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Interview 2021:




INTERVIEW WITH ANNIS ABRAHAM 'CARDIFF SOUL CREW'
1/17/2021 Comments


We carry on our Interview series with Annis Abraham 'Cardiff Soul Crew' ex-member still a season ticket holder at his beloved Cardiff City. Annis is Cardiff through and through after speaking to him for 5 minutes you can tell he's got a lot of passion for Cardiff City even if he hates Modern Football like most of us do! Annis was very honest in this interview, we asked him a question about the BBC programme Hooligan Cardiff Soul Crew? and where the name 'Soul Crew' came from? Read on to find out more.............




Can you remember your first Cardiff football match?

It was 1972 and i was 7 years old, Cardiff v Bolton Cardiff won 1-0. I only went because a group of Cardiff players came to my school and give us free tickets! After that i was the only Cardiff supporter in my school because everyone else supported Liverpool, Man UTD & Leeds who were massive back then.
49 years later and i'm still a season ticket holder @ Cardiff.








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Can you remember your first bit of aggro?

"I can remember it perfectly" " 1978 West Ham away in those days West Ham and Millwall were the best!". "Cardiff took 15 coaches and i was the youngest on there @ 13/14 years old. At half time they (West Ham) absolutely annihilated us! We were behind the goal and they came from everywhere, 800 Cardiff fans were chased all the way back to the coaches, every window of each of the coaches was going through!" Everyone got off the coaches and were fighting in a big park with West Ham". "I was sat at the back of our coach thinking this is great our coach windows hadn't been smashed, then a car drove past and bricks came flying through the windows".

"I told my parents i went to the cinema that day, following day i was black and blue it was a bit hard explaining the reasons for that"

We played West Ham for 3 years in a row and the coaches that took us up to London would only get within 15 miles of the ground because they couldn't get the insurance!".

West Ham were the best in those days (when at home) but not very good away, Cardiff always had good away support."

"The buzz of going away, you cant beat it, Im still friends with the lads i went away with". "Every home game was trouble in those days and every away game was beyond trouble!"

​"Our away support was incredible the lads from the valleys kept there money for away games, The Welsh felt like they were invading England, thats how it felt in those days"

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What Firm do you rate?

"Theres 4 of them Westham, Millwall, Middlesborough and Chelsea" "Middlesborough travelled everywhere from long distances and they have done Cardiff in Cardiff and not many teams have done that! Even Westham & Millwall couldn't do Cardiff in Cardiff, They (Middlesborough) were very organised, They were vey tight knit all from a rough working class area. I remember them coming to us in 1994 and they annilhated us in our own city center".






Do you miss the old days?


"I'm 55 now and i didn't settle down until i was 37 when i had my daughters. Up until the age of 37 i was still buzzing for it, But when i look back do i regret it? Not a thing, Did i love it? Yes
I look back and i have got great memories. My life has changed drastically having 3 daughters".
"If you did it now you would be a complete idiot! I've had Crown Court cases and thank god I have had not guilty on most of them".

"The difference is i'm still in touch with a lot of ex hooligans so now we can we can sit around and have a laugh and a chat about it".
"It was lads v lads, casual v casual, I still wear the clothes i can't help it!. The casual scene for me was the best in the world, the best era was the 80's it was second to none, the music the whole design of it all, You only did like minded lads i have never touched a 'scarfer' in my life".



"The best dressers were pompey, Cardiff and Pompey had alot of respect for each other in the 80's I think we are similar clubs Cardiff and Pompey have under achieved. We ruled the lower divisions because of our away support, we were the big giants of away support, other clubs would take 40 to 50 lads away Cardiff would take 400 away!".

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What do you think of modern football?

"I could fall asleep on it sometimes, This V.A.R is crap! It's stopped the celebrations, I know referees make mistakes they always have done but lets just get on with it".
I still go because i love Cardiff City when Cardiff use to lose i couldn't read a news paper for 2 days and you couldn't speak to me for 2 days! Now when they lose i take it with a pinch of salt."
I go back to meet up with my mates and a have a drink before the game as to the feeling and the buzz, Modern football has lost it".


