A former football hooligan who turned his life around after winning the Euromillions jackpot in 2022 has named the eight toughest fanbases in English football. Daniel Wright’s life is completely different these days, but he was once notorious as a member of Bradford City’s firm, ‘The Ointment’.
Wright’s past led to three separate football banning orders, and he spent six years behind bars for his involvement in violence. Now in his forties, he reflected on that period during a recent appearance on the Anything Goes podcast, where he had a raw, unfiltered conversation with James English.
Much of the discussion focused on his time on the terraces, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s - a period that continued the problems which saw hooliganism labelled “the English disease.” Surprisingly, however, when it came to naming the toughest football firms - five initially, though Wright ultimately listed eight - there was no place for West Ham or Chelsea.
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When asked who the toughest firm in the country was, Wright didn’t hesitate, offering a somewhat surprising answer. While West Ham’s Inter City Firm and Chelsea’s Headhunters were among the most prominent groups at the time, he instead named Manchester United as having the toughest of them all. He said:
“The best firm I have ever seen, Manchester United at Bradford. Anyone who tells you Man Utd are not a good firm are chatting absolute s***e. Their numbers are just f***ing massive, I would say early noughties, they were the best in the country by a long way, that was possibly their peak they were really good then."
Wright explained that United once turned up with 600 people ready to fight on the streets, which he confirmed is what set them apart from other firms in the country. He added: "Definitely, because who else can get 600?”
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West Ham v Millwall
Despite United's chokehold over the rest of the country back then, Wright was keen to single out more firms he had been impressed with over the years, naming his top five. "My top five would probably be, not in any particular order, Man Utd, Tottenham, Millwall, Birmingham... Middlesbrough," he said.
"Sheffield United, Leeds, Aston Villa, them teams I would probably have up there as well. I would say in my time we have always got the better of Leeds but I have seen Leeds on their day, like England Turkey in the Stadium of Light. That firm of Leeds I seen that day was an absolutely unbelievable firm. They are a top firm on their day, you can’t deny that.”
leeds united elland road
While his notorious reputation still follows him, Wright is now more widely known for his £1,000,000 win on the UK Millionaire Maker in April 2022. His winnings were spent on a huge new home as well as a £40,000 Rolex, and Wright admitted it took a while for the reality of the situation to set in.
"I just thought I'd check my emails, and I saw on that said 'You've won on EuroMillions.' I thought it would be £2.50 or something," he joked. "I wasn't really paying attention, I thought I'd won £1,000, then I thought 'That's not £1,000. I must have counted it 10 times, then I shouted 'Woo!' Like Rick Flair."