davieG Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 The undercover cop at the heart of a brawl between Millwall hooligans and Leicester's Baby Squad Everyone knew him as Jim. Jim the painter. An easy-lad from Wandsworth, south London, big Millwall fan and “one of the boys†– a member of their notorious hooligan firm, the Bushwackers. Jim was 21. He liked a drink, a laugh, a bit of a ruck on a Saturday afternoon. He stood his round in the pub and his ground during a scrap. A good lad, Jim, said everyone in his circle. Everyone liked him. Except this wasn’t really Jim. Jim was really James Bannon, a serving officer for the Metropolitan Police and employed in the Met’s undercover surveillance squad to infiltrate the Bushwackers. For two years, James was an actor, playing the starring role in a real-life play that led to numerous bar room brawls and almost weekly Saturday afternoon fights. When the dust had settled and the hangover had faded, James would sit down and compile a dossier on it all – a secret report that would try to put his friends, the members of the Millwall Bushwackers, in prison. Today, James is an actor and author. He brings his one-man show – Running with the Firm, part play, part biography – to the Crumblin’ Cookie in High Street, as part of Leicester Comedy Festival. It seems an odd choice for the comedy festival. Not many laughs in this, James, surely? “Well, it’s not stand-up comedy, sure, but it’s original and it’s real and there’s genuine humour in there.†James travelled home and away with Millwall from 1987 to 1989. He was arrested in Merseyside, poked by police truncheons at Leeds, herded like cattle at football grounds all over the country by men doing the same job as him. It was difficult, he says. It wasn’t just a job, though. It was a way of life. It was utterly engrossing. He made friends, real friends, with men that, one day, he hoped to put away. It was difficult, he says. There were times when his loyalties were stretched, when the lines blurred. The legacy of those days still lives with James Bannon. “I never thought, back then, that it was stressful,†he says. “I don’t think stress, as a concept, had been invented then.†The key, always, was to remember that he was doing a job. He was playing a part. “It didn’t matter that some of these guys were okay – I remember three of them vividly today. They were normal, decent, likeable blokes. It was my job to get enough information on them to present a case.†Today, James Bannon is still a Millwall fan. “I wasn’t, before it all started. My grandad used to take me to see Charlton. But, I don’t know, you can’t help but get caught up in it all, really.†Besides, he says, it wasn’t the club’s fault, all of this. It wasn’t down to the players. On a sunny Saturday, August 29, 1987, Millwall came to Filbert Street to face Leicester City in a Division Two game. James caught the train from St Pancras that morning and headed north to Leicester. The episode is described in meticulous detail in James’s book. “There were all kinds of firms across the land. The Leicester firm, the Baby Squad, were perhaps not the biggest – I think the biggest firms we’re all London-based, really, us, West Ham, Chelsea – but we knew about them. They were respected.†The leader of the Baby Squad and the leader of the Bushwhackers had arranged for their firms to meet, two hours before the game, at a pub near the ground. Unbeknown to either side, James was drip-feeding all the information back to the Met, who were passing it on to the Leicestershire constabulary. “We turned up to the pub and the car park was crawling with police officers,†says James. The Bushwackers were angry. “There was a bit of consternation – who knew? Who had grassed us up to the Old Bill? – and they all assumed it must have been one of the Baby Squad.†James Bannon breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was like this constantly, he says. Trying to keep one step ahead while his identity, his existence, his methods, everything he did was scrutinised. His home, his real home, was in Kent. His parents and relatives lived nearby. He hardly saw his friends. His new life revolved around a story his police department had created for him: his painting job, his work van, a small house in Wandsworth and drinking with his new mates, all members of the Bushwackers. “I’d go home occasionally, go and see my folks, see my mates, but I’d have to make sure I wasn’t followed.†He was spotted once, in a pub the other side of London, out drinking with his police friends. “I think they knew something wasn’t right. I wanted to leg it, but I couldn’t, the door was too far away, so I had to try to stick it out.†Ridiculously, he claimed he couldn’t read or write. “I just came up with the first story that came into my head.†Even more ridiculously, his Millwall mates bought it. Why? James still hasn’t got a clue. “It meant, though, that for the rest of my time with them, I had to pretend I couldn’t read or write.†He had to get off trains at the wrong stop because he “couldn’t always read the signsâ€, pretending he couldn’t read a newspaper if it was passed round. “It was a huge pressure,†he says, “and difficult to maintain.†His hooligan friends never suspected. In Leicester, after the police spoiled the first arranged fight, the Millwall fans were escorted to the ground. “What I remember about that day was just how well we were treated by Leicestershire police. They were firm – but fair. "The police in West Yorkshire were awful. It wasn’t much better in Merseyside, or the West Midlands. “But the Leicestershire coppers were firm – but polite. That didn’t happen very often.