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When Billy Evans, kingpin football hooligan, decides to go semi-legit and start his own security firm he believes no one can touch him. But when he agrees to help a football club out of its financial crisis by putting its young Irish star out of action so they can claim the insurance money, his troubles are only just beginning. For the footballer has connections in Ireland who will not let this crime go unpunished. Suddenly Billy Evans realises that everything he holds dear is under threat.
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Published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Dougie Brimson
28 books81 followersIn recent years, former serviceman Dougie Brimson has emerged as one of the most diverse writers in Britain.
Perhaps best known for penning the multi-award winning feature Green Street, his writing career began in 1996 when after 18 years service with the RAF, he co-authored the best-selling non-fiction work Everywhere We Go. A book that remains essential reading for anyone with an interest in the culture of English football.
A further 18 books have followed including the crime thriller The Crew which topped the Amazon sports book download charts for nine years following its publication in eBook format and the comedy Wings of a Sparrow which after a successful electronic release, was issued in print.
May 2020 saw the release of In The Know. The third book in The Crew/Top Dog trilogy involving Essex gang leader, Billy Evans. In The Know topped the Amazon political thriller charts in mar 2021.
In 2003 Dougie made the move into screenwriting first with the critically acclaimed short movie It’s a Casual Life and then with his first full length feature, the Hollywood funded Green Street starring Elijah Wood. Following its release in September 2005, the film won numerous awards including:
Narrative Jury Prize - SXSW Film Festival
Narrative Feature Audience - SXSW Film Festival
Best of Festival – Malibu Film Festival
Jury Award (feature) – Malibu Film Festival
Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival
May 2014 saw the release of his second feature, an adaptation of his own novel, Top Dog. Directed by Martin Kemp (The Krays, Eastenders) the film took the Best Feature award at the British Independent Film Festival as well as the Best Actor (Leo Gregory), Best Supporting Actor (Ricci Harnett) and Best Supporting Actress (Lorraine Stanley) awards. It has also been nominated in the Best Action Film category at the National Film Awards 2015.
A third feature, the urban revenge thriller, We Still Kill The Old Way (starring Ian Ogilvy, James Cosmo, Steven Berkhoff and Danni Dyer) was released on 16th December 2014. It has been nominated in numerous categories, including Best Action Film at the 2015 Action Elite Awards.
Other film projects in development include adaptations of his comedy novels Wings of a Sparrow and Billy’s Log, Mister One Hundred (a biography of Welsh darts legend Leighton Rees), Boots on the Ground (a drama about a British soldier injured in Afghanistan) and Three Greens (a modern day reworking of the classic movie The League of Gentlemen).
Perhaps best known for penning the multi-award winning feature Green Street, his writing career began in 1996 when after 18 years service with the RAF, he co-authored the best-selling non-fiction work Everywhere We Go. A book that remains essential reading for anyone with an interest in the culture of English football.
A further 18 books have followed including the crime thriller The Crew which topped the Amazon sports book download charts for nine years following its publication in eBook format and the comedy Wings of a Sparrow which after a successful electronic release, was issued in print.
May 2020 saw the release of In The Know. The third book in The Crew/Top Dog trilogy involving Essex gang leader, Billy Evans. In The Know topped the Amazon political thriller charts in mar 2021.
In 2003 Dougie made the move into screenwriting first with the critically acclaimed short movie It’s a Casual Life and then with his first full length feature, the Hollywood funded Green Street starring Elijah Wood. Following its release in September 2005, the film won numerous awards including:
Narrative Jury Prize - SXSW Film Festival
Narrative Feature Audience - SXSW Film Festival
Best of Festival – Malibu Film Festival
Jury Award (feature) – Malibu Film Festival
Official Selection – Tribeca Film Festival
May 2014 saw the release of his second feature, an adaptation of his own novel, Top Dog. Directed by Martin Kemp (The Krays, Eastenders) the film took the Best Feature award at the British Independent Film Festival as well as the Best Actor (Leo Gregory), Best Supporting Actor (Ricci Harnett) and Best Supporting Actress (Lorraine Stanley) awards. It has also been nominated in the Best Action Film category at the National Film Awards 2015.
A third feature, the urban revenge thriller, We Still Kill The Old Way (starring Ian Ogilvy, James Cosmo, Steven Berkhoff and Danni Dyer) was released on 16th December 2014. It has been nominated in numerous categories, including Best Action Film at the 2015 Action Elite Awards.
