A former Manchester United hooligan has singled out one away day in London as his favourite.
Tony O'Neill, dubbed 'the general' of the Red Army firm and once regarded as Britain's toughest hooligan, reminisced about his matchday experiences on his Webby and O'Neill YouTube channel during his 'Fan Culture' series. He shared how he found it crucial to attend matches in London.
Speaking of his away-day adventures, he mentioned: "We had tricky situations but London was always the main focus for United. Every time United were playing there, I would always get there, it would be very rare that I would miss London games because anything could happen.
"Euston (Station) was always the main focal point and that is why the Red Army in London was hated because when the Red Army travelled you could not control them.
"We could trust each other and there were some dangerous places to go, and I always say the night games are dangerous to go - and I had some dangerous night games."
Once a formidable presence on the stands, Tony had been incarcerated three times due to football-related violence, with his first arrest dating back to the 70s and his most recent in 2001. Labelled 'Target Kilo' by the police, he later penned books titled Red Army General and The Men in Black and had engaged with students, advising them to make better life decisions.
Tony, whose early years were steeped in the fierce rivalries of London football fanfare, took on opposing supporters from West Ham, Millwall, Chelsea and Arsenal. Yet, among these confrontations, it was Tottenham that held a special place as his favourite London ground for an away day.
Amid legendary rivalries like Alex Ferguson's Manchester United versus Arsene Wenger's Arsenal in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Chelsea ramping up competition post-Abramovich, Tottenham emerged as Tony's standout choice.
Reminiscing about past encounters, he shared: "Tottenham was my favourite ground. Going there in 72... unbelievable! It is the best ground for a young lad. But going forward throughout my life, Tottenham was always my favourite ground, anything could happen there, it was just great."
Tony later switched careers to handle security at Gary Neville's Hotel Football, also regularly featuring the ex-United skipper in interviews on his channel.
Reflecting on previous encounters, he acknowledged the notoriety of Chelsea's Headhunters, branding them a "violent mob".
But Tony didn't stop there; he delved into the broader panorama of football hooliganism during the 1970s, revealing: "They (Chelsea) weren't the only violent mob, virtually every big club in the first division had violent mobs up and down the country - and it was uncontrollable.
"And I can't really put into words how uncontrollable it was, every weekend it was happening up and down the country."
The British government and the Football Association took decisive action in 1977 to tackle football hooliganism by making away games all-ticket affairs, with no ticket sales allowed on match days.
However, Tony was sceptical about the effectiveness of these measures, stating: "It has never worked. They haven't got a clue. It is a disease. It is there. It gets passed down generation to generation. Liverpool Man United. It is a disease. The hatred gets passed down. Leeds Man United, gets passed down. That's the way it is. Millwall West Ham, gets passed down. You can't avoid it. It will always be there."
He conceded that there have been changes over the past two decades but reminisced about his own turbulent youth, saying: "That was the society we lived in, the 70s was wild, absolutely wild, there was so much freedom.
"People got everywhere and the police and government just could not handle it."
Following the release of the video, one Spurs supporter remarked: "Spurs v United at WHL was always something to look forward to back in the day, United always brought a big and good firm."
Another added: "Spurs was always the big London games for United. Spurs v United used to attract bigger crowds than when we played Arsenal."