†He remembers next to nothing of the game. Leicester won 1-0, according to the record books, thanks to a goal from Kevin Moran. The crowd that day was a measly 7,559. At the final whistle the Millwall fans were kept behind as the City supporters left. “When we left, we walked along Burnmoor Street and back to the station,†he says. Lying in wait were a gang of Baby Squad members. Just three police officers stood between the Baby Squad and the Bushwackers. “Two of the police officers, aware of what was about to happen, backed off and called for reinforcements,†says James. But one officer stood his ground. It was brave of him, but naive. He was beaten and kicked, his jaw fractured. It was difficult to see, as a serving police officer, he says, “but I was powerless to stop themâ€. Reinforcements arrived and Leicestershire police’s gentle approach quickly hardened. The Millwall fans were prodded like farm animals all the way back to Leicester station. When they came back the next season, the welcome was frosty. “And who could blame them, really,†says James. The police officer with the broken jaw was off work for months. The Millwall fan who hit him was jailed for assaulting a police officer. James’s schizophrenic existence came to an unexpected halt with a phone call, out of the blue, from one of the Met chiefs. The surveillance operations were coming to an end. Pull out and go home, he was told. Which is what he did. No-one was arrested. No-one went to prison. All the evidence was binned. The game was over. “I didn’t get to see any of them or try to explain – I just disappeared.†James left the force a year later. He’d had enough. After playing the toughest role anyone could be asked to play, he decided to become an actor and writer. He’s been back to the New Den to see his team and, once, during a similar show to the one he’s giving tonight, two old Millwall mates turned up. They waited for him at the end of the gig. “Remember us?†they said. James feared the worst. “They didn’t like me, clearly, or what I had been trying to do. But it was funny. ‘You may have been a rat,’ one of them said, ‘but at least you were our rat’. Best of all, James laughs, they enjoyed the show. He was pleased about that, he says. • James Bannon plays The Crumblin’ Cookie, in the High Street tonight at 7.15pm. Tickets are £10. Call 0116 242 3595 for tickets. His book, Running with the Firm, is out now. Read more: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/undercover-cop-heart-brawl-Millwall-hooligans/story-20584462-detail/story.html#ixzz2sp1OL2ah
broughtonblue Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Isn't this the old film I.d ? Based on a team called Shadwell Town, nicknamed The Dogs?
Iwan is a Welshman Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Shame I've only just seen this, sounds like it would have been an interesting show.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Shame I've only just seen this, sounds like it would have been an interesting show. Agreed. I've just put it on someones Facebook who we both know. See if he was there that day
broughtonblue Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 I fvcking love you Gumbo! Gumbo, what a character
DennisNedry Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 7500 attendance at Filbert Street?It's funny how as a younger fan I've never been told about that.
Iwan is a Welshman Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 7500 attendance at Filbert Street? It's funny how as a younger fan I've never been told about that. Don't believe everything you read about people harping on about Filbo. I loved the place but there's some serious rose-tinted glasses floating round. Even under O'Neill we got crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight. Contrast that with yesterday's 26,000 for Watford at home and it shows the club made the right move.
The Year Of The Fox Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Don't believe everything you read about people harping on about Filbo. I loved the place but there's some serious rose-tinted glasses floating round. Even under O'Neill we got crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight. Contrast that with yesterday's 26,000 for Watford at home and it shows the club made the right move. It was 23k yesterday mate. I meant to correct you yesterday too
Iwan is a Welshman Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 It was 23k yesterday mate. I meant to correct you yesterday too 26,000 was the figure given on the stream I was watching - which I think was used for the Football League Show. Either way, even at 23,000 it proves my point.
davieG Posted 9 February 2014 Author Posted 9 February 2014 7500 attendance at Filbert Street? It's funny how as a younger fan I've never been told about that. I've mentioned it many times, negative football playing for a draw and hooligans taking over the game were mostly to blame.
sylofox Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 I've mentioned it many times, negative football playing for a draw and hooligans taking over the game were mostly to blame. Hard for some of these to realise what it was really like. I remember walking to the ground one Friday night for a chelski game. While walking you tried to listen to everyone waiting for a cockney accent and watching everyone knowing it could kick off any minute. Never went to a game looking for trouble but been in a few scraps. You had no choice if you ended up in the middle it was fight back or get battered. Then in the the ground in pen 2 you were showered with coins and even batteries. And if that was not bad enough you never knew if the guys stood next to you were gonna start. Chelski used to love sending a few groups in pen 2. Wonder how many would go now if it was still the same (not many I guess) The new ground would make no difference they did not have to be stood up they could rampage through the seating as well. The old mainstand even the double decker seen action too.
