As television money has poured into the game, the traditional working-class fans have poured out - not by choice but by economic necessity. According to those in charge of the game, the football hooligan has at last been eliminated from the landscape.

But how true is this much-vaunted claim?

Martin King, author of Hoolifan, brings his story up to date in the The Naughty Nineties.

Ironically, he finds that football hooligans now really are in the minority but they are far more dangerous and committed than ever before.

He charts the changing character of the firms over the decade as he himself evolves from participant to observer. His account is, as ever, honest, funny and sharp, and he concludes that the soccer thug is alive and well.