cause trouble when they met Burnley. This has led to the police already making plans for "significant operations" at all matches involving the clubs.
On 11 July 2007, six fans appeared in Preston Crown Court
, charged with various offences following the Nottingham Forest match in February 2006, all six were banned from every football ground in the UK. Two of them were jailed - one for three years (with two years suspended) for violent disorder, plus an eight year football banning order; one was jailed for four months for a public order offence and also received a three year football banning order. The other four were all given suspended prison sentences ranging from four to nine months, as well as community service, a two month curfew and football banning orders of three and four years. The court had been shown video footage of what was described as "sickening scenes" when the Blackpool fans had targeted the Swift Hound pub on Rigby Road in Blackpool. CCTV footage showed the fans attacking doors and windows with bottles, glasses and garden furniture attempting to attack the Nottingham Forest fans inside the pub. Crown Court Judge, Norman Wright stated that, "It was no less than mayhem. The public house was besieged by a group of what I see to be Blackpool supporters. The fact nobody was injured was more by chance than design. I've heard how women and children inside ran to shelter in the kitchen in terror."
Blackpool police stated that the sentences were a result of a significant enquiry, adding a message about the forthcoming football season, "Come to enjoy the football and Blackpool will make you most welcome. Come to cause trouble and we will tackle you."
Following the conviction of the six fans, Blackpool Police's Football Intelligence unit revealed, on 13 July 2007, that they were also investigating video footage from the clashes with Millwall fans and an additional match at Bloomfield Road against Scunthorpe United
where violent clashes took place in an effort to identify and prosecute those involved stating that on top of the six convicted, two further fans were given three year football banning orders, and that they once they knew the identities of those involved, arrests would be made.
The Muckers hit the headlines in Blackpool again in September 2007 when the local newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette
ran a front page headline story, "Thugs to defy derby ban" about members of the firm apparently defying bans from attending the Lancashire derby game against Burnley
at Turf Moor
on 15 September, the first time the two clubs have met in five years. Twenty five letters were sent to suspected Blackpool thugs by Blackpool Police as part of a high profile police operation ahead of the game. The letters were sent in an attempt to stop the fans attending the game. However, apparently members of The Muckers taunted the police on their own message board, boasting that they would defy the letters and attend the game, even if it meant concealing their identity, and stating that members of the firm had received the warning letters even though they had no convictions related to football hooliganism. Blackpool Police responded by saying, "On their head be it. There have been letters sent out and those who have received them have got them for a reason. They have been sent out as a deterrent to people who we have had problems with in the past for organising trouble or being involved in trouble. We will have spotters at the game as we do all away games, but will have more at this fixture because it is Burnley and there will be a big attendance. Our spotters know many of them personally and have had dealings with them in the past."
The following day, Blackpool manager Simon Grayson
made a public plea for fans to get behind the club at the match in Burnley, but to be on their best behaviour, saying, "I am sure they will have a terrific day and it will be an outstanding atmosphere. We've had a great following at every game and I'm sure the 4,000 fans there will enjoy it – but behave yourselves." Blackpool confirmed that they backed the police campaign to clamp down on hooliganism surrounding Blackpool matches, stating, "We want Bloomfield Road to be a friendly place where families can come and enjoy the games and we will do everything in our power to make sure that is the case." Burnley Police confirmed that they had targeted what they saw as risk fans warning that any fans causing trouble would be arrested, and Blackpool Police confirmed that they were "monitoring online chat rooms and message boards to gather as much information as possible".
A Home Office
report in October 2007 revealed a 300% increase in the number of Blackpool fans arrested in the 2006-07 season from the previous season. In the 2005-06 season there were twelve football-related arrests made whereas the following season 34 people were taken into custody either at games or outside the ground. A rise that overshadowed other local clubs such as Preston North End with 27 arrests and Premier League club Blackburn Rovers
with 21 arrests. Blackpool Police put the high number of arrests down to the large increase in attendances at Blackpool games, adding that many home games in the 2007-08 season were being sold out. Also adding, "The increase in arrests is encouraging and sends a clear message to people that behaving badly will not be tolerated."
