Robin Friday - The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw

[My Friend Jack]

He certainly was - although I did. See him, that is. many, many times. I was there when he made his home debut for Reading against Exeter on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I was there when he scored the best goal I have ever seen, against Tranmere Rovers a couple of years later. Funnily enough, I wasn't there the night he kissed a policeman after scoring the only goal of the night against Rochdale - I decided to stay at home and watch Survivors on TV (no VCRs in those days).

A flawed genius - aren't they all? A flawed book as well, in a way - composed mostly of extracts from the Reading Evening Post and quotes from a more recent interview with Charlie Hurley, the Reading manager during Friday's time at the club. Nevertheless, for those of us who were there and remember, and for those who weren't, it's a fascinating, if brief, clip from a bygone era.

PS - just realised - it's Hewitt, not Hewett - sorry - can't find how to edit the author's names!

[Just RY]

I enjoyed the book - but there again, I have the same bias that you have! I did see Friday play a couple of times (I also named one of cats after him :)), but obviously not as many times as your goodself, so the Evening Post strories and the comments from Hurley were interesting.

I would be curious to learn the opinions of any non-Reading fans who have read the book.

The link below I believe is the only known TV footage of the man.

Robin Friday (http://www.urzz.com/star/images/friday.wmv)

[Royal Rother]

Well, what a coincidence, I'm a Reading FC fan as well. Small world eh? We'll have to form our own little forum on here to discuss our club! ;)

I never saw RF although my (much older) brother used to rave about him. I enjoyed the book simply because it gave a little insight into what he achieved at Reading, and the flawed character that he was.

For those who may not be aware he "retired" early and died as a result of, shall we say, bad living, before he reached his 40th birthday. (Is that right you guys?)

Out of interest, for those who don't know, although he played most of his league football for Reading (3 years?) he did spend a brief while at Cardiff (1 year?) and in a recent poll of Football Focus viewers he was voted Cardiff City's all time cult hero. Some going considering he wasn't there long and, surprise surprise, they have had some real stars there over the decades.

I'm not feeling very precise this morning, so do feel free to correct me if I'm a mile out!

[My Friend Jack]

No, RR, that sounds pretty accurate to me.

The one thing that some of our younger readers might relate to, is that Robin's picture appeared on the cover of the Super Furry Animals' hit "The Man Don't Give a F***." He is pictured in a Cardiff shirt, giving a v-sign to the opposition goalkeeper. As I said, a flawed genius who was, I think, born at just the right time, so that he was able to reach his peak in the only decade in which he could have made it - the 1970s.

[Mad Dog and Glory]

I always found the title ironic, as he was the Greatest Footballer I Ever Saw. I had the privilege of watching him 12 times in 1974-75, the most times I was able to watch Reading play in a season until the 90s. Sadly, my family moved to Somerset in the summer of 1975 and I never saw him again. Life is confusing for a teenage boy, and I think the most incomprehensible event of my teenage years was Reading's decision to sell him to Cardiff City for a pittance.

Reading the book, it's easier to understand why, even though it was still the wrong decision. The book is, as others have said, a hotchpotch of interviews and articles, and there is not much of the 'writers' at all. It's very well put together though, and does paint a rounded picture of an extraordinary footballer and equally extraordinary human being.

[Martin]

Chipping in as another Royals fan who DID see Friday play....

....my thoughts have always been that there is a great book to be written about the man, but this isn't it. As Bill points out it's a bit of a cut and paste job and written by two people for whom it was really a bit of side interest rather than someone who could put some real passion into the story. That said it is great that Friday has something to record his brief career. I would certainly recommend the book to any football fan, indeed any sports fan. It's a pretty quick read (ideal for taking to a game as I reckon you could get through it in 90 minutes...)

If you do read it and enjoy it then can I recommend Only A Game by Eamon Dunphy (another former Reading player !) which documents a season at Millwall back in the 70's. Dunphy has gone on to be a pretty serious writer (at least in his own mind !) and this book was in many ways way ahead of it's time.

[MartinRB]

I'm just in the process of reading this one. I too must have seen him play, though I don't remember him. I'm a life long Northampton Town supporter and hardly missed a game in the 1970s so must have seen RF at least once!
An interesting book but I find the "cut and paste" style lazy. How can the two authors claim to have written the book when at best it's edited by them?

My Friend Jack claims seeing RF's debut against Exeter. Didn't he make his league debut against the mighty Cobblers? A three all draw according to the book.

[Royal Rother]

MFJ said Home debut...

[MartinRB]

I meant home debut, just didn't put it down. Sorry.

[My Friend Jack]

I meant home debut, just didn't put it down. Sorry.

