It's the 1970s, a time of skinheads, Doctor Martens, violence and trouble on the terraces. The Mile End Mob rule Upton Park. Long before the days of the ruthless InterCity Firm casuals, they were the first guv'nors of the terraces, striking fear into the other West Ham mobs and fans.

Micky Smith, die-hard Hammers fan, was there in the thick of the action, he saw it all as it happened. Here he teams up with best-selling author, ex-I.C.F. face and West Ham authority Cass Pennant to recall these action-packed and turbulent times.

Indeed, it was the reputation and respect commanded by the East End Bovver Boys that drove a hardcore of hooligans to create the notorious InterCity Firm and establish their rule over the terraces up and down the country in the 1980s.

Here is the story of what came before the I.C.F. Thrilling, dramatic and brutally honest, it will fascinate any football fan or social historian.

"BE WARNED this book is not for the faint-hearted. Pennant and Smith give the reader a taste of what it was like in those grim, grim days - but periodically and often unexpectedly add a splash of gallows humour. It's often as unsubtle as a knuckleduster to the teeth, but for me that simply added to the appeal."

Tessa Leight, Shoot Monthly