In November 2007 Blackpool police warned football hooligans not to attend the local derby
against Preston North End in Preston on 8 December 2007. The Blackpool Gazette
reported on 17 November how comments on a Message Board used by The Muckers claimed that Blackpool fans were planning to infiltrate the home stands at the Deepdale stadium in Preston. The match had already been moved forward to a 12:30pm kick off at the request of the police in an attempt to avoid violence and local pubs told not to open until 12:00pm and not to serve alcohol until 12:30pm, the same time as the kick off. A huge police operation on match day resulted in 300 police officers being on duty outside the Deepdale stadium and in Preston city centre. Blackpool fans arriving at Preston railway station
went through airport-style security scanners to check for potential weapons. Blackpool won the match 1-0, but the day was marred when Blackpool hooligans went on a rampage smashing windows and ripping seats out of specially chartered buses laid on to transport them from the railway station to Deepdale, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Nine people were arrested. Later that same day, a group of about 30 Preston hooligans attacked a pub in Blackpool in "revenge" throwing bins and bottles at the pub while innocent staff and customers were inside.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
hooligan firm linked to the football club Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
They take their name from the word mucker, a colloquialism
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
meaning good friend.
Although Blackpool are a relatively small club, there is a long history of hooliganism which had all but disappeared until recent times. Part of the reasons given for this history of violence is that a feature of Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
life is fighting especially as in the Summer months groups of young men would visit the resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
giving the locals ample opportunity to fight whenever they wanted. Benny, one of the leaders of another Firm associated with Blackpool, Bennys Mob stated that “Blackpool is full of mobs, especially in the Summer. You could easily be fighting every week.” Whilst many other Firms have retained the same name throughout their history such as the Chelsea Headhunters
Chelsea Headhunters
The Chelsea Headhunters are an English football hooligan firm linked to the London football club Chelsea.-Background:The Headhunters have rivalries with counterparts who follow other London teams, such as Arsenal, Millwall, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.There was widespread...
or the Inter City Firm
Inter City Firm
The Inter City Firm is an English football hooligan firm mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, associated with West Ham United. The name came from the use of InterCity trains used to travel to away games...
who follow West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, there have been a number of names for the Firm who follow Blackpool - Rammy Arms Crew, Bennys Mob, BISONS (or Bisons Riot Squad, The Squires Gate Knitting Circle, The California Raisins and now The Muckers.
History
In 1985, when hooliganismHooliganism
Hooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....
was rife in England, the BBC Six O'Clock News
BBC Six O'Clock News
The BBC News at Six is the evening news programme broadcast each night on British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel at 18:00. For a long period the News at Six was the most watched news programme in the UK but since 2006 it has been over taken by the BBC News at Ten...
had a special report in which they listed the worst Football gangs creating mayhem across England. They listed the six worst clubs:
- Millwall F.C.Millwall F.C.Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
- Chelsea F.C.Chelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
- Leeds United A.F.C.Leeds United A.F.C.Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
- Bristol City F.C.Bristol City F.C.Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
- Blackpool F.C.Blackpool F.C.Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
- Preston North End F.C.Preston North End F.C.Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
It was the culmination of years of hooliganism surrounding Blackpool.
Kevin Olsson
On 24 August 1974, 17-year-old Blackpool fan, Kevin Olsson, was stabbed to death at the back of the Spion Kop, Bloomfield RoadBloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
at Blackpool's home match with Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
.
In 2009, Blackpool supporters raised money for a memorial plaque for Olsson. In August of that year, on the 35th anniversary of his death, the plaque was unveiled on the front of the North-West Corner, beside the club shop.
Rammy Arms Crew era
The first organised Firm, known as the Rammy Arms Crew, began in those years, taking their name from the pub they drank in, the Ramsden Arms, opposite Blackpool North Railway StationBlackpool North railway station
Blackpool North railway station is the main railway station serving the seaside resort of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the main Blackpool branch line from Preston....
.
The Rammys' most famous moment was when they led the England fans charge into Italians in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
at the Italy vs England match in 1980. As a result of which, at least one member of the Rammy Arms Crew would later adorn the jacket cover of one of the first hooligan books, ‘‘Hooligans Abroad ‘‘ by John Williams.