Well, let's be fair, it was more than 30 years ago! The old memory does play tricks. I was definitely there when RF scored against Exeter on a rainy Sunday early afternoon game. I was also there when he scored that goal against Tranmere and - despite what I read somewhere a few days ago - that was NOT the night he kissed the copper! That was against Rochdale and was the only home game I missed that season.

Northampton - I remember when we played them at Elm Park during the 75/76 season - both clubs were going for promotion (I think NTFC finished second and we were third?). My vivid recollection from those pre-segregation days is of my sitting next to a NTFC fan who, at the end of the game, said to me, "I'm glad I don't sit next to you every week!" I think I'd been a bit vocal...

Am I right in thinking that the game at NTFC the following season finished up 5-0 to NTFC? I remember listening to Radio 210 for score updates - they kept saying, "the last we heard it was 0-0." It turned out that that was because no-one had told them the score all evening, so at around 9.15 they suddenly told us that we'd lost 5-0!

[MartinRB]

MFJ,

Your memory is better than mine! I was just going by the book which, if I can remember right, says RF made his debut at home to NTFC on a Sunday and the score was 3-3.
We were promoted in the 1975/6 season and were second, to York City I think. I can't remember how we did against you. I do remember what a good ball playing side we were under the late, great Bill Dodgin in the days when the bottom division was even more of a cloggers paradise than it is now.
Great to see Reading doing so well. We had Simon Cox and a lad called Pearce on loan last season, both good young players. Rumour has it we're getting Coxy back on a season long loan.
If anyone is reading this, apologies for talking footy on a book site.
I've read one or two good sport books in recent times I'll put a list with a short blurb on here soon.

[My Friend Jack]

No need to apologise, Martin, this is a football book we are talking about! One minor point, though, it wasn't York, it was Lincoln City who won the 4th division in 75/76, under the management of one Graham Taylor, IIRC. Tranmere were the other promoted side.

Thanks for the positive comments on our ascendency to the top flight. Inevitably, all our best players are now being linked with other clubs, and I'm not sure whether Steve Coppell's lack of movement in the buying market is shrewdness or because he doesn't know who he will need to replace!

[cripple creek]

Looks to me pretty much like everyone posting on here are, including myself, Reading fans. I saw Friday a few times but most of my memories are not my own but memories of what my Dad and my brother said about him which is that he was the best player they have ever seen. In terms of the book. I think it would have no appeal whatsoever for anyone not interested in Reading or the Friday the individual. It is a really, really bad book. Nothing more than a cuttings job and while I'd like to hear what non-Reading fans think of it I somehow doubt any of them will have either read it or be inspired to offer a comment on it and, frankly, I wouldn't really blame them. In the same way I wouldn't dream of wasting my time of reading something like 'Stanley Bowles; his life and times' I can't think why any non-Reading/Cardiff fans would want to read this.

[MartinRB]

Looks to me pretty much like everyone posting on here are, including myself, Reading fans. Not me!....
In terms of the book. I think it would have no appeal whatsoever for anyone not interested in Reading or the Friday the individual....I enjoyed it as a footy fan supporting a "minor" team.
...It is a really, really bad book...Yes, it is!
... Nothing more than a cuttings job and while I'd like to hear what non-Reading fans think of it I somehow doubt any of them will have either read it or be inspired to offer a comment on it and, frankly, I wouldn't really blame them.... See my post above....

My son gave me the book to read. I think he only bought it because the guy from Oasis "wrote" it. I don't think I'd have spent hard cash on it but it was an OK read.

[Bill]

I can't think why any non-Reading/Cardiff fans would want to read this.

I would have thought so, but surprisingly I have a number of friends who know about this book, and a number of that number have actually read it.

[atom-girl]

:thinking: I don't think I remember him, I used to go to Elm Park from about 1976/77 (I was very young ;) ). Oh how we used to keep going week in and week out, and they never did much good (Div 3 I think was best I ever saw them in). I remember Steve Death, somebody Earles, and Maurice, ermmm and the Bovril being quite good. Can't believe where they are now. I went to see them play Sheffield Utd a few years back and took great pleasure in sitting at the Reading end, even though I'm now an honorary Northerner.

Added bit: Sorry guys, just realised you're on about a book. I haven't read it, but I imagine it makes interesting Reading!

[Bill]

:thinking: I don't think I remember him, I used to go to Elm Park from about 1976/77 (I was very young ;) ). Oh how we used to keep going week in and week out, and they never did much good (Div 3 I think was best I ever saw them in). I remember Steve Death, somebody Earles, and Maurice, ermmm and the Bovril being quite good. Can't believe where they are now. I went to see them play Sheffield Utd a few years back and took great pleasure in sitting at the Reading end, even though I'm now an honorary Northerner.

