Podcast Mentions
Among the Thugs
Bill Buford
A journalist who spent six years travelling with and gathering information on Britain's notorious soccer hooligans chronicles his extraordinary experiences with these dangerous, violent, and fiercely loyal fans.
Podcasts
4
Quotes
22
Podcast
The Bill Simmons Podcast
In the episode, Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman discussed how the title opened their eyes to early‑1990s UK hooligan soccer culture, noting it served as a gateway to a world they previously knew nothing about. They praised it as an excellent sports book, recommending it to listeners interested in the subject.
Episode: Chuck Klosterman on the Cinema Revival, Sports Tsa...
They said the book introduced them to hooligan soccer fans in the UK and called it an excellent sports book.
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like the book, like Among the Thugs
One thing about books, you said this earlier, cause you mentioned among the thugs, which I knew immediately what he meant. Cause I have it and I read it. I didn't know anything about early nineties, hooligan soccer fans in the UK, right? Neither did you when you read that book. So it was like, it brought me into this whole world that I would have known nothing about otherwise. And it's that by the way, an excellent, excellent sports book.
Podcast
Monday Morning Podcast
The title was repeatedly cited by Bill Burr as the source of his vivid impression of Manchester's football hooligan scene, shaping his concerns about performing there. He described it as an immersive account of an American journalist embedded among the thugs and highlighted its gritty storytelling, even noting it might be somewhat exaggerated. Overall, he urged listeners to read it as a compelling and worthwhile book about that era.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 10-21-13
It was mentioned as a book about soccer hooligans, and Bill Burr stated it may have been exaggerated or possibly toned down, but it was enough for him.
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I tell you a long time ago I read that book among the thugs and I'm sure it was exaggerated or even worse. Maybe it wasn't maybe they toned it down but Yeah, that was enough for me.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 9-11-17
It was mentioned as a book that gave the speaker a specific impression of Manchester, England, possibly before his comedy show in the city.
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I read Among the Thugs and to me that was Manchester.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 8-8-16
It was mentioned in passing as a book Bill Burr read about Manchester, England, focusing on the violence and hooliganism associated with the city's football culture.
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The only thing I knew about them was that book that I read I can't remember if I brought this up Thursday I read that book among the thugs
Just some of the violence that they fucking talked about When they were over there, I remember some of the fucking stories
Episode: Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast 8-4-16
Bill Burr mentioned reading this book about an American journalist who immersed himself in the world of football hooligans in England, finding it to be a great read.
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If you ever want to read a great book It's about a an American journalist a yank who goes over and he somehow Ingratiates himself to the supporters over there and he gets really into the fucking the hoodlums and all hoodlums, whatever and all that type of shit back when You know, you were basically taking your life into your hand it seemed anyways when you went to a match back then
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 8-8-16
It was mentioned in passing as a book he had previously read, about the violence of soccer fans in England, specifically Manchester.
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The only thing I knew about them was that book that I read I can't remember if I brought this up Thursday I read that book among the thugs
Just some of the violence that they fucking talked about When they were over there, I remember some of the fucking stories
Episode: Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast 8-4-16
It was described as a great book about an American journalist who immersed himself in the culture of football supporters in England, particularly during a time when attending matches was considered dangerous.
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If you ever want to read a great book, it's about an American journalist, a yank, who goes over and he somehow ingratiates himself to the supporters over there and he gets really into the fucking the hoodlums and all that type of shit back when, you know, you were basically taking your life into your hand it seemed anyways when you went to a match back then.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 9-11-17
The book was mentioned as a depiction of Manchester, England in the 1980s, associated with soccer hooligans and neo-Nazis, which the podcast host was familiar with.
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I read Among the Thugs and to me that was Manchester.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 8-8-16
It was mentioned in relation to Bill's concerns about performing in Manchester, due to the violent reputation of the city's football fans, as depicted in the book.
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The only thing I knew about them was that book that I read I can't remember if I brought this up Thursday I read that book among the thugs
Just some of the violence that they fucking talked about When they were over there, I remember some of the fucking stories
Episode: Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast 8-4-16
Bill Burr mentioned this book as a great read about an American journalist who immersed himself in the world of football hooligans in England, highlighting the dangerous environment at football matches in that era.
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If you ever want to read a great book It's about a an American journalist a yank who goes over and he somehow Ingratiates himself to the supporters over there and he gets really into the fucking the hoodlums and all hoodlums, whatever and all that type of shit back when You know, you were basically taking your life into your hand it seemed anyways when you went to a match back then
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 10-21-13
Bill mentioned reading this book a long time ago, about soccer hooligans, and it was enough to deter him from wanting to deal with any potential confrontations in Manchester.
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I tell you a long time ago I read that book among the thugs and I'm sure it was exaggerated or even worse. Maybe it wasn't maybe they toned it down but Yeah, that was enough for me.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 8-8-16
It was mentioned in passing as a book that Bill Burr read that discussed the violence of soccer hooligans, particularly in Manchester, England.
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The only thing I knew about them was that book that I read I can't remember if I brought this up Thursday I read that book among the thugs
Just some of the violence that they fucking talked about When they were over there, I remember some of the fucking stories
Episode: Thursday Afternoon Monday Morning Podcast 8-4-16
Bill Burr mentioned reading "Among the Thugs", a book about an American journalist who immerses himself in the world of football hooligans in England, and it was highly recommended.
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If you ever want to read a great book, it's about an American journalist, a yank who goes over and he somehow ingratiates himself to the supporters over there and he gets really into the fucking the hoodlums and all that type of shit back when, you know, you were basically taking your life into your hand it seemed anyways when you went to a match back then.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 10-21-13
It was mentioned as a book Bill read a long time ago about soccer hooligans, and it was either exaggerated or possibly toned down in its depiction of violence.
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I tell you a long time ago I read that book among the thugs and I'm sure it was exaggerated or even worse. Maybe it wasn't maybe they toned it down but Yeah, that was enough for me.
Episode: Monday Morning Podcast 10-21-13
Bill mentioned reading this book a long time ago, which was about soccer hooligans, and it was enough to deter him from wanting to be near them.
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I tell you a long time ago I read that book among the thugs and I'm sure it was exaggerated or even worse. Maybe it wasn't maybe they toned it down but Yeah, that was enough for me. That was enough for me.
The hosts highlighted the book as a standout account of the 1990 World Cup, noting the author's on‑site experience in Sardinia during the infamous Netherlands match and the vivid depiction of the ensuing violence. They described it as an extraordinary, firsthand perspective that added depth to the tournament’s story. Overall, the discussion conveyed strong endorsement.
Episode: Brand new Liverpool head to Arsenal and why smart...
The book, Among the Thugs, is about the 1990 Italia 90 World Cup. The author, Bill Buford, was on the ground in Sardinia when the Netherlands game took place, during which violence broke out.
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Well the other great one from that tournament was the Bill Buford one Among the Thugs where he ends up in Sardinia where it all kicks off ahead of the Netherlands game which is one of the most, I mean people know that stuff happened that day but from someone that was actually on the ground it was pretty extraordinary.
There was a documentary series that came out not that long ago about England's experience the 1990 World Cup and there was a lot about the thuggery in there and it was you know quite an entertaining watch.
Note: The book recommendations on this page are discovered automatically from podcast transcripts, and may be incorrect or incomplete.