I go to see my local Spanish team, 'Atletico Baleares' i have been going there 9 years, There in the 3rd division and i support them because there blue and white like Cardiff. There a small club 4k fans and i love it there, i have a gigantic flag with their name and Cardiff city's and they call us the 'blues brothers' About 80 to 100 Cardiff fans pop over to see us, So i am enjoying modern football but at a lower league club. There will never be my first love because that will always be Cardiff city, in Britain i think the passion is non league football".





What are your favourite terrace fashion brands?

"Fila, Tachinni, & Pringle, I still love Burberry but the blue Burberry, I dont like the brown colour it's become too common. I don't like Ellesse anymore because it's now become a bit of a common thing. To me the Fila days and the Tachinni days were the best. I also like Aquascutum, You can't beat the 80's casual look, I dont think it will ever die"

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How did the name 'Soul Crew' come about?


"I remember perfectly 1982 I was living in Bradford, Leeds I became very good friends with the 'ointment' (Bradfords Firm) we caught the train down to Sheffield and there was a lad there called 'Nickey Parsons' from London he actually invented the name 'Soul Crew' it was to do with the soul fashion and music scene. I remember a conversation between a few of us we,ve got to have a name a feeling, a buzz we just said to everyone 'Soul Crew' and we (Cardiff) was on the way to lincoln we had 1.5k incredible support and all the way back on the train and in the streets it just came out everyone was chanting 'Soul Crew'.


So it was Nicky Parsons who was born in Cardiff but brought up in London. He ended up joining the National Front and became hated in Cardiff, because we (cardiff) have never had a problem with racism as our firm was multi cultural. The real Soul Crew was from 82-98 it then made a come back in 2000 against Stoke away and then again in 2010 when 6.k went to Chelsea a lot of the old lads turned up for that one"!

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You was involved in the BBC Hooligans cardiff City soul Crew Documentary, whats your view?


The MSM never gave Annis a right to reply this is why we do what we do @ http://www.ukcasuals.weebly.com


"The truth is i was set up, of course i ve been involved in the casual scene & violence i don't deny it, but that day i was set up, they lied saying i was with people with links to neo nazis and people who had drugs! One thing i have been against all my life is drugs.

They did 2 documentaries on me and i took them to the High Court, If my mother had not died and then later my father also passing away i would of continued with the case".
They really did set me up when it shows me calling England on i was actually calling my mates away 'Dia Thomas' who was a footballer at the time, i was telling him to get away because they was cordoning off the streets. I was involved in a fight that day which is true. Not many people are as cheeky as me I use to go to England games, I have been to 3 world cups and 3 European championships. I am very proud of being born in Wales but my mother was English, I have a gigantic Cardiff flag which i put up at England games 90% of English lads would shake my hand. That day in Brussels some English lads came and said "Who the f*cking hell has got a Welsh flag here?" and "i said me, why?" "They said take it down or we will take it down!"



I went to stand up and one bloke said " we will take it down" So i hit him over the table, That what the BBC filmed too me that was a personal argument/fight. It turned out they were Blackburn lads about 25 of them. Burnley & Bolton who i become very good friends with said " we're on your side Taff" Because Bolton hate Blackburn and vice versa. The police grabbed me i gave a false name because i didn't want to be banned from Cardiff games and went to leave the square after i left they (Bolton & Blackburn) had a big battle! The BBC said i organised that battle/fight, which is not true.

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The BBC followed me for 3 days and the guy that followed me later wrote a book and a chapter in it was about following me at Brussells saying how bored he was following me as all the filming he could get was me having drinks and meeting people. I didn't organise anything!



I had gone to a bar out of the way with Dia Thomas who was a football player and a lawyer I didn't go with trouble makers. Next thing we know theres police outside with Gas cannisters, They started to throw them through the door, I ran down to the basement to find a fire exit there wasn't one, So i was the last one out of the bar! So i'm crawling on my knees because i cant breathe. Before i got handcuffed i thought i'm going to make a run for it, i said to the English guy go and speak to that copper but he didn't, as i made a run for it i hit the floor, my mate was laughing his head off as he knew I was faking it. I thought if i get up now im arrested. If you make out you are unconscious they will put you in an ambulance, so i stayed looking unconscious and sure enough they put me in an ambulance and i was driven to hospital.