In the late 1970s as Punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
became popular in the UK, football fans would also attend Punk Rock concerts. And in 1978 at a concert in Blackburn King Georges Hall a Skids concert (incorrectly reported as being The Dickies) was the scene of a near full scale riot as a group of about 50 Blackpool fans (Rammy boys) clashed with over 250 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
fans, disrupting the concert, before riot police were called in to restore order, as reported in the local Blackpool Evening Gazette. Then on 6 May 1978 at a concert by The Vibrators
The Vibrators
- Early career:The Vibrators were founded by Ian 'Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding's recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his...
in Preston a young man from Preston was stabbed to death during clashes between Preston and Blackpool fans. This ushered in a new era of hatred between fans of the two clubs, following the attempts by Blackpool fans to burn down the Town End at Prestons Deepdale
Deepdale
Deepdale is a stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End F.C. and, up to 2010, England's National Football Museum. Preston North End are one of the founder members of the Football League.- History :...
stadium the year before, when two fires were lit during a match between the two clubs.
Benny's Mob era
In 1978, Blackpool were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time. Around the same time, a new, younger gang appeared, known as "Benny's Mob". Led by Benny, they would take on firms from numerous other clubs; in August, 1980, a group of about 150 Benny's Mob met up with the Pompey Skins from PortsmouthPortsmouth F.C.
Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
at Blackpools Coach Park. They also clashed with Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
fans in 1982, when a Sheffield fan was stabbed during clashes between fans in the West Paddock at Bloomfield Road, while police were already dealing with an incident in the South Stand involving the Rammy Arms Crew. The Blackpool Evening Gazette headline ran "Fan sought after Pool stabbing" as the police tried to find the person(s) responsible.
However, it was in 1984 that the Blackpool hooligans started to earn their reputation. In March, Rochdale F.C. were totally overwhelmed when 3,000 Blackpool fans descended on their Spotland Stadium
Spotland Stadium
Spotland Stadium is a sports venue located at Willbutts Lane in the Spotland area of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. It is currently home to Rochdale AFC and Rochdale Hornets RLFC...
when they usually had crowds of about 1,300. A mob of Blackpool fans went on the rampage causing “A trail of havoc” according to the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
headlines who continued, “21 cars were damaged, two parked vehicles overturned and 4 Police cars damaged.” By April, 1984 according to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, the police were worried about an army of about 200 hooligans and vowed to drive them out.
In May 1984, Rammy Arms Crew and Benny's Mob led a weekend of violence and chaos in the seaside town of Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. Police had made the game a 7.30pm Saturday kick off with Torquay United to try and avoid trouble, but it backfired totally as hordes of Blackpool fans travelled down on the Friday instead and stayed over until Sunday, where they caused 24 hours of carnage. The local Torquay newspaper headline read, “Soccer Mob Storms Resort”. 61 Blackpool fans were arrested, 5 people treated for stab wounds, including a man from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
who was attacked with a carpet knife and received a 15 inch wound. Thousands of pounds worth of damage was done to the town with The Yacht House pub wrecked and a nightclub front demolished. Two Rammy Arms members were even convicted of stealing a four poster bed from a luxury hotel. Helen Chamberlain
Helen Chamberlain
Helen Marie Chamberlain is an English television presenter.She previously worked as a holiday camp entertainer and Disc Jockey before working on a variety of radio and television programmes...
a presenter of Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
show, and a Torquay United fan, would many years later on the show state that “Blackpool fans are mad”.
The following season saw Benny's Mob again involved in numerous fights. It also saw Blackpool charged twice by The FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
, who held two inquries into the Blackpool fans behaviour. Both times the club themselves were exonerated from blame.
In February 1985, Benny's Mob took revenge in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
for an earlier season attack on them by Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
fans. The game was held up for 15 minutes when a pre-planned invasion of 200 Blackpool fans ran onto the pitch toward the Chester fans. The police called in reinforcements, but were pelted by bricks, stones, broken terrace barriers and a Corner flag which had been uprooted and used as a weapon. The referee was also attacked. Two crash barriers were uprooted, a refreshment hut wrecked and Stand seats torn out. The first FA Disciplinary Inquiry was instigated.
