'Millwall had the toughest firm I faced with West Ham - but I knew who I needed to target'

Former West Ham United hooligan Bill Gardner has detailed how he approached clashes with Millwall’s firm. Gardner rose to prominence during a boom in football fan violence in the 1970s and 80s.

The Hammers are set to head to The Den to face their old rivals, Millwall, in the Championship on Saturday, marking the first meeting between the clubs since February 2012. Back in 2009, a League Cup meeting at Upton Park was marred by pitch invasions and riots.

Former West Ham hooligan Gardner opted to stop getting into fights after his arrest in 1987 as part of Operation Fulltime. However, he still proved the strength of the Millwall rivalry by previously refusing to speak to any supporter of the south London side for more than 50 years.

Despite the tension between the two clubs, Gardner credited Millwall with being the toughest set of supporters he had faced. Reflecting on his experience, Gardner explained how he used the same tactic against all clubs, including “more than 300-a-side” fights with Millwall fans.

“You know what I mean, when we went over there they used to all turn out and I’ve got nothing but respect for them, I think [Millwall] are all alright,” Gardner said on the Anything Goes with James English podcast in 2021.

“I used to always go for the one at the front who was the mouthy one. I used to go for that one because I believed that you cut the tree at the bottom, the tree will fall.”

On his decision to step away from football violence, Gardner added: “After I got nicked, I thought to myself, hold on a minute, you don’t need this anymore. I thought if you carry on like this, you’ll either end up dead or mad. So I decided that mad was the better option.

“Once the adrenaline goes, anyone will tell you who’s involved in any fighting or sport, the adrenaline is what keeps you going and it doesn’t matter if you are hurt, you don’t feel hurt at the time because the adrenaline keeps you going.”

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Gardner, who has released two autobiographies, has often been credited with being a member of West Ham’s Inner City Firm. However, he has consistently denied being part of the ICF and dismissed suggestions that he was part of an organised group.

“I was never in the ICF. People have put me in about 30 books saying I was, I was not,” he explained. “Even the police when they nicked me said I was but I was not. I’ve never been in a gang. I go my own path, I go my own route.

“I couldn’t trust many people. I do now, I trust quite a few, but at the end of the day, I was a loner. I was a loner that had a lot of friends, a lot of people that liked me, used to hang around with me but we wasn’t no part of any named gang.”