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 ... See full summary »

Carlton Leach: Listen, if I was you, I'd get those punters out of there 'cause the moment those Turks walk out that door, I'm gonna go fucking Schwarzenegger on the cunt.
[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.
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
waitress: Well, how about... I jump into the back of your motor and suck your big cock?
Carlton Leach: Well, what could I do? She put it on me, and I didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings.
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.
Carlton Leach: So I was a married man, but football was my mistress, and I played away every weekend.First round of the Cup when we played Fulham and believe it or not, it kicks off, and like fucking clockwork the Old Bill comes steaming in. But behave yourself and what are you going to do, eh? It's fucking war on the streets. We were all over the papers the next day, and they were going on about how we were the biggest menace since the IRA. But I mean what the fuck did we care? We was just having a laugh.
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