The following month, 3,000 Blackpool fans went to a match at Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...
. Again, what seemed like another carefully planned attack took place. “An orgy of violence, theft and destruction” reported the Blackpool Evening Gazette. After Bury had scored a goal, Blackpool fans at one side stand started to wreck the stand, which received extensive damage whilst another group of Blackpool (Rammy Arms Crew) fans behind one goal also started to riot. All to chants of “Smash it up, smash it up, smash it up”. Pieces of the Stand were thrown onto the pitch and yet another referee had to take the players off the pitch. A brick wall was demolished and pushed onto parked cars as the Police held the Blackpool fans in the ground after the match. 64 Blackpool fans were arrested and 5 Police Officers hurt. Yet another Disciplinary inquiry was instigated.
Bisons Riot Squad era
Another gang appeared in this period, known as the BISONS or Bisons Riot Squad (BRS). They allegedly took their name from the noise they made when attacking rivals. They soon earned a reputation for carrying knives, with four people slashed at a game in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Furthermore, one of the principal Blackpool BISONS members was reported to have taken a gun from one of the younger BISONS gang before they set off for Brighton. It resulted in 3 fans being banned from every Football Ground in England, the first time the Courts had made such bans.
Another opportunity for revenge on Bolton Wanderers arose in the 1985-86 season, when they played them at home on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
1985. It was the first time the two clubs had met in a number of years. It brought out the different gangs with them all joining up with other local gangs from Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
, Bispham
Bispham, Blackpool
Bispham is a village roughly one-and-a-half miles north of Blackpool town centre on the Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England.-Geography and administration:...
and other areas on the Fylde Coast. One of the first things they did that day was to attack the Ramsden Arms pub, even though it was the drinking and meeting place for the Rammy Arms Crew. However, a group of Bolton fans unwittingly had come off their train and gone into the Ramsden Arms for a pre-match drink. According to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, “Windows were smashed as louts hurled snooker balls and cues through the expensive lead weighted windows” as they attacked the Bolton fans inside. Blackpool had 100’s out that day and a number of battles took place in and around the ground.
Around this time the gangs had fights with the fans of bigger clubs like Manchester City, and would regularly fight the Leeds United Service Crew
Leeds United Service Crew
The Leeds United Service Crew are a football hooligan firm linked to the English Football League team, Leeds United A.F.C. The Service Crew were formed in 1974, and named after the ordinary public service trains that the hooligans would travel on to away matches, rather than the, heavily policed,...
(LSC) who had started visiting Blackpool on Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
weekends. In 1985, more than 50 were arrested as Benny's Mob planned an attack on the LSC as a major riot ensued. A Blackpool fan was stabbed in his back in 1987. The local rivals have always been Preston North End and matches between the two clubs have usually resulted in trouble.
Blackpool played Bolton again for the first time for four years in 1989, and was again the cue for revenge attacks on Bolton fans in the Sherpa Van Trophy. The Bolton team coach was attacked, Police twice had to clear the pitch of fighting fans. In 1991 Benny was banned from football grounds for 3 years for fighting with Tottenham fans. For much of the 1990s there was no real organised hooligan firm.
2005-06
In ‘‘Hooligans A-L’’ Nick Lowles and Andy NichollsAndy Nicholls
Andy Nicholls , is an English former football hooligan, manager, and author of a number of books on football hooliganism. He has been banned from every ground in England and Wales. He is banned from for life from the home ground of the team he supports, Everton, Goodison Park...
state that for the past decade there has been no Firm in Blackpool and that Away fans have been left virtually to do as they wish in the town and at matches. However, since the book was published this has led to the development of The Muckers in 2005 when a group of 25 Blackpool fans, all friends started to organise The Muckers Firm.
They very soon started to earn a reputation in an era when CCTV
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
has severely restricted hooligan activity. The Blackpool Evening Gazette described the worst scenes of violence at Blackpool matches in years at a match against Nottingham Forest in February 2006 when Mounted Police had to separate fans as they clashed in the streets. 200 fans were involved in fights around The Castle Pub in Blackpool. After the game another 75 fans fought outside the Swift Hound Pub with both fights being blamed on Blackpool fans for instigating them.
