BILL GARDNER

THE MEET

There's been plenty said and written about Bill. And Bill's never been one to talk himself up. He was even very modest when he spoke about himself in the Congratulations ... book. To me he is a gentleman and I class him as a real good family friend. I first came across him up at Middlesbrough in 1975 and what an eventful day that was! One thing was for sure, in the '70s and '80s you'd always find Bill at the front of the West Ham mob. So, besides the keyboard warriors of today, every football fan and face in the know would have heard of Bill's name. He really needs no introduction. He's an Upton Park legend and has been for a long, long time. Here are Bill's experiences about his days following the Hammers.

BACKGROUND

I first started watching West Ham in 1958. My mum was from Poplar and my dad was from Bethnal Green in the East End of London. After leaving school I worked in a factory, then I became a stonemason – the job I still do to this day.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE TERRACE FASHION?

An orange boiler suit I wore in the early '70s, and yer old Dr Martens. I had quite a few pairs of them over the years.

WHAT'S THE WORST FASHION YOU'VE EVER SEEN ON THE TERRACES?

That's got to be them stripy tank tops.

DESCRIBE YOUR WORST FEELING AT A GAME.

I was coming home from Chelsea away in the early '70s. We pulled in at Whitechapel train station and some Millwall were on the platform. The doors opened and they jumped on and started slapping a few young West Ham fans about. I steamed into them thinking that the rest of our boys on the train would back me up, but no, I ended up steaming into them on my own.

Plus losing a game – being relegated has to be the worst feeling of all. If you follow my team then these things happen. But the spineless way we went down in the 2002/3 season and taking into account the squad of players we had, well ...

HAVE YOU EVER INCURRED ANY SERIOUS INJURIES OR BEEN BADLY BEATEN UP AT A MATCH?

I've never been injured or beaten up at football.

HAS YOUR OWN SIDE EVER BEEN INVOLVED IN A FULL-SCALE RIOT?

The Harry Cripps testimonial over at Millwall in '72. I've never seen anything like that – it was unbelievable. Definitely the worst I've seen in all my years of going.

DESCRIBE THE BEST TAKING OF AN END YOU'VE EVER WITNESSED.

The North Bank at Wolves. We went in there that day and someone sang 'Bubbles' and the whole end just cleared. You couldn't see their arses for dust. I mean, in them days there was a lot of end taking but this one stands out.

WHICH WAS YOUR OWN TEAM'S POPULAR END?

The North Bank.

WHERE DID YOU STAND OR SIT IN THE GROUND?

The Chicken Run. It was a good crack in there and a good laugh.

CAN YOU RECALL A BATTLE YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN, EITHER INSIDE OR OUTSIDE A GROUND?

There's far too many to really mention but Man. United in '75 springs to mind. And the games we've had with Millwall – they've always been a lively encounter.

CAN YOU RECALL THE BEST EVER MOB YOUR TEAM HAS PUT TOGETHER?

Man. United away in 2003 in the FA Cup. We had a firm of about 300 hundred top faces. Now that mob would take some beating.

WHO'S THE BEST RIVAL FIRM YOU'VE EVER SEEN?

Never seen one. No man from another firm has ever faced me one to one.

WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST RIVALS TEAM-WISE?

Manchester United.

WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST RIVALS FAN-WISE?

Millwall, Man. United – in that order.

HAVE YOU EVER JOINED UP WITH ANOTHER TEAM'S FIRM?

No, never. But I've got a lot of friends at QPR.

DID YOU EVER FOLLOW ENGLAND AND WOULD YOU PUT ENGLAND BEFORE YOUR CLUB?

I've been to a few England games. I went to the World Cup in '82 and Norway the same year in the qualifiers. And I've been to Wembley a few times. But West Ham comes first. I don't go to England games now because too many people get pissed and silly, and that isn't for me.

WHICH WAS THE BEST ENGLAND ROW?

None. I've not been involved in any of the England troubles.

HAVE YOU EVER SUPPORTED OR LOOKED OUT FOR ANOTHER TEAM'S RESULTS?

No. I've followed my son James's results when he played for Wycombe Wanderers and Woking and Burnham. But no, never supported another team.

NAME YOUR TOP FIVE FIRMS, IN ANY ORDER.

Two bob, the lot of them.

WHICH IS THE WORST GROUND YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO AND WHY?

Liverpool and Man. United. They pack too many fans in and it's so tight for room because there's too many seats. They charge £30 to £40 and you're crammed in. It's more about making money. They don't put the fans first, do they?

WHICH IS THE BEST STADIUM YOU'VE BEEN TO?

Don't be surprised – Blackburn Rovers have got a nice stadium. The top seats or the lower tier both give you a good view, there's plenty of legroom, and the facilities are good. Also Spurs have got good seats with good views for watching football.

WHO ARE THE FAIREST COPPERS YOU'VE COME ACROSS AT A MATCH?

West Ham Old Bill are fair.

AND THE WORST OLD BILL?

Manchester are a bit heavy-handed. Remember us up there in the Cup in the 2002/3 season. There was more of them than us and they were all dressed like Robocop. It's a shame they couldn't get their act together when there was real trouble about. They've left it a bit too late. In the old days they couldn't catch a cold.

WHAT WOULD HAVE STOPPED YOU GETTING INVOLVED WITH THE BOYS AT MATCHES?

If I'd have been a coward, maybe that would have stopped me getting involved.

DESCRIBE SOME OF THE METHODS AND TACTICS USED BY THE POLICE AND AUTHORITIES TO STOP FOOTBALL VIOLENCE, AND DO YOU THINK THEY WORK?

The retirement of the faces involved helped stop it. And CCTV cameras, and the use of...