Home » , , » The disturbing and violent truth behind Wimbledon's notorious 'Crazy Gang'

The disturbing and violent truth behind Wimbledon's notorious 'Crazy Gang'


Think of the most famous teams in English football history.


England's World Cup winners of 1966? Or course.


Alex Ferguson's treble-winning Manchester United side of 1999? Naturally.


But no collection of the game's most memorable teams could ever be complete without mention of Wimbledon Football Club in the 1980s.


The notorious 'Crazy Gang' brought together a group of players who went from non-league football to an established force in England's top flight - and, most memorably of all, they became the conquerors of Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final.


But the old First Division's most famous Cinderella story had a dark side. The team's work hard-play hard-tackler harder approach to the game made them intimidating for opponents - but the fear factor spread within the team's own dressing room.


A new documentary produced by BT Sport - and which is to be broadcast on Boxing Day - speaks to several of the biggest names from that team, including Vinnie Jones and John Fashanu, and tells a tale of vicious beatings, endemic brutality and even arson.


'I saw players actually cry from the abuse - physically break down and cry,' said former defender Terry Phelan.


Vinnie Jones backed up those words.


'We were a lot of misfits, a lot of throw-outs, a lot of not-wanteds. You either grew a backbone very quickly or you dissolved as a man,' he says.


Jones was often identified as the ring leader, but he claims that the tough culture was already well established by the time he signed in 1984.


'It was nuts when I first went there,' Jones says in the film.


'Make no bones about it, Wally [Downes, midfielder] was the leader and [manager Dave] Bassett encouraged that... We loved the fact that everyone was calling us the 'Crazy Gang'...


'The best laugh we had was when we had a big punch-up at Chelsea... there were 21 players in the centre circle all throwing punches and everything. '


Jones also tells the film makers a chilling tale of brutality at the hands of John Fashanu, who went on to a successful career as a smiling TV presenter after his playing career. It's hard to reconcile the image of his grinning face with the horrific, violent hazing of new recruits alleged by Jones


'One day, Fash just said, 'Shut the door'',' Jones recalls in a segment reported by The Telegraph. 'I've never seen anything like it. He threw this guy around like a rag doll.'



Sam Hammam, who bought out the club in 1990, adds that the madness did not stop, even when the club was well-established as a force in the top flight.


'I didn't know football, I didn't know how to behave - but nobody at the club knew how to behave,' he says.


'I would encourage those things. I would participate in those things and later we were extremely successful in the Premier League and still there are millions of stories that were happening all the time.'


Though Fashanu, Dennis Wise, Dave Beasant, Lawrie Sanchez and Bobby Gould are all among those interviewed for the film, BT Sport's preview again picks out Jones to tell one of the most shocking stories of the film.


It concerns the day striker Alan Cork - generally known as the Crazy Gang's 'sensible one' - had his car set on fire by well-meaning team-mates who were trying to earn Cork some sympathy and thereby induce the club to give him a pay rise.


'We set fire to Corky's car,' says Jones, ' because Harry [Dave Bassett] wouldn't give him a raise.


'They said it would be better if Corky lost his car, so we set fire to it in the car park,' adds Jones. 'Third party fire and theft!'


It's hard to know how much such statements from Jones are genuine recollections, and how much he is just trying to reinforce his 'hard man' image.


Either way, most of his team-mates are unapologetic, if Fashanu's words are to be believed.


'We all came from difficult backgrounds, backgrounds that were challenging,' says Fashanu.


'To win respect and be able to hold on to respect, you needed an element of fear.'


BT Sport Film's The Crazy Gang is to be broadcast on Boxing Day at 9pm

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Blog Archive

Template information

Test Footer

 
Copyright © 2013. NewsUS - All Rights Reserved
powered by Blogger