The following week, after a Home game against Huddersfield Town, a coach carrying Huddersfield fans was attacked and a brick smashed the coach windows. This incident though has never been linked to The Muckers who themselves condemmned the attack as it goes against their strict self imposed "Hooligan Code" of not attacking innocent fans (what they term "Scarfers"). The local Police also did not link the attack stating, "This appears to have been a random, stupid, isolated attack. There is no link between this incident and the trouble at the previous home fixture with Nottingham Forest." Local reports would seem to suggest that this and other similar incidents since then are connected to a gang of youths from the area around the stadium.
In April 2006 seven Blackpool fans were arrested following the incidents at the Nottingham Forest game, and 12 Blackpool fans homes raided. No fans from Nottingham were arrested.
2006-07
Ahead of the Home game against Nottingham Forest on 8 August 2006, Blackpool fans were banned from using The Castle Pub and The Swift Hound pub had extra security as fears grew of a repeat of the violence in February. The Landlord of The Castle Pub stated that he did not wish to see a repeat of the violence, stating that, "The Forest fans were just drinking. Then, out of nowhere, about 50 Blackpool fans charged in and started throwing punches and bottles. There was blood everywhere, my staff were terrified so I locked them in the back. The police were there in minutes and stopped it getting worse." This game though went ahead with a much increased Police presence that prevented the large scale violence repeating itself.The rivalry with Preston fans reignited itself on Saturday 2 September 2006 when a mini-riot broke out on Preston railway station
Preston railway station
Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...
between Blackpool fans returning from their match at Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
and local fans returning from an England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
match in Manchester. Bottles, cans and signs were hurled as the two sets of fans fought each other, and two British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
(BTP) Officers were injured in what the Police described as a large scale disorder.
On 28 October 2006 Blackpool fans fought pitched battles with Bradford City
Bradford City A.F.C.
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....
fans before and after their home match when the Princess Hotel pub had all its windows smashed as Blackpool fans attacked the Bradford fans drinking inside.
Following a home match against Swansea City on 9 December 2006 two Police Officers were surrounded in The George pub by between 30-40 fans, and one officer assaulted before he pressed his panic button for reinforcements.
The Muckers controversy and the BNP
In November 2006 The Muckers were embroiled in controversy when they were alleged to have links with the far right British National PartyBritish National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
(BNP) something which the BNP denied, and even with the British neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
paramilitary group Combat 18
Combat 18
Combat 18 is a violent neo-Nazi organisation associated with Blood and Honour. It originated in the United Kingdom, but has since spread to other countries. Members of Combat 18 have been suspected in numerous deaths of immigrants, non-whites, and other C18 members...
. The BNP held their annual conference at a hotel in Blackpool, where the pressure group Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism
Unite Against Fascism is an anti-fascist pressure group in the United Kingdom, with support from politicians of all mainstream UK political parties...
(UAF) planned to protest. Members of The Muckers were alleged to have said that they would smash the protest. Local police stated that they had intelligence and knew in advance of the planned attack. And Blackpool stated they would ban from Bloomfield Road anyone involved in attacking the UAF protest.
The Muckers always maintained that they had no intention of attacking the UAF protest, and that they had no links with either the BNP or Combat 18. A point especially relevant considering that one of the Muckers is of Asian origin. The UAF protest subsequently went ahead peacefully with no arrests.
Millwall were the visitors to Bloomfield Road on 24 February 2007 and with the growing reputation of The Muckers, Millwall brought many more fans than they would normally bring. The Police were fully prepared for there to be clashes between the two sets of fans, with far more Police being on duty and even Intelligence Officers from the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
travelling to Blackpool to hunt down known hooligans. The large Police presence and awareness of the potential for clashes prevented any large scale violence which clearly otherwise would have happened. Both Riot Police and Mounted Police were employed after the game when the visiting Millwall fans were kept in the ground in an attempt by the Police to avoid clashes. Unfortunately this only led to the Blackpool fans being able to prepare themselves and a small number of about 25-30 Muckers and Bennys Mob attacked the Millwall fans.