Other film projects in development include adaptations of his comedy novels Wings of a Sparrow and Billy’s Log, Mister One Hundred (a biography of Welsh darts legend Leighton Rees), Boots on the Ground (a drama about a British soldier injured in Afghanistan) and Three Greens (a modern day reworking of the classic movie The League of Gentlemen).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 28, 2016
Dougie Brimson doesn’t pull his punches, not in his storeys nor in his writing style. Brimson, in a nutshell, is not afraid to write the truth as he sees it. Unlike a lot of authors, he’s not afraid of his heroes. Most authors can’t resist writing a little bit of decency into their hero, but in Billy Evans Brimson has created an antihero with no redeeming features whatsoever, no nobility of mind or spirit at all. The reader doesn’t even like him.
Can I say something nice about him? He’s loyal to his mate, Hawk. He loves his wife and kids. And he stands his round in the pub. Apart from that he uses and exploits just about everybody.
But who is Billy Evans? I’ll tell you who he is. Back in the 70’s Richard Allen published a cult classic on youthsploitation and the skinhead culture in East London. Joe Hawkins had no morals, no principals to know right from wrong, no scruples, no decency, and he lived for violence and rape.
Billy Evans is Joe Hawkins grown up, but with a difference. He’s got a brain. Those who read the cult Richard Allen books would expect skinhead Hawkins to move into businesses with easy money. Skips for instance. Easy money. But Billy Evans has intelligence. Skips are a dirty business, and Evans likes to keep his hands clean. He controls West Ham’s Cockney Suicide Squad with an iron fist, but finds it unseemly to fight rival supporters himself unless he really has to. And for a business he runs his own BMW and Mercedes showroom. Clean, you see
He’s wealthy, has a business that ticks over nicely and gets his kicks organising violence at football matches. But he’s ambitious, and is ever on the look-out for more easy money.
How about a protection racket. What could be easier? Billy moves into that game, providing protection for East End pubs through the very credible threat of violence. Some would call it extortion. Who cares? For Billy Evans it’s a nice little earner, and if things go wrong he can send some of his Cockney Suicide boys to sort things out.
But then an opportunity comes his way almost by accident, and he tenders to run security at West Ham home matches, the irony of which is not lost on him. It would spoil the story to disclose more. Suffice to say, though, that Billy Evans has the morals of a sewer rat, and no matter how tough the rat there’s always a tougher rat in the next sewer
If you want a good read then my advice is to buy this book, but let me warn you; Dougie Brimson is not afraid to stand toe-to-toe with the reader if that’s what it takes to keep you turning the page. This really is a very readable with a well thought out plot.
Can I say something nice about him? He’s loyal to his mate, Hawk. He loves his wife and kids. And he stands his round in the pub. Apart from that he uses and exploits just about everybody.
But who is Billy Evans? I’ll tell you who he is. Back in the 70’s Richard Allen published a cult classic on youthsploitation and the skinhead culture in East London. Joe Hawkins had no morals, no principals to know right from wrong, no scruples, no decency, and he lived for violence and rape.
Billy Evans is Joe Hawkins grown up, but with a difference. He’s got a brain. Those who read the cult Richard Allen books would expect skinhead Hawkins to move into businesses with easy money. Skips for instance. Easy money. But Billy Evans has intelligence. Skips are a dirty business, and Evans likes to keep his hands clean. He controls West Ham’s Cockney Suicide Squad with an iron fist, but finds it unseemly to fight rival supporters himself unless he really has to. And for a business he runs his own BMW and Mercedes showroom. Clean, you see
He’s wealthy, has a business that ticks over nicely and gets his kicks organising violence at football matches. But he’s ambitious, and is ever on the look-out for more easy money.
How about a protection racket. What could be easier? Billy moves into that game, providing protection for East End pubs through the very credible threat of violence. Some would call it extortion. Who cares? For Billy Evans it’s a nice little earner, and if things go wrong he can send some of his Cockney Suicide boys to sort things out.
But then an opportunity comes his way almost by accident, and he tenders to run security at West Ham home matches, the irony of which is not lost on him. It would spoil the story to disclose more. Suffice to say, though, that Billy Evans has the morals of a sewer rat, and no matter how tough the rat there’s always a tougher rat in the next sewer
If you want a good read then my advice is to buy this book, but let me warn you; Dougie Brimson is not afraid to stand toe-to-toe with the reader if that’s what it takes to keep you turning the page. This really is a very readable with a well thought out plot.
April 6, 2024
Ponekad mi se čini da je svaka aktualnost odavno zapisana u romanima, samo je pitanje kad će mi koja sletjeti u krilo. Eto, 'Glavna faca' me je 4 mjeseca strpljivo čekala na polici, a ja se nećkao jer se radi o nastavku trilogije kojoj nisam pročitao prvi dio. Kad sam je konačno uzeo u ruku nisam mogao ni slutiti da će se za par dana dogoditi eskalacija navijačkog ponašanja na polufinalu hrvatskog nogometnog Kupa na Poljudu.
