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| Nickname | Cutters |
|---|---|
| Type | Hooligan firm |
| Purpose | Everton F.C. supporters group |
| Location |
The County Road Cutters are a hooligan firm associated with Premier League football club Everton F.C.
The County Road Cutters were, at their peak throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, one of the largest hooligan firms in England. Their name derives from County Road, the long road leading up to Everton's home ground, Goodison Park, in Walton, Liverpool, and also from the firm's use of Stanley knives in fights with other hooligan firms. [1]
Members of the Cutters are known to be one of the first firms to adopt casual clothing and designer garments in the 1970s along with hooligan supporters of local rivals Liverpool F.C.
Andy Nicholls, a former 'general' in the County Road Cutters throughout the 1980s and 1990s, who was branded a category C football hooligan by the National Football Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the highest NFIU rating, claims that the Cutters had strong rivalries with hooligan firms of the two Manchester teams, Manchester United F.C. and Manchester City F.C., the Sunderland firm Seaburn Casuals, as well as with the Chelsea Headhunters, a firm associated with Chelsea F.C., and the Millwall Bushwackers, a firm associated with Millwall F.C. As of 6 October 2003, Nicholls was banned for life from Goodison Park. [2]
The Cutters have been involved in a number of high-profile clashes with other firms, most notably in 2005 with the Red Army, a firm associated with Manchester United. Hooligan supporters of the two teams clashed outside Goodison Park after the game, in which Everton triumphed 1-0 thanks to a Duncan Ferguson headed goal. The fight between the supporters is known as 'The Battle of Everton Valley', and is widely thought to be the worst incident of football related violence Merseyside has ever seen. [3] Around 100 United fans were left bloodied and injured, and within hooligan circles, the 'battle' is widely regarded as a 'win' for the County Road Cutters. Some sources claim that Liverpool FC hooligans joined forces with the Cutters to battle against the Red Army. According to Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney in his book Undesirables, the Cutters have also come to blows with Manchester United's Red Army firm over disputes stemming from both firms' involvement in illegal ticket touting at pop concerts. [4]
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England, 2 miles (3 km) north of the city centre. It has been the home of Premier League club Everton since 1892 and has an all-seated capacity of 39,414.
The casual subculture is a subsection of football culture that is typified by hooliganism and the wearing of expensive designer clothing. The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer clothing labels and expensive sportswear such as Stone Island, CP Company, Lyle & Scott, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila, Hackett, ellesse, Napapijri, Burberry, Fred Perry, etc. in order to avoid the attention of police and to intimidate rivals. They did not wear club colours, so it was easier to infiltrate rival groups and to enter pubs. Some casuals have worn clothing items similar to those worn by mods. Casuals have been portrayed in films and television programmes such as ID, The Firm, The Football Factory, and Green Street. The documentary Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion featuring Pat Nevin, Peter Hooton and Gary Bushell amongst others is about the fashion that started in the late 70s and into the 1980s.
The 1987–88 season was the 108th season of competitive football in England.
The 1989–90 season was the 110th season of competitive football in England.
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England. In the Football League First Division, Arsenal emerged victorious as champions.
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.
The 1984–85 season was the 105th season of competitive football in England.
Andy Nicholls, is a Welsh 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 was banned for life from the home ground of the team he supports but the club allowed him back in due to the amount of work he does for their charity Everton in the Community Everton, Goodison Park. and has served three months in prison for football related violence. Showing no empathy, Nicholls has said he "would change nothing" about his time as a football hooligan, including "pillaging and dismantling European cities, leaving horrified locals to rebuild in time for our next visit" and having "seen visiting fans at Goodison Park pleading not to be carved open after straying too far from the safety of their numbers;" however, he is wary of violence coming to his own doorstep since he has had children.
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.
The Millwall Bushwackers are a football firm associated with Millwall Football Club. Millwall have a historic association with football hooliganism, which came to prevalence in the 1970s and 1980s, with a firm known originally as F-Troop, eventually becoming more widely known as the Millwall Bushwackers, who were one of the most notorious hooligan gangs in England. On five occasions The Den was closed by the Football Association and the club has received numerous fines for crowd disorder. Millwall's hooligans are regarded by their rivals as amongst the stiffest competition, with Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney describing them as being amongst the top four firms in his autobiography 'Undesirables', and West Ham hooligan Cass Pennant featuring them on his Top Boys TV YouTube channel, on which their fearsome reputation for violence was described.
The Red Army is a hooligan firm who follow English football club Manchester United. Although today the term Red Army is used mostly to refer to fans of the club in general, the hooligan firm has been one of the largest firms in British football. Firm members – and the firm itself – are sometimes known as the Men in Black, due to the members dressing in all black clothing. In his book Hotshot, Red Army hooligan Harry Gibson states that there are also sub-divisions of the firm known as the Young Munichs, the Inter City Jibbers (ICJ), the M58 Firm and the Moston Rats. In his book Undesirables, Colin Blaney has also stated that the ICJ is dedicated to carrying out acquisitive forms of crime in addition to football hooliganism. He claims that members of the group have been involved in smuggling drugs to Europe and Asia from Latin America and the Caribbean, organizing jail breaks, carrying out armed robberies, travelling overseas to Asia and mainland Europe in order to steal jewellery and committing street robberies. It is the criminal wing of the Red Army.
The Real Football Factories is a documentary series shown on the Bravo television channel in the United Kingdom and created by Zig Zag Productions. The show looks at the in-depth life of football hooligans and hooligan firms. Interviews are conducted with past and present hooligans.
Newcastle Gremlins are a football hooligan firm associated with the English football club, Newcastle United F.C.
The Capital City Service (CCS) is a Scottish football hooligan firm associated with Hibernian F.C. and active from 1984 when the casual hooligan subculture took off in Scotland. Their roots were in the previous incarnations of hooligan groups attached to the club and also the wider Edinburgh and surrounding area's gang culture. They are more commonly known in the media and amongst the public as the Hibs Casuals, although within the hooligan network they may also be referred to as Hibs Boys.
Beginning in at least the 1960s, the United Kingdom gained a reputation worldwide for football hooliganism; the phenomenon was often dubbed the British or English Disease. However, since the 1980s and well into the 1990s the UK government has led a widescale crackdown on football related violence. While football hooliganism has been a growing concern in some continental European countries in recent years, British football fans now tend to have a better reputation abroad. Although reports of British football hooliganism still surface, the instances now tend to occur at pre-arranged locations rather than at the matches themselves.
The Capital City Service (CCS) is a Scottish football hooligan firm associated with Hibernian and active from 1984 when the casual hooligan subculture took off in Scotland. Their roots were in the previous incarnations of hooligans attached to the club and also the wider Edinburgh and surrounding areas gang culture. They are more commonly known in the media and amongst the public as the Hibs Casuals though within the hooligan network they may also be referred to as Hibs boys.
Seaburn Casuals are a football hooligan firm associated with the English football club, Sunderland A.F.C. The group's activity was prominent in the 90s and the early 00s, with the club being involved in some of the most violent incidents in British hooligan history, in what was described as "some of the worst football related fighting ever witnessed in the United Kingdom," and sometimes topping the football arrests table.
During the 1985–86 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Football League First Division.
Andy Nicholls (2004). Scally: Confessions of a Category C Football Hooligan. Milo Books. ISBN 978-1903854259.