6ups 6downs 2 cups Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Mid to late 80s, gates of 7500 not uncommon, even in the top flight! Most clubs back then had what look today appalling attendances, way it was, being a football fan back then was a little different!
davieG Posted 9 February 2014 Author Posted 9 February 2014 Hard for some of these to realise what it was really like. I remember walking to the ground one Friday night for a chelski game. While walking you tried to listen to everyone waiting for a cockney accent and watching everyone knowing it could kick off any minute. Never went to a game looking for trouble but been in a few scraps. You had no choice if you ended up in the middle it was fight back or get battered. Then in the the ground in pen 2 you were showered with coins and even batteries. And if that was not bad enough you never knew if the guys stood next to you were gonna start. Chelski used to love sending a few groups in pen 2. Wonder how many would go now if it was still the same (not many I guess) The new ground would make no difference they did not have to be stood up they could rampage through the seating as well. The old mainstand even the double decker seen action too. As bad as it was the good side was you could park on Burnmoor St and the other roads around the ground. there was never any problem getting a ticket in them times in fact i don't think I ever bought a ticket you knew you could turn up home and away and just pay on the gate.
6ups 6downs 2 cups Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Just to add I nearly stopped going after Heysel in 1985, was 16 but grandad told me to stick with it, god bless him! That said if he was still around today he would have been warned or banned for swearing!
Bettsj2 Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Don't believe everything you read about people harping on about Filbo. I loved the place but there's some serious rose-tinted glasses floating round. Even under O'Neill we got crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight. Contrast that with yesterday's 26,000 for Watford at home and it shows the club made the right move. THIS I hate hearing people talk about the atmosphere there being electric. Pen 1 was decent, the rest of the ground pretty silent.
Mark 'expert' Lawrenson Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Don't believe everything you read about people harping on about Filbo. I loved the place but there's some serious rose-tinted glasses floating round. Even under O'Neill we got crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight. Contrast that with yesterday's 26,000 for Watford at home and it shows the club made the right move. Crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight? Under O'Neill? I dispute that. We got a regular crowd of between 19 and 21,000 at Filbo then, only on the rare occasion we would get 17.000, hardly ever less for a top flight league game. I started going Filbo when Jock Wallace was manager first game vs West Ham in 79, att 22472, attendances in the top flight under Gordon Milne were between 10000 up to 24000 for Man Utd, but averaged out at about 14000. I watched us in the top flight against Birmingham in 1986 when under 9000 were there. But if we're talking top flight under O'Neill then your wrong with your figures. I have fond memories of Filbert St, yes I probably do have rose tinted glasses, but that was my youth, I have footie mates who are no longer with us, so I look back on those days at Filbert St and miss them. Attending matches back then was a totally different experience to what we have now.
Iwan is a Welshman Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Crowds between 14 and 18,000 in the top flight? Under O'Neill? I dispute that. We got a regular crowd of between 19 and 21,000 at Filbo then, only on the rare occasion we would get 17.000, hardly ever less for a top flight league game. I started going Filbo when Jock Wallace was manager first game vs West Ham in 79, att 22472, attendances in the top flight under Gordon Milne were between 10000 up to 24000 for Man Utd, but averaged out at about 14000. I watched us in the top flight against Birmingham in 1986 when under 9000 were there. But if we're talking top flight under O'Neill then your wrong with your figures. I have fond memories of Filbert St, yes I probably do have rose tinted glasses, but that was my youth, I have footie mates who are no longer with us, so I look back on those days at Filbert St and miss them. Attending matches back then was a totally different experience to what we have now. Only a quick scan and figures under 17,000 were post O'Neill. There were a few under 18,000 with O'Neill but none under 17,000 that I can see. Apologies, I made the statement off the top of my head. Our average home attendance in the League One season was, however, higher than O'Neill's last full season. I've got great memories of the place too. I wasn't criticising Filbo, just making the point that sometimes the picture painted of the place to those too young to have had the pleasure to go there may over do it a tad.
sylofox Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Only a quick scan and figures under 17,000 were post O'Neill. There were a few under 18,000 with O'Neill but none under 17,000 that I can see. Apologies, I made the statement off the top of my head. Our average home attendance in the League One season was, however, higher than O'Neill's last full season. I've got great memories of the place too. I wasn't criticising Filbo, just making the point that sometimes the picture painted of the place to those too young to have had the pleasure to go there may over do it a tad. May be something to do with walking the league. Also seeing teams most week people had never seen. Oh and the fact we could put 32.5k in the ground instead of 22.5k.
sylofox Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 As bad as it was the good side was you could park on Burnmoor St and the other roads around the ground. there was never any problem getting a ticket in them times in fact i don't think I ever bought a ticket you knew you could turn up home and away and just pay on the gate. Had the car been invented then davie? lol
Mark 'expert' Lawrenson Posted 9 February 2014 Posted 9 February 2014 Yes, I agree with you about the picture being painted is wrong, we all who went remember the embarrassing East Stand. Just out of interest what was the capacity of Filbert St in the final seasons there? Like a previous poster put, people who never went to Filbo would not believe how different attending matches was in the 80's and 90's, from drinking in pubs before the game, to going to the ground and watching the game and getting home, you were on edge most of the time. It was no way the family friendly experience we have now. I do miss Filbo, but I miss it for the memories the same way I miss the Wellington pub in town, or Harvey's nightclub, I miss it for the memories of times gone. Excuse me for my sentimentality, I might go and have a little cry
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