Rise of the Footsoldier

Rise of the Footsoldier follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late eighties and early nineties. It is three decades of his life following him from football hooliganism, through to his burgeoning career as a bouncer, his involvement in the criminal aspects of the early 'rave' scene and subsequently to his rise to power as one of the most feared and respected criminals in the country.

Memorable Quotes for Rise of the Footsoldier :

[first lines]
Carlton Leach: It was the end of an era. But before the murders, the torture, the beatings and the ecstacy... before all of that, there was football. You see, football was where all the spite and the hatred first came from. On those terraces... well, it's where it all began for me.

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Carlton Leach: You know, someone once told me "you're only as good as the people around you". And you didn't get to work on my door unless you could seriously handle yourself

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Carlton Leach: [after Eddie, Jason, Andy and Terry's torture] But it weren't over. Not for Eddie. Those Turks had killed him in that warehouse. They may have left him breathing, but he died there all the same. One of my boys was dead, and those Turks were about to find out what it felt like to be on the wrong end of a kebab knife.

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Carlton Leach: [Reffering to Eddie] I could have saved him
Tony Tucker: He was dead the moment the gear went missing. Swallow your pride, Carlton. It's a painful pill to take and I know it fucking hurts, but you just got to walk away, mate.
Carlton Leach: [narrating] Sometimes, you've got to listen to your mates. I took his advice, and I backed down. An all-out war with the Turks would have been a drawn-out, bloody affair. Andy, Terry and Jason were broken men, and they left the firm soon after. We never did find out who took the heroin, and I guess there's some cunt still out there praying that we never do