WALLIS V SMALL
Tony Small in 1993 made with AI
Who was Tony Small?
"Fat bastard with caterpillars on his face." - Eddie Wallis.
He was born in the mid 1950s, the son of Greek Cypriots who settled in Rotherhithe. Tony wasn't born with that name. His real name is Kostas. He chose Tony because it sounded tough and gangster-like, a nod to infamous figures like Fat Tony Salerno. He saw himself as a modern-day Al Capone, if Al Capone had come from Rotherhithe. He chose Small because it was simple and unassuming, the kind of name that didn't draw attention, but was easy to remember.
Eddieβs hatred for Tony wasnβt just about football. Tony really got on Eddie's nerves. He was too happy all the time for Eddie's liking. Eddie didnβt put Tonyβs constant cheerfulness down to him being genuinely happy. He'd long since decided that Tony was just a simpleton. A greedy, fat simpleton.
However, behind all the laughs, behind the crumbs on his shirt and the stupid grin, Tony was still a man people feared. Tony singlehandedly kept London hospitals in business. Tony was a wrecking ball, and his fights were like watching a wardrobe fall down a flight of stairs. Loud, messy, and impossible to stop.
Love at First Punch
Dom and Tony had already been going at it for years. Fights between them were just part of the routine. It wasn't always about hatred. It was just the way things were. The ICF and the Bushwackers were never meant to get along. When it was Eddie's turn, he made it personal. Eddie took things to heart. It wasnβt just about football anymore. Eddie wanted to hurt Tony. Properly. This wasnβt ICF versus Bushwackers anymore. This was Eddie Wallis versus Tony Small. They were some of the most brutal fights the terraces had ever seen. And after Dom was killed, things only got worse. Now, Eddie was fuelled by revenge.
The 1992β93 Season
Both West Ham and Millwall were in the First Division that year, and tensions were already running high. It was the end of an era for Millwall too, as they played their final full season at the Old Den. The early nineties brought fewer headline-grabbing riots, but the violence didn't stop. Meetings were arranged by word of mouth. Crews dressed down. Most of it never made the papers. But it happened, and everyone involved knew it. The game was changing. Stadiums were getting safer. But out on the streets, the score was still being settled the old way. This period was nowhere near as bloody as it had been when Eddie first joined the ICF in the '80s, but Eddie still remembers it as being "some medieval shit".
Tony Small's Arrest
When Tony was arrested for attempted murder in '94, Eddie took it as a signal to move on. So that's what he did. He'd spent years locked in a rivalry with Tony. Seeing him cuffed and dragged off, facing a charge that might actually stick, Eddie knew it was time.
The years that came after made Eddie who he is today.