A knjiga, napisana još 2001. godine u formi trilera, priča baš o manipulacijama s engleskom huliganskom skupinom CSS (Cockney Suicide Squad), u knjizi navijačima West Hama, te programiranim sukobima s drugim skupinama i policijskim osiguranjem.
Brimson, nesumnjivi 'insider' i bivši pripadnik huliganskih ekipa napravio je brutalan i dinamičan akcijski roman čiji mi je zaplet postavio upitnike, nije li netko u splitskim navijačkim krugovima roman iz 2001. pročitao puno prije mene, ili barem pogledao film 2014. I, dakako, dobio inspiraciju iz ideja glavnog lika kojima će huligani iz CSS-a legalno početi sudjelovati u poslovanju kluba.
Ne znam jesu li realne, ali Dougie je ispisao prilično uvjerljive scene navijačkih druženja prije utakmica, vojničko taktičkih borbi suparničkih tabora, zauzimanja terena i tučnjava, navijanja na stadionu kao i manipulaciju vođa sljedbenicima u svrhu održavanja vlastitih planova, poslova i profita. I ne, ne radi se o tinejdžerima nego obiteljskim ljudima koji kod kuće imaju jedan, a u ekipi sasvim drugi profil. Unatoč povremenim moralnim dvojbama, iskazanima kroz odnos dvojice glavnih junaka, želja za moći i novcem vodi ovu priču u sve veće zakulisne igre i kriminalne aktivnosti. Zadnja trećina knjige, iako s istim antijunakom, ipak pripada posebnoj priči i kao da je nadožuntana, kao da je autoru trebalo još stranica.
Stil pisanja je jednostavan, dijalozi djeluju životno, a dinamika i kratka poglavlja su me natjerali da knjigu pročitam u svega par dana. Morat ću jednom pročitati i prvi dio, roman 'Ekipa' iz 1999., kao i završnicu trilogije, napisanu 20 godina poslije.
Ako ste aktivni navijač, priča o navijačima West Hama i Watforda, uz spominjanja Manchestera, Liverpoola i utakmica na Upton Parku je štivo za vas, a ako se samo pitate čemu služe nasilna iskazivanja navijačkih frustracija, dobit ćete solidan krimić i temu za razmišljanje, mogući odgovor. Četiri zvjezdice.
==
https://dalmatinskiportal.hr/zivot/-t...
==
Link za nabavu: https://vflibris.hr/glavna-faca/
==
Dobrodošli u kolumnu "Timbar na libar":
Na Dalmatinskom portalu: https://dalmatinskiportal.hr/kolumna/...
Na Facebooku: https://www.facebook.com/timbarnalibar
Na Instagramu: https://www.instagram.com/timbarnalibar
A knjiga, napisana još 2001. godine u formi trilera, priča baš o manipulacijama s engleskom huliganskom skupinom CSS (Cockney Suicide Squad), u knjizi navijačima West Hama, te programiranim sukobima s drugim skupinama i policijskim osiguranjem.
Brimson, nesumnjivi 'insider' i bivši pripadnik huliganskih ekipa napravio je brutalan i dinamičan akcijski roman čiji mi je zaplet postavio upitnike, nije li netko u splitskim navijačkim krugovima roman iz 2001. pročitao puno prije mene, ili barem pogledao film 2014. I, dakako, dobio inspiraciju iz ideja glavnog lika kojima će huligani iz CSS-a legalno početi sudjelovati u poslovanju kluba.
Ne znam jesu li realne, ali Dougie je ispisao prilično uvjerljive scene navijačkih druženja prije utakmica, vojničko taktičkih borbi suparničkih tabora, zauzimanja terena i tučnjava, navijanja na stadionu kao i manipulaciju vođa sljedbenicima u svrhu održavanja vlastitih planova, poslova i profita. I ne, ne radi se o tinejdžerima nego obiteljskim ljudima koji kod kuće imaju jedan, a u ekipi sasvim drugi profil. Unatoč povremenim moralnim dvojbama, iskazanima kroz odnos dvojice glavnih junaka, želja za moći i novcem vodi ovu priču u sve veće zakulisne igre i kriminalne aktivnosti. Zadnja trećina knjige, iako s istim antijunakom, ipak pripada posebnoj priči i kao da je nadožuntana, kao da je autoru trebalo još stranica.
