A notorious former football hooligan has revealed how he genuinely believed he would die during a terrifying away match in the 1970s, fleeing the stadium at half-time to save his life.
A Schoolboy's Frightening Journey to The Den
Tony O’Neill, a former figurehead in Manchester United's infamous 'Red Army' firm, was just 15 years old when he hitched to London for an away fixture against Millwall. The date was Monday, September 16, 1974, the eve of his 16th birthday. United were playing in the old Second Division at the time, and the atmosphere was fraught with menace.
O’Neill, who has since been imprisoned three times for football-related violence, described an immediate sense of foreboding upon arriving at Euston station. The usual boisterous crowds of travelling United fans were eerily quiet. "People come off that train like I had never seen before… quiet as a mouse," he recalled on his 'Webby & O'Neill' YouTube channel. The sparse, fearful mood convinced the teenager that the trip to Millwall's old ground, The Den, was a serious mistake.
The 'Most Sickening' Violence Erupts
The trouble began just before kick-off. A small group of United supporters, isolated in the middle of the Millwall terraces, began chanting. O’Neill, with the instinct of a seasoned fighter even at his young age, knew they were dangerously exposed. "You’re going to get swamped. You’re going to get it," he thought.
He was tragically correct. Swarms of Millwall fans charged from all sides, engulfing the outnumbered Mancunians. O’Neill witnessed what he calls "the most sickening beating" he had ever seen. "I seen stretchers and I seen one geezer, could have been a kid... carried out on a stretcher," he said. The brutal violence, which he watched helplessly from a vantage point near the floodlights, left him feeling physically ill.
A Desperate Escape on the Eve of a Birthday
As half-time approached, paranoia set in. Despite remaining silent, O’Neill felt the hostile home fans around him were identifying him as an outsider. Moving into the concourse, he stood near police officers, gripped by a mortal fear. "I was fearful and thought I’m going to die," he admitted.
Faced with this stark choice, the birthday boy made his decision. He waited for the crowds to return to the terraces, then jumped over a turnstile to escape the ground. His survival instinct overrode any loyalty to the match. "You open your mouth, a northerner, a Manc, you’re dead, you’re finished," he explained, summarising the lethal danger he perceived.
His escape was successful. Instead of returning to Manchester that night, he found refuge in a London pub with two other United fans and stayed in the capital. Reflecting on that era, O’Neill, now an author who once worked at Gary Neville's Hotel Football, stated that the reality of a Monday night at Millwall was uniquely terrifying. "It's a very dangerous place... That was football in the early 70s," he concluded, painting a vivid picture of a lawless period before all-ticket matches changed the game.
