Grafters

Colin Blaney's "Grafters", originally published in 2004, was a ground-breaking exposé of the links between criminal gangs and football hooliganism. In the intervening period the book and the phrase have become part of the lexicon, defining a generation of professional thieves who used the cover of their fellow football fans to earn a fortune. Eight years on author Colin Blaney returns with an updated version of his criminal memoirs and recounts his experiences as a personality in the murky media world that accompanies public relations -- principally his shady dealings with tabloid journalists, TV producers and researchers. In Colin's words he was thrown in at the deep end to "Swim with the sharks". It's all a far cry from Colin's adolescence in the council fl ats of North Manchester. As a child he burgled warehouses and factories. As a youth he joined the bootboys of Manchester United's Red Army, rampaging across the country. As an adult he learned to dip