The majority of The Muckers had already been surrounded in the Old Bridge pub, where they tried in vain to escape. The Police though surrounded the pub, even the pubs roof to ensure no-one escaped. The remaining Muckers and Bennys Mob tried to attack the Millwall fans but severely outnumbered, they for the most part stood their ground, but were beaten back by the Police. Up to 15 younger Blackpool Service Crew (BSC) - a separate Youth Firm, together with a couple of older members were alleged to have run, and local reports would suggest that main, older members of Bennys Mob and The Muckers dealt with them severely for doing so. There were a number of small fights in town centre pubs following the game with some Millwall fans staying the night in the resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
. Several arrests were made for Public order offences.
2007-08
Blackpool were promoted to The Championship in the 2006-07 season, winning the Play-off Final at Wembley. Promotion ensured that the rivalry with near neighbours Preston North End and BurnleyBurnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
would once again happen on the pitch with each club being in The Championship in the 2007-08 season. And in June 2007, following threats by football hooligans, from Blackpool Muckers and from Preston, to cause mayhem when the two clubs meet next season, Prestons top Police officer, Chief Superintendent Mike Barton warned that "The history of these derbies means we will have to have a significant policing operation both at Deepdale and Bloomfield Road." The Muckers also warned that they would be out to cause trouble when they met Burnley. This has led to the police already making plans for "significant operations" at all matches involving the clubs.
On 11 July 2007, six fans appeared in Preston Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, charged with various offences following the Nottingham Forest match in February 2006, all six were banned from every football ground in the UK. Two of them were jailed - one for three years (with two years suspended) for violent disorder, plus an eight year football banning order; one was jailed for four months for a public order offence and also received a three year football banning order. The other four were all given suspended prison sentences ranging from four to nine months, as well as community service, a two month curfew and football banning orders of three and four years. The court had been shown video footage of what was described as "sickening scenes" when the Blackpool fans had targeted the Swift Hound pub on Rigby Road in Blackpool. CCTV footage showed the fans attacking doors and windows with bottles, glasses and garden furniture attempting to attack the Nottingham Forest fans inside the pub. Crown Court Judge, Norman Wright stated that, "It was no less than mayhem. The public house was besieged by a group of what I see to be Blackpool supporters. The fact nobody was injured was more by chance than design. I've heard how women and children inside ran to shelter in the kitchen in terror."
Blackpool police stated that the sentences were a result of a significant enquiry, adding a message about the forthcoming football season, "Come to enjoy the football and Blackpool will make you most welcome. Come to cause trouble and we will tackle you."
Following the conviction of the six fans, Blackpool Police's Football Intelligence unit revealed, on 13 July 2007, that they were also investigating video footage from the clashes with Millwall fans and an additional match at Bloomfield Road against Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
where violent clashes took place in an effort to identify and prosecute those involved stating that on top of the six convicted, two further fans were given three year football banning orders, and that they once they knew the identities of those involved, arrests would be made.
The Muckers hit the headlines in Blackpool again in September 2007 when the local newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette
Blackpool Gazette
The Blackpool Gazette is an English evening newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast...
ran a front page headline story, "Thugs to defy derby ban" about members of the firm apparently defying bans from attending the Lancashire derby game against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
at Turf Moor
Turf Moor
Turf Moor is a football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire. It is the home ground of Burnley Football Club, which has played there since moving from its Calder Vale ground in 1883. The stadium, which is situated on Harry Potts Way, named so after the club's longest serving Manager, has a capacity of...
on 15 September, the first time the two clubs have met in five years. Twenty five letters were sent to suspected Blackpool thugs by Blackpool Police as part of a high profile police operation ahead of the game. The letters were sent in an attempt to stop the fans attending the game. However, apparently members of The Muckers taunted the police on their own message board, boasting that they would defy the letters and attend the game, even if it meant concealing their identity, and stating that members of the firm had received the warning letters even though they had no convictions related to football hooliganism. Blackpool Police responded by saying, "On their head be it. There have been letters sent out and those who have received them have got them for a reason. They have been sent out as a deterrent to people who we have had problems with in the past for organising trouble or being involved in trouble. We will have spotters at the game as we do all away games, but will have more at this fixture because it is Burnley and there will be a big attendance. Our spotters know many of them personally and have had dealings with them in the past."
