Hull City Psychos

Last updated

Hull City Psychos
Founding location Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Years active1967–present
Territory Kingston upon Hull
EthnicityMostly White British
Membership (est.)200-400
Criminal activities Football hooliganism, riots and fighting
AlliesThe Minority, Under 5s/YCC (youth city casuals), Fenerbahce, MI-Side (Cambuur Leeuwarden)

The Hull City Psychos are a football hooligan firm linked to the English Championship club, Hull City. [1]

Contents

Background

The firm dates back to the 1960s and peaked during the 1990s. [2]

The City Psychos evolved from the original Hull skinhead gangs and the Kempton Fusiliers who were named after the east side railway stand at Boothferry Park. They were well known as tough representatives of Kingston upon Hull, a big tough working class port city.

It was not unusual for the City Psychos to number over half Hull City’s away support during the years in the lower leagues at the end of the 1970s and start of the 1980s. They were famous for travelling to away games on Hull Corporation double-decker buses. From 1979 the more traditional scarfer element of support became known as the normals whilst these equally loyal supporters evolved in to City’s casual mob and were some of the earliest casual boys seen in Yorkshire outside the North West and won respect[ who? ][ citation needed ] for their fierce rivalry with Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and York City.

Today

The mob is now[ when? ] known as The Minority and the youth firm are known as the Young City Casuals or 'YCC' along with the even younger group known as the 'Under 5's'. [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila, Hackett, ellesse, Napapijri, & Fred Perry 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 Quality Street Gang operated in Manchester, England, in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Although considered by some senior officers in the Greater Manchester Police to be the instigators of much of Manchester's major crime, some maintain that the gang was nothing more than a “social friendship between a group of men” , most of whom came from Ancoats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barra brava</span> Organized supporters groups of football teams in Argentina

Barra brava is the name of organized supporters' groups of football teams in Latin America, analogous to European ultras and British hooligans in providing fanatical support to their clubs in stadiums and provoking violence against rival fans as well as against the police.

The Zulu Warriors are a football hooligan firm associated with English football club, Birmingham City. The Zulu Warriors were formed in the late 1980s and the name allegedly came from a chant of "Zulu, Zulu" which Manchester City fans aimed at Birmingham in 1982, due to their multicultural following. However, both the "Zulu" chant and the term "Zulu Warriors", in the context of a fan following rather than as an organised gang, were in use from at least the mid 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds United Service Crew</span> Football hooligan firm linked to Leeds United F.C.

The Leeds United Service Crew are a football hooligan firm linked to the English EFL Championship team, Leeds United F.C. The Service Crew were formed in 1974 and are named after the ordinary public service trains that the hooligans would travel on to away matches, rather than the heavily policed, organised football special trains. The Service Crew are one of the most notorious hooligan firms in the history of English football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Muckers</span>

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.

Naughty Forty is a football hooligan firm linked to the English team Stoke City F.C.

The Suicide Squad was an association football hooligan firm linked to Burnley Football Club. The self-imposed title is derived from previous behaviour at away games where the single-minded involvement in violence against overwhelming odds could be described as suicidal. The name became synonymous with the group during the early 1980s.

The Baby Squad is a football hooligan firm linked to English professional football club Leicester City.

Newcastle Gremlins are a football hooligan firm associated with the English football club, Newcastle United F.C.

Aston Villa Hardcore is a football hooligan firm associated with the Premier League club Aston Villa, based in Birmingham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital City Service</span>

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.

The County Road Cutters are a hooligan firm associated with Premier League football club Everton F.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom</span> Hooliganism associated with football in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Football-related activity of the CCS</span>

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.

References

  1. Nicholls, Andy; Lowles, Nick (September 2005). Hooligans: The A-L of Britain's Football Hooligan Gangs. Wrea Green: Milo Books. p. 272. ISBN   1-903854-41-5.
  2. Tordoff, Shaun. "City Psychos: From the Monte Carlo Mob to the Silver Cod Squad - Four Decades of Terrace Terror" . Retrieved 25 January 2014.

Further reading