British football's top 16 toughest fan firms named and ranked by AI
Graduating from Leeds Trinity University, Chris has been part of the FLW team since 2017 and has produced thousands of articles. Primarily covering the Championship, Chris has attended West Brom and Birmingham City matches over the years to provide detailed match reports and sitting in on press conferences.
He is part of the team that covers all the latest news from the Football League, as well as sharing in-depth opinion pieces and longer-form features. Chris also part of the editing team at FLW.
A lot has changed in British football over the years, from the money in the game to the way of playing. Many will argue whether that is for better or worse, but it's fair to say that most would acknowledge the overall fan experience is much better nowadays.
That's not to say the atmosphere has improved, but football grounds are much safer places today, with many families packing out stadiums to watch their favourite teams. Previously, that wasn't the case, as hooliganism was a major problem in English football, with trouble occurring at most games up and down the country, whether that was outside the ground or even inside the stadium.
Whilst it hasn't completely gone away, it's certainly not at the same level, but it's still something that the police put a lot of resources into trying to stop. With that in mind, FLW asked AI to rank the top 16 toughest football clubs in Britain… 16Wolves Action Images Wolverhampton has a reputation as a tough town, and Molineux can be a hostile place for visiting fans, which extends to off the pitch as well.
There have been numerous firms associated with Wolves over the years, including the Subway Army, who got their name from the underpass that visiting fans used to walk through to get to the stadium, where they were often ambushed by home supporters. 15Stoke It's a similar story with Stoke, who have a rivalry off the pitch with Wolves, and there was troublewhen the two clubs met earlier this season, which is proof that it does still go on.
Stoke's main firm is the Naught Forty, and they were involved in plenty of violence on their own patch and on the road. The Potters fans could make their home ground a fortress when it's full, and it is an intimidating place for supporters to go to.
14Portsmouth Action Image The third Championship club on the list, Portsmouth is another team with a fierce reputation off the pitch, and their main firm is the 657 crew. That comes from the first train that Pompey supporters used to get to London, and they would regularly be involved in trouble with clubs from the capital, along with local rivals Southampton and a host of other teams, whether it was at Fratton Park or at away games.
13Nottingham Forest Action Images Forest are another club with a tough reputation, so many fans would expect to see them on this list, with the Forest Executive Crew seen as their main firm. In their history, older Forest fans saw the two European Cup wins, whilst they've also dropped to League One.