The following day, Blackpool manager Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....
made a public plea for fans to get behind the club at the match in Burnley, but to be on their best behaviour, saying, "I am sure they will have a terrific day and it will be an outstanding atmosphere. We've had a great following at every game and I'm sure the 4,000 fans there will enjoy it – but behave yourselves." Blackpool confirmed that they backed the police campaign to clamp down on hooliganism surrounding Blackpool matches, stating, "We want Bloomfield Road to be a friendly place where families can come and enjoy the games and we will do everything in our power to make sure that is the case." Burnley Police confirmed that they had targeted what they saw as risk fans warning that any fans causing trouble would be arrested, and Blackpool Police confirmed that they were "monitoring online chat rooms and message boards to gather as much information as possible".
A Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
report in October 2007 revealed a 300% increase in the number of Blackpool fans arrested in the 2006-07 season from the previous season. In the 2005-06 season there were twelve football-related arrests made whereas the following season 34 people were taken into custody either at games or outside the ground. A rise that overshadowed other local clubs such as Preston North End with 27 arrests and Premier League club Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
with 21 arrests. Blackpool Police put the high number of arrests down to the large increase in attendances at Blackpool games, adding that many home games in the 2007-08 season were being sold out. Also adding, "The increase in arrests is encouraging and sends a clear message to people that behaving badly will not be tolerated."
In November 2007 Blackpool police warned football hooligans not to attend the local derby
Local derby
In many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two, generally local, rivals, particularly in association football...
against Preston North End in Preston on 8 December 2007. The Blackpool Gazette
Blackpool Gazette
The Blackpool Gazette is an English evening newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast...
reported on 17 November how comments on a Message Board used by The Muckers claimed that Blackpool fans were planning to infiltrate the home stands at the Deepdale stadium in Preston. The match had already been moved forward to a 12:30pm kick off at the request of the police in an attempt to avoid violence and local pubs told not to open until 12:00pm and not to serve alcohol until 12:30pm, the same time as the kick off. A huge police operation on match day resulted in 300 police officers being on duty outside the Deepdale stadium and in Preston city centre. Blackpool fans arriving at Preston railway station
Preston railway station
Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...
went through airport-style security scanners to check for potential weapons. Blackpool won the match 1-0, but the day was marred when Blackpool hooligans went on a rampage smashing windows and ripping seats out of specially chartered buses laid on to transport them from the railway station to Deepdale, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Nine people were arrested. Later that same day, a group of about 30 Preston hooligans attacked a pub in Blackpool in "revenge" throwing bins and bottles at the pub while innocent staff and customers were inside.
Main rivals
Blackpool's main rivals are:- Preston North End F.C.Preston North End F.C.Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
- Burnley F.C.Burnley F.C.Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
- Bolton Wanderers F.C.Bolton Wanderers F.C.Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
- Oldham Athletic F.C.
- Wigan Athletic F.C.Wigan Athletic F.C.Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
- Tranmere Rovers F.C.Tranmere Rovers F.C.Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
See also
- CasualsCasualsThe casual subculture is a subsection of association football culture that is typified by football hooliganism and the wearing of expensive European designer clothing. The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer labels and...
- Football hooliganismFootball hooliganismFootball hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
- List of hooligan firms
- HooliganismHooliganismHooliganism refers to unruly, destructive, aggressive and bullying behaviour. Such behaviour is commonly associated with sports fans. The term can also apply to general rowdy behaviour and vandalism, often under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs....
- Millwall BushwackersMillwall BushwackersThe Millwall Bushwackers are a hooligan firm associated with Millwall F.C..-Background:The original firm associated with Millwall was known as F-Troop....
- Aston Villa HardcoreAston Villa HardcoreAston Villa Hardcore is a football hooligan firm associated with the Premier League club Aston Villa, based in Birmingham, England.-Background:...