There was about 20 English lads in hospital beds, I said lads theres no police in this hospital, so we all jumped in taxis and went back to our hotel! The police that gassed me at the time, thought they killed me they were shitting it. I did exaggerate that bit but it stopped me getting locked up.



3 days later sitting on the settee at home watching TV and theres me, headline news i nearly fell off the settee! I did ask the BBC for a right to reply but they wouldn't let me, which is unfair. I had to go unto hiding as the press/papers were camped outside my house News Of The World, the Sun etc... The Times was the only paper that was on my side.
2 years later when Panorama filmed 'Englands shame' i asked for a right to reply again but they wouldn't let me!

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We ask everyone we interview this question what are your favourite trainers?


Adidas Wimbledon's i bought mine in the Trafford center i was living in Bradford at the time. People use to love my gear, but they always use to say Annis you wear wicked gear but your shoes are shit! So i bought a Pair of Adidas Wimbledon's, my first decent pair of trainers and for that reason they mean something to me.

Adidas Wimbledon's

We would like to thank Annis for taking part in this interview and wish him all the best for the future.

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I remember that West Ham game like it was yesterday . I hired a van [ i told the van hire company i was moving furniture for the weekend lol ]and took about 8 boys with me to Upton Park. All you say in your write up is so true , we walked down the "chicken run " after the game and there was bedlam there. I had parked the brand new van in between the coaches and when we eventually got back there i could see all the coach windows had been done.... i thought " Aw no, the van !!!". To my delight there wasnt a mark on it but some coppers told me i had to be escorted out with the coaches. I remember passing the Houses of Parliament on the way out of London in a police escort and as you say Annis there were West Ham fans in cars throwing stones at the coaches even then !!! The Cardiff fans were pulling the remaining glass out of the broken window frames and throwing it back at the cars. lol. Crazy day it was , lol. My first memory of agro though was on the Kingsway in Swansea and i had gone up on the football special from Bridgend. Cardiff ran riot there ransacking boutiqes [ passing out levi stay press and ben sherman shirts to all the city fans before the game. After the game there were terrible battles on the Kingsway but Cardiff used to take so many away in the early 70's that they took over most of the places we visited. lol. Great memories of both of those incidents tthough.

I remember that West Ham game like it was yesterday . I hired a van [ i told the van hire company i was moving furniture for the weekend lol ]and took about 8 boys with me to Upton Park. All you say in your write up is so true , we walked down the "chicken run " after the game and there was bedlam there. I had parked the brand new van in between the coaches and when we eventually got back there i could see all the coach windows had been done.... i thought " Aw no, the van !!!". To my delight there wasnt a mark on it but some coppers told me i had to be escorted out with the coaches. I remember passing the Houses of Parliament on the way out of London in a police escort and as you say Annis there were West Ham fans in cars throwing stones at the coaches even then !!! The Cardiff fans were pulling the remaining glass out of the broken window frames and throwing it back at the cars. lol. Crazy day it was , lol. My first memory of agro though was on the Kingsway in Swansea and i had gone up on the football special from Bridgend. Cardiff ran riot there ransacking boutiqes [ passing out levi stay press and ben sherman shirts to all the city fans before the game. After the game there were terrible battles on the Kingsway but Cardiff used to take so many away in the early 70's that they took over most of the places we visited. lol. Great memories of both of those incidents tthough.

It really was mad Rodney in them days and the memories are unbelievable.
But like you West Ham still sticks out for me as they were absolutely mental.

Annis,this is a good read.i am with you on the 80s fashion,it is still very popular today. I like these old pics you post on here,I still follow cardiff today,mostly to catch up with old freinds and see old faces,a pint,a chat and 3 points please,happy days.

Annis,this is a good read.i am with you on the 80s fashion,it is still very popular today. I like these old pics you post on here,I still follow cardiff today,mostly to catch up with old freinds and see old faces,a pint,a chat and 3 points please,happy days.

Cheers Bob,

For me those days were the best and the fashion was the best and we really did have real passion for the City

It is good to catch up with old friends

I agree Annis,also life in general was better in that era.