One of Britain's most infamous former football hooligans has revealed how he genuinely believed he would be killed during a terrifying away match in the 1970s.
A Frightening Trip to The Old Den
Tony O'Neill, a former leader in Manchester United's notorious 'Red Army' firm, was just 15 years old when he travelled to London for an away fixture against Millwall on Monday, 16 September 1974. Speaking on his 'Webby & O'Neill' YouTube channel, O'Neill described the profound fear he felt ahead of the match, exacerbated by the fact it was a weekday night, which meant fewer travelling United supporters.
He hitched to the capital wearing his school blazer and waited at Euston station for the football special train. The scene that greeted him was unnerving. "People come off that train like I had never seen before… quiet as a mouse," O'Neill recalled. The usual boisterous chanting was absent, replaced by a tense silence that immediately put the young fan on edge.
The Most Sickening Beating
The journey to Millwall's old ground, The Den, was eerily quiet. However, the atmosphere turned violently hostile just before kick-off. A small group of United fans, positioned in the middle of the terracing behind a goal, began chanting. O'Neill, even at his young age, knew it was a catastrophic mistake.
"I witnessed the most sickening, at that time, the most sickening beating… I couldn’t believe it. I was helpless," he said. Swarms of Millwall fans charged from all sides, overwhelming the isolated United supporters. O'Neill watched in horror as people were violently assaulted, with one individual carried out on a stretcher. The brutality of the attack, which he viewed from a vantage point near the floodlights, left him feeling physically sick.
Escape on the Eve of a Birthday
As half-time approached, paranoia set in. Despite remaining silent, O'Neill felt the home fans around him were identifying him as an outsider from Manchester. With his 16th birthday due the following day, he faced a stark choice. Moving into the concourse, he positioned himself near a group of police officers for protection.
"I was stood by these coppers because I was fearful and thought I’m going to die," O'Neill admitted. His survival instinct took over. Once the crowd returned to the terraces for the second half, he made his escape, jumping over a turnstile to flee the stadium. "You open your mouth, a northerner, a Manc, you’re dead, you’re finished," he explained, justifying his decision to prioritise safety over seeing the match.
Abandoning his plan to return to Manchester, he instead spent the night in a London pub with two other United fans who lived in the city. O'Neill, who was jailed three times for football-related offences and later worked at Gary Neville's Hotel Football, now reflects on that era as a dark chapter. He dispels myths about mass invasions that season, stating neither firm travelled to the other's home ground to cause major havoc. Instead, he paints a picture of localized, intense terror for away supporters.
"The reality of Millwall is a very very frightening place on a Monday night," O'Neill concluded. "It didn’t matter who you were, you were going to get a good hiding. That was football in the early 70s. That’s the way it was until the introduction of tickets."
