Newcomers project 'stop at nothing' image but old guard still lend a hand Tuesday September 2, 2003

Wolverhampton Wanderers' home match against Portsmouth on Saturday was barely a few minutes old when Diamond's mobile rang. It was his contact at the local railway station and he had bad news: the train carrying Portsmouth fans and the club's hooligan firm, the 6:57, had been delayed for over an hour and it was unlikely that any of them would make it as far as the Black Country. For Diamond and his fellow Wolves hooligans, the events unfolding on the Molineux pitch were irrelevant; the only fixture of the day they cared about, their long-awaited clash with the 6:57, was off. Not that that necessarily meant they would have to survive a whole match day without a battle with rival fans. "I suppose we could go down the road to Walsall," said Diamond to the group sitting around him. "There's 120 Cardiff there and they're always up for a punch up." All this may sound familiar from the bad old days of English football violence. But Diamond's Army are in the vanguard of a new and growing hooligan generation. Diamond - real name Leon - is barely 21 and he is the oldest member of his 50-strong crew. The youngest is 14. According to the national criminal intelligence service, almost every football club will have a similar gang attached to it. It is this younger breed of hooligans that the Home Office blames for the increase in violence in and around football grounds, which led to a 19% rise in the number of arrests for hooliganism last season. According to both police and members of the older hooligan generation, the youngsters make up for their lack of experience by being better organised, less concerned about being involved in serious violence, and even less concerned about getting caught. Diamond, who is unemployed and lives in the Chapel Ash area of Wolverhampton, fits this profile perfectly. While he admits he has only been an active hooligan for two years, he has already been banned by magistrates from attending any sporting event in the country for 11 years. Early last year he was sentenced to three months imprisonment for attacking a Manchester City fan after the incident was caught on CCTV. Last season he was also arrested when Wolves played away at Millwall, after police and stewards heard him threaten to stab a rival fan in the face. Almost all the other members of Diamond's Army have been issued with banning orders of between five and 11 years. But even these measures have done little to curb their activities. "They can't stop me from travelling around the country with Wolves," Diamond said. "I've even sneaked into away matches a couple of times. It's hard to do anything at home matches because all the police know who I am. But all my mob is game for a row, we're not scared of anybody. We might be kids but we've had some real epic battles." Lacking a rival crew to fight, Diamond's Army spent Saturday afternoon milling around in the garden of the Prince Albert pub, their regular haunt for home games, 10 minutes walk from Molineux. The iron fence that surrounds the garden can also double up as a useful barrier from which to hurl abuse or any missiles that come to hand as opposition fans make their way from the train station to the stadium. The crew seemed untroubled by the fact that most of them had been banned from attending city centre pubs on match days. Ambush Inside the pub, meanwhile, were Wolves' older generation of hooligans, known as the Subway Army for their tactic of ambushing rivals in the underpass leading to Molineux. Most of its members are now in their 30s or older and many are married with children. But while they are are less likely to start any violence, they are still willing to become involved, and work closely with their younger proteges. This collaborative relationship between the generations is a key factor in the reincarnation of English hooliganism, the Home Office says. Older fans provide experience, the contacts and the organisational skills; the youngsters provide the violence. Diamond claims that much of the organised violence that takes place, usually away from grounds, is arranged by older hooligans who have contacts with rival gangs at other clubs. "We can't afford to travel abroad to watch England but a lot of the older guys do and they meet other firms," he said. "They are the ones that sort out the fights before matches because they have the telephone numbers and contacts. But it's getting harder because the police are on to us much quicker. Even when we arrange a fight away from the stadium, the police often turn up." Sean, 19, another member of Diamond's Army, agreed. "The older lot will pile in if they have to. We sometimes do all the legwork, have a look around the area, see where the rival firm is, then go and get the older lot. They might be in their 30s but they are still up for it as much as we are." Diamond is highly rated by members of the Subway Army and his gang is generally thought to have earned its spurs after being involved in a number of violent incidents at Wolves matches last year. The members of the Subway Army claim that today's younger hooligans are more violent than they were and are more likely to cause trouble. "The youngsters really started coming to matches last season and they created havoc," said Keith, considered a veteran of the Subway Army "They are all really game. They are not scared about getting arrested, and they are much worse than we were. "Wolverhampton is quite a tough town, there's trouble most weekends even when there's no football and there seems to be more violence around in general." David, another Subway Army member, offers a sociological explanation. "A lot of the kids that are involved in football violence come from broken homes. There's less discipline and the kids are less worried about getting arrested. Some of them are completely mad and love causing trouble, they seem to get off on it. "Football is more of a social event for us. We meet up to have a chat, see some old faces, and have a bit of a drink. We're more interested in the football now than the violence." Among the clientele at the Prince Albert, there was barely a hint of black and gold, the Wolves colours. To a man, they were decked out in expensive designer clothes. Nor are they interested in fighting any of the hundreds of Portsmouth supporters passing the pub - fathers and sons, women, groups of youngsters. Because nearly all of the south coast fans are wearing replica team shirts and club colours, they were easily identified as not being the type of "Portsmouth" Diamond's crew were looking forward to meeting. Instead, they spent the afternoon looking out for anyone dressed in the must-have designer labels of the modern-day hooligan: Aquascutum, Burberry, Evisu, or Stone Island. Diamond said. "We're not interested in fighting blokes who come to games with their kids."

Notorious firms

· Birmingham City: Zulu warriors. Known to have links with organised crime

· Chelsea: Head Hunters. Some members known to have links to far right. Also closely linked to hooliganism at England internationals

· Millwall: Bushwhackers/ F Troop. Includes many middle-aged men

· Cardiff City: Soul Crew. Known to have links with organised crime

· Stoke City: Naughty Forty. Involved in serious violence

· Wolverhampton Wanderers: Subway Army/Diamond's Army. Not as well known as rivals. Emerged in the 1980s

· West Ham United: ICF (Inter City Firm). Recently reformed and known to have links to far-right groups