Millwall Hooligan Snubbed West Ham When Naming 'Toughest Firm' He Ever Faced

A former Millwall Hooligan surprisingly didn't pick West Ham United when asked to name the 'toughest firm' he had ever faced.

For years, fans have often discussed which rivalry within football is the fiercest and leads to the most intimidating clashes between hooligans supporting each club.

In England, many would assume that the infamous East London derby between Millwall and West Ham United is the toughest given the brutal stories about the fights between hooligans.

However, according to a leading hooligan who joined Millwall's feared 'Bushwackers' and joined the 'firm' when was just 11 years old, the West Ham firm wasn't the toughest he had ever encountered.

After getting into his first brawl on a train at 13, 'Ginger Bob' was one of the biggest names in the Millwall firm during the 1970s and 1980s, and he recalled a brutal encounter with one club's firm during an away day.

In 2023, Bob, now in his sixties spoke with podcast host James English to talk about his time as a football hooligan and the frightening fights he took part in while supporting The Lions.

But it was his encounter with around 4,000 Cardiff City that led to the notorious hooligan naming the Welsh side's firm as the toughest he had ever encountered.

"I've got to give it to Cardiff City," he said on Anything Goes with James English,

"Cardiff had an around 3-4,000-person-strong firm while Millwall - with around 300 - had nowhere to run. Some of my mates thought they were going to die."

Although Bob later revealed that he wasn't involved in this particular encounter, after he left the ground early to avoid being arrested, he also recalled a fight with Cardiff City fans as the 'best' fight he had as a hooligan.

Recalling a clash with The Bluebirds during a trip to the Welsh capital in March 28, 1976, he added: "We had 300 firm, they had 2,000. Some of our people were getting stabbed.

Millwall hooligans are known as some of the most intimidating in England. (Image: Phil Cole/Getty Images)

"One of my friends got captured by Cardiff and he was being beaten to death... so I've gone back into Cardiff's firm and pulled him along the floor.

"People were attacking me but because of the adrenaline I managed to block them. When we got back to the station, Cardiff's firm and the police were all laughing."

But that didn't stop Bob and his fellow Millwall hooligans, as he explained: "We kicked the gates in, ran riot, and smashed all the pubs up. The police had to come back and force us back.

"That was 28th March 1976, the day before my 18th birthday - it was just like the Wild West."