The Muckers


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.
Although Blackpool is a relatively small club, there is a long history of hooliganism, which had all but disappeared until recent times. Part of the reasons given for this history of violence is that a feature of Blackpool life is fighting, especially as in the summer months groups of young men would visit the resort, giving the locals ample opportunity to fight whenever they wanted. Benny, one of the leaders of another firm associated with Blackpool, Bennys Mob stated that "Blackpool is full of mobs, especially in the Summer. You could easily be fighting every week." Whilst many other Firms have retained the same name throughout their history such as the Chelsea Headhunters or the Inter City Firm who follow West Ham, there have been a number of names for the various firms who follow Blackpool—Rammy Arms Crew, Bennys Mob, BISONS, and now The Muckers.

History

In 1985, when hooliganism was rife in England, the BBC Six O'Clock News had a special report in which they listed the worst Football gangs creating mayhem across England. They listed the six worst clubs:
  • Millwall F.C.
  • Chelsea F.C.
  • Leeds United A.F.C.
  • Bristol City F.C.
  • Blackpool F.C.
  • West Ham United F.C.
It was the culmination of years of hooliganism surrounding Blackpool.

Kevin Olsson

On 24 August 1974, seventeen-year-old Blackpool fan Kevin Olsson was stabbed to death at the back of the Spion Kop, Bloomfield Road at Blackpool's home match with Bolton Wanderers.
In 2009, Blackpool supporters raised money for a memorial plaque for Olsson. In August of that year, on the 35th anniversary of his death, the plaque was unveiled on the front of the North-West Corner, beside the club shop.

Rammy Arms Crew era

The first organised Firm, known as the Rammy Arms Crew, began in those years, taking their name from the pub they drank in, the Ramsden Arms, opposite Blackpool North Railway Station.
The Rammys' most famous moment was when they led the England fans charge into Italians in Turin at the Italy versus England match in 1980. As a result of which, at least one member of the Rammy Arms Crew would later adorn the jacket cover of one of the first hooligan books, Hooligans Abroad, by John Williams.
In the late 1970s as punk rock became popular in the UK, football fans would also attend Punk Rock concerts. And in 1978 at a concert in Blackburn King Georges Hall a Skids concert was the scene of a near full-scale riot as a group of about 50 Blackpool fans clashed with over 250 Blackburn Rovers fans, disrupting the concert, before riot police were called in to restore order, as reported in the local Blackpool Evening Gazette. Then on 6 May 1978 at a concert by The Vibrators in Preston a young man from Preston was stabbed to death during clashes between Preston and Blackpool fans. This ushered in a new era of hatred between fans of the two clubs, following the attempts by Blackpool fans to burn down the Town End at Prestons Deepdale stadium the year before, when two fires were lit during a match between the two clubs.

Benny's Mob era

In 1978, Blackpool were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time. Around the same time, a new, younger gang appeared, known as "Benny's Mob". Led by Benny, they would take on firms from numerous other clubs; in August 1980, a group of about 150 Benny's Mob met up with the Pompey Skins from Portsmouth at Blackpools Coach Park. They also clashed with Sheffield United fans in 1982, when a Sheffield fan was stabbed during clashes between fans in the West Paddock at Bloomfield Road, while police were already dealing with an incident in the South Stand involving the Rammy Arms Crew. The Blackpool Evening Gazette headline ran "Fan sought after Pool stabbing" as the police tried to find the person responsible.
However, it was in 1984 that the Blackpool hooligans started to earn their reputation. In March, Rochdale F.C. were totally overwhelmed when 3,000 Blackpool fans descended on their Spotland Stadium when they usually had crowds of about 1,300. A mob of Blackpool fans went on the rampage causing "A trail of havoc" according to the Manchester Evening News headlines who continued, "21 cars were damaged, two parked vehicles overturned and 4 police cars damaged." By April 1984 according to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, the police were worried about an army of about 200 hooligans and vowed to drive them out.
In May 1984, Rammy Arms Crew and Benny's Mob led a weekend of violence and chaos in the seaside town of Torquay. Police had made the game a 7:30 pm Saturday kick-off with Torquay United to try to avoid trouble, but it backfired totally as hordes of Blackpool fans travelled down on the Friday instead and stayed over until Sunday, where they caused 24 hours of carnage. The local Torquay newspaper headline read, "Soccer Mob Storms Resort". Sixty-one Blackpool fans were arrested, 5 people treated for stab wounds, including a man from Liverpool who was attacked with a carpet knife and received a 15-inch wound. Thousands of pounds' worth of damage was done to the town with The Yacht House pub wrecked and a nightclub front demolished. Two Rammy Arms members were convicted of stealing a four-poster bed from a luxury hotel. Helen Chamberlain, a presenter of Sky Sports Soccer AM show, and a Torquay United fan, would many years later on the show state that "Blackpool fans are mad".
The following season saw Benny's Mob again involved in numerous fights. It also saw Blackpool charged twice by The FA, who held two inquiries into the Blackpool fans' behaviour. Both times the club themselves were exonerated from blame.
In February 1985, Benny's Mob took revenge in Chester for an earlier season attack on them by Chester City fans. The game was held up for 15 minutes when a pre-planned invasion of 200 Blackpool fans ran onto the pitch toward the Chester fans. The police called in reinforcements, but were pelted by bricks, stones, broken terrace barriers and a corner flag which had been uprooted and used as a weapon. The referee was also attacked. Two crash barriers were uprooted, a refreshment hut wrecked and stand seats torn out. The first FA disciplinary inquiry was instigated.
The following month, 3,000 Blackpool fans went to a match at Bury. Again, what seemed like another carefully planned attack took place. "An orgy of violence, theft and destruction" reported the Blackpool Evening Gazette. After Bury had scored a goal, Blackpool fans at one side stand started to wreck the stand, which received extensive damage whilst another group of Blackpool fans behind one goal also started to riot. All to chants of "Smash it up, smash it up, smash it up". Pieces of the stand were thrown onto the pitch and yet another referee had to take the players off the pitch. A brick wall was demolished and pushed onto parked cars as the police held the Blackpool fans in the ground after the match. Sixty-four Blackpool fans were arrested and five police officers hurt. Yet another disciplinary inquiry was instigated.

