Ex-Man Utd hooligan says one rival firm 'was different level' after nearly killing him

A former hooligan recalled risking his life on a brutal away day where he claimed ambushing fans were armed with bricks and Stanley knives. Tony O’Neill was once regarded as Britain’s most notorious. Back in the 1970s, he became a key figure in two firms, Red Army and later the Casuals, and hewas known as ‘the general’.

But on April 23, 1974, he travelled to Merseyside when he was just 15 to watch a soon to be relegated United take on at Goodison Park. And speaking on his for his ‘Fan Culture' series, he spoke about the chaos that unfolded.

His mum initially forbade him from going but eventually he joined up with The Red Army who made their way to Liverpool.

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He said people had been speaking about the game for weeks. Tony remembered: “We knew what we was up against. This was going to be war. And I mean war. We were going to take on the scousers.”

He said hundreds of United fans packed the trains before arriving at Lime Street Station where trouble immediately broke out. Tony said the group stood their ground before being welcomed by bricks once they started to make their way to the football stadium.

“Bricks came flying over at us while we were on the march,” he said. “What a solid march, but a frightening walk if you were on your own or in small groups. But not this gang, this gang was massive and it was solid. There was no moving it.”

He said this was a victory for the firm but the real violence took place after the match where came out 1-0 winners in what was a night game.

“I was depressed because I knew we were going down,” Tony recalled. “But we knew what we had to do. The gates open and we have got to be at the front. We knew the rules going there. This has always been the motto, go out there and whatever happens, happens. Take it to them. Don’t go hiding, don’t be sneaking off, especially in Merseyside.”

Fights broke out outside Goodison Park but disputes between United fans took place where some wanted to get on coaches back to Lime Street and others wanted to march back.

Tony was one of the ones who walked and he said it was “absolutely stupid” and the "daftest thing you can do in the dark at Merseyside”. “You are going taking your life in your hands,” he added.

Despite knowing he was going to get ambushed, Tony and the now smaller mob reached the end of Stanley Park, and that’s when the real danger commenced.

“That was the nightmare of all nightmares,” he recalled. “They all were fans. They just come screaming down the side street, straight into us.

“Oh my God, I just bottled it. What is going on here? This is a nightmare. They had the street and they were running down it straight into us and people just bottled it straight away.

“There is no disgrace in it whatsoever, you were outnumbered, in the dark, you were ambushed. And they caught us. I just legged it straight down.”

He added: “I didn’t look behind me to see what is going on because this is now your life and you also know you are getting robbed, you are getting slashed, you are getting beat up, you are getting done in, there is no mercy here. They were out to get you and they were everywhere. I just kept running and didn’t look back. It is every man for himself.”

Asked to elaborate on Stanley knives being present, he added: “Everyone was up for a fight, that’s what was happening up and down the country. But these took it to a different level and that was what you were fearful of.”

Running for his life, Tony said bricks rained down on him, and at one point his shoe fell off, forcing him to kneel down while his two pals sprinted away.

He described being “so relieved” to get back to Lime Station unharmed, calling it the longest run of his life. “I got away with my life, and I mean got away with my life,” he said.

Speaking about the atmosphere on the train back, he said: “We were all made up. This is the blueprint of how we are going to go to Liverpool or Everton in the future. We knew we could take it to them - it just needed a little more organising.”

Tony, now the author of Red Army General and The Men in Black, then said within 18 months to two years, became the main firm in the country. The former hardman now lives a very different life, and in 2017, he started working at and Ryan Giggs’ Hotel .

He was handpicked by Neville to work security and speaking about his role, he once said: “I’ve stopped going to games. Me and my wife Debbie do the rooftop at Hotel Football on a match day.

“The whole idea is to make it about the supporters’ clubs. The Hotel is a four-star, but the intention of the hotel was to be where the fans could mix.

“The whole idea was to make it accessible, near Old Trafford, for the fans. I get the supporters clubs in. I get the right people in. People love to mix and see proper United fans.”