Added bit: Sorry guys, just realised you're on about a book. I haven't read it, but I imagine it makes interesting Reading!

a-g, you might enjoy this thread which is all about Reading. (http://www.bookgrouponline.com/forum/showthread.html?t=1946&highlight=a+thread+for+us+reading+fans) It would be great to read about more of your memories of Elm Park on there. I first went in 1969, and one of my first memories is of half-time Bovril!

It was Pat Earles, by the way. Are you thinking of Maurice Evans, who was manager from (I think without checking) manager from around 78 to 84?

[Barblue]

I have just read this thread and I am interested to read this book. Never been a Reading supporter, but love football and everything to do with it. The game has had, and will probably have again, many flawed geniuses. This one sounds very special and I plan to buy the book (if I can find it on Amazon, Bill) for my husband for Christmas. That way I get to read it too.

P.S. Thanks for the link to the film footage, JustRY. That took me back to my younger days of watching the beautifull game

Edit: Been on Amazon and found it's still available. It's in my shopping basket for purchase when my total allows free postage. :)

[atom-girl]

Edit: Been on Amazon and found it's still available. It's in my shopping basket for purchase when my total allows free postage. :) I've done that barblue, I needed a text book, and adding this book made it up to the free postage, I'm looking forward to reading it now (well more than the text book anyway) :)

I will read through that Reading thread Bill. I'm fortunate to be able to see them a lot next season, away, as many of their rivals are in the Liverpool/Manchester area!!

[collin.froud@ntlworld.com]

Even though this book is, as described by others, a collection of reports on matches and other bits - I loved it.
I had the pleasure of seeing all the home games at Elm Park, and quite a few away games during the Friday era.
I loved every minute of them !!
Here at last Reading FC had, what appeared to be a genius. He was so skilled that he suffered a lot of injuries, because no one could stop him. As a result he also had quite a lot of bookings, as he was a very headstrong player, or so it seemed at the time.
A lot of stories circulated about him, which I am not going into. But I dont think that Charlie Hurley could keep him in check, and so he ended up at Cardiff, where it all went downhill.
On the good side, yes, I was there when he kissed the policeman.
Yes I was there when referee Clive Thomas admitted that his goal was the greatest one he had ever see, and I was over the moon when fans voted him the best player ever to where a Reading shirt.
If you know where to look, there are old style Reading FC replica shirts on sale with the number 9, and the word Friday printed on them.
If anyone knows of one, let me know please.
Loyal Royal

[nonsuch]

As a kid at boarding school I used to watch Reading at Elm Park during the war, when there was, due to wartime restrictions on travel, only a Northern League and a Southern League. I remember those penny programmes with just the teams printed on them and a couple of ads for hot beverages and so on. Reading had Johnny Mapson in goal and we boys, for some reason I can't quite fathom, all used to jeer when the ball was played back to him -'Back to Johnny!' we'd all shout. We always supported the away team - probably because we associated Reading with our school and were 'punishing' the town for keeping us from our homes. I even remember cheering for Brentford in a game that ended 4-4. Wish I'd kept the programmes!

[Royal Rother]

Good to see another RFC fan turn up on here Collin! How did you find this site?

Nonsuch, very interesting! Johnny Mapson actually only ever played twice for Reading in official League football and that was in 1935 as an 18 year old! In March 1936 he was tansferred to Sunderland for £2000 and had a 20 year career with them. As you mention he did play for Reading FC during the war when League Football was suspended and helped us win the London War Cup in 1941.

Out of interest, which boarding school did you go to?

[nonsuch]

Not a public one, but The Beal Central School, as it then was, which became The Beal Grammar School for Boys, which has since become Seven Kings Comprehensive.

[Star]

I read this book last weekend. I agree that it's been put together with not much thought and the newspaper clippings from the time are a bit boring if you weren't there, but the quotes from all Friday's friends and relations are great and it's worth reading for those alone to get an idea of just what an odd but entertaining character he was.

I am a Reading fan, but as I haven't been one for long and none of my friends or relations are Reading fans, it's only through other Reading fans that I came to learn about Robin Friday.

[cobboldblue]

I might give this one a go as I'm an Ipswich Town fan myself so enjoy some football related books (i adopted them as my team of choice when i used to live near Ipswich back in 1999 even though I'm from the NW and now live in Northamptonshire) and i read a similar type of book about a year ago. That book was called "The Greatest Footballer England Never Had" by Rob Finch which was about Kevin Beattie who was an iconic Ipswich Town player back in the 70's in similar vain to Terry Butcher who also played for them.

Looking on Amazon they have quite a few, some of the reviews are a bit mixed though. Looks like a bit of patience might be needed when starting out with it.