Bisons Riot Squad era

Another gang appeared in this period, known as the BISONS or Bisons Riot Squad. They allegedly took their name from the noise they made when attacking rivals. They soon earned a reputation for carrying knives, with four people slashed at a game in Brighton. Furthermore, one of the principal Blackpool BISONS members was reported to have taken a gun from one of the younger BISONS gang before they set off for Brighton. It resulted in 3 fans being banned from every football ground in England, the first time the Courts had made such bans.
Another opportunity for revenge on Bolton Wanderers arose in the 1985–86 season, when they played them at home on Boxing Day 1985. It was the first time the two clubs had met in a number of years. It brought out the different gangs with them all joining up with other local gangs from Fleetwood, Bispham and other areas on the Fylde Coast. One of the first things they did that day was to attack the Ramsden Arms pub, even though it was the drinking and meeting place for the Rammy Arms Crew. However, a group of Bolton fans unwittingly had come off their train and gone into the Ramsden Arms for a pre-match drink. According to the Blackpool Evening Gazette, "Windows were smashed as louts hurled snooker balls and cues through the expensive lead weighted windows" as they attacked the Bolton fans inside. Blackpool had 100s out that day and a number of battles took place in and around the ground.
Around this time the gangs had fights with the fans of bigger clubs like Manchester City, and would regularly fight the Leeds United Service Crew who had started visiting Blackpool on Bank Holiday weekends. In 1985, more than 50 were arrested as Benny's Mob planned an attack on the LSC as a major riot ensued. A Blackpool fan was stabbed in his back in 1987. The local rivals have always been Preston North End and matches between the two clubs have usually resulted in trouble.
Blackpool played Bolton again for the first time for four years in 1989, and was again the cue for revenge attacks on Bolton fans in the Sherpa Van Trophy. The Bolton team coach was attacked, Police twice had to clear the pitch of fighting fans. In 1991 Benny was banned from football grounds for 3 years for fighting with Tottenham fans. For much of the 1990s there was no real organised hooligan firm.

2005–06

In Hooligans A-L Nick Lowles and Andy Nicholls state that for the past decade there has been no Firm in Blackpool and that Away fans have been left virtually to do as they wish in the town and at matches. However, since the book was published this has led to the development of The Muckers in 2005 when a group of 25 Blackpool fans, all friends, started to organise The Muckers Firm.
They very soon started to earn a reputation in an era when CCTV has severely restricted hooligan activity. The Blackpool Evening Gazette described the worst scenes of violence at Blackpool matches in years at a match against Nottingham Forest in February 2006 when Mounted Police had to separate fans as they clashed in the streets. 200 fans were involved in fights around The Castle Pub in Blackpool. After the game another 75 fans fought outside the Swift Hound Pub with both fights being blamed on Blackpool fans for instigating them.
The following week, after a Home game against Huddersfield Town, a coach carrying Huddersfield fans was attacked and a brick smashed the coach windows. This incident though has never been linked to The Muckers who themselves condemned the attack as it goes against their strict self-imposed "Hooligan Code" of not attacking innocent fans. The local Police also did not link the attack stating, "This appears to have been a random, stupid, isolated attack. There is no link between this incident and the trouble at the previous home fixture with Nottingham Forest." Local reports would seem to suggest that this and other similar incidents since then are connected to a gang of youths from the area around the stadium.
In April 2006 seven Blackpool fans were arrested following the incidents at the Nottingham Forest game, and 12 Blackpool fans homes raided. No fans from Nottingham were arrested.