Congratulations, You Have Just Met Cass Pennant

Cass Pennant was a central figure in West Ham United’s notorious InterCity Firm. His ability to fight his way out of any corner ensured that he commanded the respect of his peers and the fear of his enemies. The skills he honed there also made him eligible to work the doors at some of the most troublesome nightclubs in South London. His fearsome presence helped prevent many a weekend bloodbath. Following the success of his top ten best-selling autobiography Cass, he has become a noted commentator on issues surrounding football for TV, radio and print. He has written six other books - the bestselling Congratulations You Have Just Met The ICF, Want Some Aggro?, Rolling With the 6.57 Crew, Terrace Legends, Top Boys and Afternoon Gentlemen, the Name's Bill Gardner. The film of his life is set for release on 1st August...

Cass is the incredible true story of one man’s identity struggle and ultimate redemption. The film follows how a Jamaican orphan baby, adopted by an elderly white couple in 1950's London, changed from being the most feared hooligan in the country to Britain’s best selling black author.

Cass grew up in a time before political correctness and as a young child, was forced to endure racist bullying on a daily basis. One fateful day the pent up years of anger surfaced in an explosive burst of violence and from then on, CASS decided he would never be bullied again. Through violence, Cass found the respect he had never had, but he’d become addicted to the buzz of fighting and the power it ultimately gave him. As a boyhood fan of West Ham United, Cass rose through the ranks to become the leader of their hooligan gang, The Intercity Firm (The ICF). Being a six feet five black man in a predominantly white social sphere, Cass was an instantly recognisable target for his adversaries and the authorities. Cass was eventually given the first long term prison sentence for football related violence, when the Thatcher regime made it their main priority to rid the country of the ‘English disease’.

After enduring years of racial abuse in childhood, Cass was again faced with the same problem, but now from an element of black prisoners who regarded him as a ‘Choc-Ice’ (black on the outside, white on the inside). On his release, Cass fell in love with Elaine and tried to change his life, but his violent past eventually caught up with him and he was shot three times at point blank range, as a result of a previous feud with an Arsenal gang. Cass was left with the terrible dilemma; to seek vengeance as the street had taught him, or to renounce his violent past.
By Paul Heath