SPECIAL ENGLISH ISSUE - Dressers Roma.com

surrounded by pretty handy lads and we managed to keep it together, but I remember nearly being
stabbed or slashed a couple of times. At times like that, when you’ve been separated from the main
crew, all you can do is run for your life. Those scousers absolutely fucking hated us, and they
showed no mercy whatsoever.
I remember one year (which I mention in the book) when the police met us at Lime Street and put
us on buses to Goodison. The bus we were on was completely smashed up; windows kicked out,
chairs wrecked and cushions thrown out of the broken windows, support bars kicked until they were
bent and twisted. They even smashed holes through from the upper deck down to the lower and
there was insulation hanging down everywhere. When we arrived near Goodison, they parked the
bus as far away from the ground as possible and they let us off a couple at a time. It was a bit of a
walk to the ground but somehow me and my mate Kenny must have had guardian angels on our
shoulders because we almost made it the whole way. Right near the ground a gang of scousers
sussed us and one of them was a cutter. That last fifty yards was pure running for our lives, with the
Everton lads hissing evilly about Stanley knives, breathing down our necks.
What do u not like of modern football?
The sanitation of the overall experience. People cannot bring certain banners into stadiums, and
they can’t stand up and voice their passion or they are ejected by the stewards. The clubs are only
interested in “customers” rather than real supporters. It’s become a 100% business. In one respect
you can’t blame the clubs; there was a huge untapped revenue stream there and they owned the
trademark, so why not? But they’ve gone too far by alienating the true fans and catering to daytrippers
from abroad who represent cash and nothing more. I saw an old FA Cup final match on TV
a while ago. I think it was the 1977 final against Liverpool. I was amused to see that they didn’t
even display the minutes on the screen. When a substitution was made they held up a piece of card
with the number of the player to be subbed on it. It looked ridiculous compared to the digital boards
they use today and the huge focus on injury time. Back then the so-called United “souvenir shop”
was a small shed-like structure at the side of the forecourt. As kids, we’d go in there, but never buy
anything as we couldn’t afford it. There would be a long snaking line of people making their way
through the shop, some of whom had travelled from distant places. They were usually ex-pats from
Manchester who’d relocated to Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Sometimes
they’d announce on the PA system before kick-off that someone was here all the way from Sydney
or Toronto, and the crowd would give them a big cheer. They were people who used to live in
Manchester and support United. These days they come from all over the world, to take pictures with
their smartphones and buy merchandise from the Megastore. I think the owners would love it if they
could have 90,000 United virgins there every week, all more than happy to spend large wads of
cash on their special occasion. It’s a money-spinner. The wages the players receive are also way out
of proportion to what they do. The fitness level is definitely higher now, but they’re pampered
beyond belief and the egomaniacs are practically running the asylum.
When was the first time you start thinking to write "Perry Boys"? why?
It was after I found out about the 80s Casuals forum online, and I went on there and posted some
bits and pieces. Mainly stuff about how I remember the casual culture slowly emerging from the
post-punk melee of the late-70s. It was a bit psychedelic and inspired, and a lot of those first posts
appear in the book verbatim. Dave Hewitson, the guy who runs the forum, first suggested I should
turn it into a book. I’d always felt like there wasn’t enough info on the casual scene, but that was
partly because I lived in the USA and didn’t know about all the other books that had been written.
There used to be nothing whatsoever online anywhere and it puzzled me. I felt like I could rectify