 
Good Afternoon Gentlemen, The Name's Bill Gardner
Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 7
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 On: 2008-10-24
Though Gardner does indulge in some whining and some defensive CYA rhetoric, his book exceeds the genres standards because he actually speaks about the game and its players as much as the aggro that occurred off the pitch. Most of these books have very little to say about the game at all.
 On: 2008-09-27
this gives a great account of the infamous bill gardiner from HIMSELF, not from many of the others who have included him in their hooligan literary works. surprisingly, he comes across as an easy going, loner type, who points out on several occasions he was never part of any firm, he always went alone. this is true to an extent, but from other readings youy can see people formed a firm around this guy knowing that when it hit the fan, this bloke was always the last man standing. so in effect he went alone, but others woudl follow... he is very passionate west ham fan, who would do anything for the club, including organising tours with fans and coaching and scouting for juniors. he shows his human side and how he got caught up in it, and then his perspective of west ham football club and where they are headed. i was expecting a series of violent bloody encounters but it let me down there, but it was good to hear about the feller from himself. he wasnt random in his violence, he did it because he wanted to watch west ham and wouldnt let anyone stand in his way.
 On: 2008-04-06
A little disappointed. Gardner spent more time trying to disprove that he was a thug than providing the reader with real action. He was a true Hammer fan and I would love to share a pint with Bill and get the real story.
On: 2008-01-08
Bill Gardner was a top member of the ICF, the firm that supported (supports) West Ham United in Londons East End. What that means is, he kicked butt in the many battles between firms that were huge in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. These are not minor fisticuffs, people. These are full-on wars between hundreds of experienced fighting men. He made a name for himself as a fearless leader. His telling of those battles comes across as honest and, believe it or not, humble. He doesnt want to talk himself up, he isnt looking to crown himself the baddest of the "hooligan" element. (And Gardner didnt go around trashing chippys or doing random hooligan vandalism, he was looking for the lads of the opposing firms, just for the record.) He just remembers the crazy years on the terraces and on the streets after matches, where it all kicks off and it could be a serious, dangerous battle to get back to your tube station. He gives a straight forward and entertaining tale about many, many classic battles between Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham, and of course Millwall, amongst many others,
Gardner is famous for not using weapons (unlike the Everton mob, for example), just his fists and cojones, and his presence was enough to put opponent firms on the retreat. His story telling is great, and there is even a great section on when he worked the door at some gnarly clubs that saw equally fierce action. The book is great and comes from a man who never was looking for the limelight, just a winning West Ham football game and a good steaming in afterwards!
On: 2007-07-28
The book is a GREAT read.
I have many WHU friends - some of whom are top flight.
Gardners writting is very self-effacing.
He brings to life the banter. Banter that can only be heard down Millwall or West Ham and maybe the Orient. A unique humour. Scousers and Mancs dont have it. The north London clubs dont possess it. The west London clubs wouldnt understand it.
Theres a sibling rivalry between WHU and MFC, whether youre from Bethnal Green or Bermondsey - maybe its a docks thing? Hard times are always coupled with humour.
Football violence of the late 60s. 70s and 80s can never be replicated, because of how stadiums are built now and security and the onus of bad behavier being ultimately with the club.
This is a social history book. A good book.
On: 2006-12-24
I use to think, a five star rating was meant for things like Macbeth, War and Peace, Madame Butterfly, Vincent Van Gogh paintings; but then, folks thought I might be judging some other things too harshly even if I gave it one star under; but let there be no confusion here, this one deserves every single one.
Itd still deserve it if they ripped out the chapter about his career as a bouncer, erm, doorman at Busbys; its that good; still, with the caveat that this is sort of a book of the hoolifan genre; not so much one straightup on football.
I will say one thing, if the bloke thought it was too short at its 240 pages and large print, youve got to read Congratulations, You have just met the ICF penned by Cass Pennant but basically recounting various tails by the members of the ICF including Bill; I voraciously read that one, coming in at around 400 pages; so if you combine the two; man, youve got a six hundred page turner and I definitely think, they complement each other. At some point in time, perhaps I will try to read the book "Cass" by Pennant as well; sort of part of this series of books. This one on the other hand, I almost cherish the words by Billy Gardner; and read them with delight and respect, slowly and deliberate. There are now a number of books out there, but these two, Id attest too, as being welldone.
Nevertheless, I am sure, as the years have gone by, some things, some have become embellished and of course, the Hammers are naturally going to be the good guys; but it still passes the litmus test at that.
There is a lot here, some stuff so funny, Id be a spoiler to repeat it, you have to get it. Actually, I think, one incident can be named, typical of the humour found here; Gardner is in the USA for a coaches/soccer seminar. Gardner and some friends are up, New York state way, driving a car, shortly after 9/11 but dont have ID and the cops, hands near their pistols, pull them over looking for it, nothing; cept Bill pulls his arm out and "Bill" is tattooed on him! Thats there ID and the police let them go about their ways.
Some of it is sad and some violent, but we do get a birdseye view of Bill being put on trial for hooligan sorts of accusations.
Its a good read, Bill claims he is not so much ICF (InterCity Firm of West Ham United Football Club); but his own man.
There may be some war stories here, but I look at the guy, Id want him on my side and would like to think of myself as no coward; but I dont think, I could ever steam into the guy. He says hes not a hoollgan, but merely a fan, a West Ham fan.
A widely available book in the USA is by Bill Buford called Among the thugs; another thing about this one, if you have read that one, then you need to read this one. The Thug book is not honourable or passionate and probably a bit short on some factual areas as well. Bill hits the nail on the head, that he doesnt care much for whom that Buford book is about, the Red Army of Manchester United; not that there is anything wrong with the team, but theyve got a lot of fans, based largely on their success, not real grassroot supporting types like West Ham. The stories about the ICF are not even similar in the slightest to those in that other book. One needs to get a balanced view of the whole situation.
Honour aside, I cant go along with bonking your wrist with a hammer to get time off from work, to go see West Ham play overseas; but these are, remind you, hard core fanatics.
Hooliganism has been described as being a high from violence, but with Bill, I think his opiate is West Ham, the Irons themselves.
If the book lacks anything, maybe we could have found out a bit more about Bills playing days, okay, it wasnt in the topflight; but 5, five broken legs certainly makes one curious as to how all that played out, hence, Bill wouldnt run from a fight, because he literally couldnt. It seems there are some photos included also that are not entirely explained in the text.
You might not become a West Ham fan after reading this, but I guarantee you, youll watch how with some interest on how they perform in their games.
And he seems to be a successful coach of youth soccer; now an instruction book on that, I think, would be a good read.
On: 2005-12-12
Having read several books on the topic of English football hooliganism, I had come across West Hams Bill Gardner on a number of occasions. Finally, he is telling his full story, with the help of fellow ICF member Cass Pennant.
Gardners story is pretty simple and he doesnt dwell much on childhood, but spends most of the time getting right to the goods, as it is. He details a number of the encounters that he was involved in, but avoids the trap of bragging. He repeatedly mentions his honor, and from what you can gather reading the accounts, I think he really does act honorably.
The book itself is a very quick read at only 240 pages or so, and with a moderate-sized print you can go through it in no time. Certainly worth a look if youve got any knowledge of the terrace wars of the 70s and 80s. Because for those that are, you have heard of Bill Gardner.
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