Two of most violent fights Man City firm ever had were against the same team

Who are Manchester City's biggest rivals? Manchester United? Liverpool perhaps? What about Millwall?

If that last one sounds strange we can safely assume you weren't a member of City's notorious hooligan firm, the Guvnors, in the late 80s.

According to former firm leader Mickey Francis, a couple of the Guvnors' most gruesome clashes were with Millwall hooligans, otherwise known as the Bushwhackers, when City were in Division Two (now the Championship) during the 1987/88 season.

READ MORE: 'I was a Man City hooligan – we stabbed a Man Utd fan in the bum and celebrated at Wimpy'

City had just been relegated, which in the Guvnors' eyes meant they had a reputation to establish, particularly among infamously tough firms they hadn't faced in years like Leeds' Service Crew, Birmingham's Zulu Warriors, and of course, Millwall's Bushwhackers.

"[Millwall] were the best firm in London … I crossed swords with them in two of the most violent encounters the Guvnors ever had," Mickey wrote in his book 'Guvnors', about life as a City hooligan. "There were some good firms in [Division Two] and we all wanted to be top dog. So we planned a big ambush [against the Bushwhackers]."

After their clash at Maine Road, around 300 City fans, all armed with glass bottles, gathered in a housing estate next to the ground waiting for the Millwall supporters to be escorted through by police.

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"We waited until they were about 15 yards away and let fly," he continued. "The sky filled with missiles … the police baton-charges us but we ran straight through them. Millwall are made of stern stuff, however. They stopped and came back at us.

"Lads were laying into each other right across the road. The police got together, sirens blaring and horse charging and finally chased us off through the estate."

City faced Millwall in London three months later and the Guvnors prepared for an ugly retaliation … by marching hundreds of supporters three miles along the river from London Bridge right the way to The Den. But in spite of all the bravado, Mickey admitted that tangling with Bushwhackers was about as dangerous as it got for a hooligan.

"When it comes to fear, there are few things to match than being Bushwhacked in a dark subway by several hundred Millwall boys," he wrote. "It makes you wonder why you ever became a football hooligan."

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