Stil pisanja je jednostavan, dijalozi djeluju životno, a dinamika i kratka poglavlja su me natjerali da knjigu pročitam u svega par dana. Morat ću jednom pročitati i prvi dio, roman 'Ekipa' iz 1999., kao i završnicu trilogije, napisanu 20 godina poslije.
Ako ste aktivni navijač, priča o navijačima West Hama i Watforda, uz spominjanja Manchestera, Liverpoola i utakmica na Upton Parku je štivo za vas, a ako se samo pitate čemu služe nasilna iskazivanja navijačkih frustracija, dobit ćete solidan krimić i temu za razmišljanje, mogući odgovor. Četiri zvjezdice.
==
https://dalmatinskiportal.hr/zivot/-t...
==
Link za nabavu: https://vflibris.hr/glavna-faca/
==
Dobrodošli u kolumnu "Timbar na libar":
Na Dalmatinskom portalu: https://dalmatinskiportal.hr/kolumna/...
Na Facebooku: https://www.facebook.com/timbarnalibar
Na Instagramu: https://www.instagram.com/timbarnalibar
September 14, 2013
Billy Evans is at the top of the CSS hooligan squad and is struggling with his own conscience after getting his best mate Hawk and second in command in the CSS deported from the previous summers football tournament and getting him the sack from his employers on his return. Billy decides to try and help Hawk and give him a job as the boss of his newest venture St George security specialising in looking after pubs & clubs and the occasional garage forecourt but when the firm get the opportunity to bid for the contract for the security of there beloved West Ham a series of events are triggered that have some devastating consciences for the pair.
Dougie Brimson is one of this country's finest modern authors specialising in subjects closest to most men's hearts Football, beer, sex and women.
Dougie Brimson is one of this country's finest modern authors specialising in subjects closest to most men's hearts Football, beer, sex and women.
May 11, 2014
Gritty while retaining an edge of cutting humour against a very tough environment. This is a page-turner which has just made it's way to the big screen in an award winning movie directed by Martin Kemp. Dougie Brimson knows how to keep the reader engaged.
August 9, 2013
Once you've got past the racist and homophobic dialogue at the start of the book, it's a fast moving crims and cops story that has its roots in football hooliganism. Unexpected ending.
October 30, 2013
Billy Evans is back! As gritty and gripping as The Crew with just as unexpected an ending. Brilliant book!
April 14, 2015
Top class, top dog. Dougie Brimson certainly knows how to write a good tale, more violence than 'The Crew' but that doesn't bother me, full of excitement and yet another good ending.
August 21, 2017
Gripping
Brilliant book with a great story line, didn't want to put it down at all, will be looking out for more from this author.
Brilliant book with a great story line, didn't want to put it down at all, will be looking out for more from this author.
October 16, 2018
Enjoyed this book as a good follow up to “The Crew”. Didn’t see the ending coming at all.
January 31, 2019
Just felt like the author had two stories in mind about the main character & didn't know how to finish the first or how to start the second - so just bundled them up together.
The first part of the book has an interesting twist to a pair of football hooligans attempting to turn into a respectable businessmen - can they get away with it.
Then a short middle section - oh yes they got away with it but one is happy & one is bored - now where do we go from here.
Final part takes an unexpected change of plot which feels totally disconnected to the first part - most of main characters from first part disappear & the bored one does something bad which catches up with him - contrived, plodding & predictable end.
The first part of the book has an interesting twist to a pair of football hooligans attempting to turn into a respectable businessmen - can they get away with it.
Then a short middle section - oh yes they got away with it but one is happy & one is bored - now where do we go from here.
Final part takes an unexpected change of plot which feels totally disconnected to the first part - most of main characters from first part disappear & the bored one does something bad which catches up with him - contrived, plodding & predictable end.
February 25, 2024
This is not as good as The Crew. It is not bad but it feels as though having explored the niche culture of the "football hooligan" in The Crew, in which the storyline was secondary, Brimson felt he needed a stronger storyline in the sequel. He was probably correct, but unfortunately, this storyline is just a bit overdone. As a result, the book lacks the sense of authenticity which was captured The Crew.
April 24, 2025
The second book in the football gangland triology. Billy Evans, football hooligan, criminal he’s one who seems to be above the law, never gets caught and is always on board to make a few quid. But when he gets involved in an insurance scam that a football club is involved in, he might just have bitten off more than he can chew. This time it’s not the law after him - it’s far more dangerous than that….
June 22, 2017
As far fetched as horse muck from China, but still an entertaining read. Billy Evans returns from his Italy escapades in the first novel and decides to diversify his 'business' interests set against the hooligan world of the CSS crew at West Ham. A few twists and turns along the way help keep the reader engrossed in the story.
October 31, 2019
Overindulgent poorly written rubbish.
March 19, 2022
Malo sam razocaran. Ocekivao sam vise knjigu o navijacima i neredima, a ovo je vise neka krimi akcija. Ma da i kao takva nije nesto specijalno.
May 20, 2016
Dougie Brimson doesn’t pull his punches, not in his storeys nor in his writing style. Brimson, in a nutshell, is not afraid to write the truth as he sees it. Unlike a lot of authors, he’s not afraid of his heroes. Most authors can’t resist writing a little bit of decency into their hero, but in Billy Evans Brimson has created an antihero with no redeeming features whatsoever, no nobility of mind or spirit at all. The reader doesn’t even like him.
Can I say something nice about him? He’s loyal to his mate, Hawk. He loves his wife and kids. And he stands his round in the pub. Apart from that he uses and exploits just about everybody.
But who is Billy Evans? I’ll tell you who he is. Back in the 70’s Richard Allen published a cult classic on youthsploitation and the skinhead culture in East London. Joe Hawkins had no morals, no principals to know right from wrong, no scruples, no decency, and he lived for violence and rape.
Billy Evans is Joe Hawkins grown up, but with a difference. He’s got a brain. Those who read the cult Richard Allen books would expect skinhead Hawkins to move into businesses with easy money. Skips for instance. Easy money. But Billy Evans has intelligence. Skips are a dirty business, and Evans likes to keep his hands clean. He controls West Ham’s Cockney Suicide Squad with an iron fist, but finds it unseemly to fight rival supporters himself unless he really has to. And for a business he runs his own BMW and Mercedes showroom. Clean, you see
He’s wealthy, has a business that ticks over nicely and gets his kicks organising violence at football matches. But he’s ambitious, and is ever on the look-out for more easy money.
How about a protection racket. What could be easier? Billy moves into that game, providing protection for East End pubs through the very credible threat of violence. Some would call it extortion. Who cares? For Billy Evans it’s a nice little earner, and if things go wrong he can send some of his Cockney Suicide boys to sort things out.
But then an opportunity comes his way almost by accident, and he tenders to run security at West Ham home matches, the irony of which is not lost on him. It would spoil the story to disclose more. Suffice to say, though, that Billy Evans has the morals of a sewer rat, and no matter how tough the rat there’s always a tougher rat in the next sewer
If you want a good read then my advice is to buy this book, but let me warn you; Dougie Brimson is not afraid to stand toe-to-toe with the reader if that’s what it takes to keep you turning the page. This really is a very readable with a well thought out plot.
Can I say something nice about him? He’s loyal to his mate, Hawk. He loves his wife and kids. And he stands his round in the pub. Apart from that he uses and exploits just about everybody.
But who is Billy Evans? I’ll tell you who he is. Back in the 70’s Richard Allen published a cult classic on youthsploitation and the skinhead culture in East London. Joe Hawkins had no morals, no principals to know right from wrong, no scruples, no decency, and he lived for violence and rape.
Billy Evans is Joe Hawkins grown up, but with a difference. He’s got a brain. Those who read the cult Richard Allen books would expect skinhead Hawkins to move into businesses with easy money. Skips for instance. Easy money. But Billy Evans has intelligence. Skips are a dirty business, and Evans likes to keep his hands clean. He controls West Ham’s Cockney Suicide Squad with an iron fist, but finds it unseemly to fight rival supporters himself unless he really has to. And for a business he runs his own BMW and Mercedes showroom. Clean, you see
He’s wealthy, has a business that ticks over nicely and gets his kicks organising violence at football matches. But he’s ambitious, and is ever on the look-out for more easy money.
How about a protection racket. What could be easier? Billy moves into that game, providing protection for East End pubs through the very credible threat of violence. Some would call it extortion. Who cares? For Billy Evans it’s a nice little earner, and if things go wrong he can send some of his Cockney Suicide boys to sort things out.
But then an opportunity comes his way almost by accident, and he tenders to run security at West Ham home matches, the irony of which is not lost on him. It would spoil the story to disclose more. Suffice to say, though, that Billy Evans has the morals of a sewer rat, and no matter how tough the rat there’s always a tougher rat in the next sewer
If you want a good read then my advice is to buy this book, but let me warn you; Dougie Brimson is not afraid to stand toe-to-toe with the reader if that’s what it takes to keep you turning the page. This really is a very readable with a well thought out plot.
April 16, 2017
Brilliant book the best I have read in a while a lot better then the pre quel.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews