Robin Friday - Style of Play and Legacy

Style of Play and Legacy

Friday is widely regarded as an unsung talent; a latterly-applied nickname, "the greatest footballer you never saw", was used as the title of his 1997 biography, co-written by Oasis bass player Paul McGuigan and Hewitt. Both as a player and a personality, Friday remains a major figure for both of his professional clubs. BBC Radio Berkshire Sports Editor Tim Dellor, speaking in 2010, emphasised the importance of Friday's charisma to his contemporary and retrospective appeal, a point which was also highlighted by his second wife, Liza, who likened his personal charm to that of "a pied piper". In terms of significance to Reading F.C., Dellor stated that Friday was the team's "very own George Best". Cardiff-based band Super Furry Animals used a photograph of him giving the V-sign to Aleksic in 1977 for the artwork of their 1996 single The Man Don't Give a Fuck, which was dedicated to his memory "and his stand against the 'Man'".

After winning the title of "Player of the Millennium" from Reading in 1999, he was voted the top "all-time cult hero" for both Reading and Cardiff in a 2004 BBC poll; with similar polls taking place at each Premier League and Football League club, he was the only player to appear in the top three for two different sides. In 2007, a poll of fans run by Reading resulted in his once more being named the club's best ever. Later that year, when the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) canvassed Reading supporters for their all-time favourite, Friday won yet again. In a parallel PFA survey, Cardiff fans chose one of Friday's former team-mates, Wales international defender Phil Dwyer. Friday was ranked first in Channel 4's list of football "bad boys" in August 2007, while Football365 placed him at eighth place in a 2010 list of "wasted talents".

Friday's style of play was based around his exceptional ball skills, described by Cardiff doctor Leslie Hamilton as "absolutely fabulous", and his instinctive footballing vision, which enabled him both to execute flamboyant individual moves and to create attacks for his team-mates. Jimmy Andrews, his manager at Cardiff, later called Friday "the complete centre-forward" and placed him on a par with Alan Shearer, while Maurice Evans claimed that he could have played for England, and was at least on a level with international strikers he had worked with such as John Aldridge and Dean Saunders. This attitude was also held by Hamilton and Friday's Reading team-mate John Murray, both of whom firmly declared in separate interviews that Friday would have been good enough for the England team had he "sorted his head out", in Hamilton's words.

A natural goalscoring forward, Friday was also unselfish and would take just as much pleasure out of setting up a goal scored by a team-mate as netting one himself. He possessed fine ball control and dribbling skills, and could also shoot with both great power and sharp accuracy. The strong physical aspect of his game and exceptionally competitive, combative spirit combined with all of this to create a formidable forward player: such was his ability that his arrival transformed Reading into one of the division's best sides in a matter of weeks. Writing in 2010, Roger Titford stressed Friday's immediate and profound impact on the Reading team as a key factor in his lasting popularity: "It was like the comic-book stories that kids from Robin's era would have read", he wrote. "He was a ready-made star".

On top of his technical talent, Friday was physically very strong and able to withstand sustained blows or injuries. According to Hamilton, he was also uncommonly fit despite his lifestyle. He boasted an exceptional work-rate, which Dwyer recalled gave any side including him a strong boost: "When he was in the line-up you'd have a centre-forward and a centre-half; not only would he be up there running them ragged, but when it broke down he'd be the first person to start tackling back". He was assisted in this by a smooth and effective sliding tackle which despite all of Friday's attacking skills Hurley considered one of the strongest parts of his game. Reading F.C. historian David Downs described Friday's style of play as "really quite bizarre. It was more or less Robin standing in the middle and saying 'Give me the ball and I'll see what I can do with it'". On receiving the ball, he would then turn and either take on the opposing defence single-handed or run with it to the wing to cross for a team-mate. "We didn't need anyone else up front", Hurley later said. "They couldn't get the ball off him. He was one of those guys who could beat five players easily". Andrews agreed: "once he'd got the ball it was almost impossible to get it off him".

Friday was known for giving his all in any game in which he played, no matter the circumstances. Hurley later said that Friday would often become furious at his team-mates for not trying their best, even in training. This strong drive to always win even extended to the use of physical intimidation to unsettle opposing players, leading contemporary critics to label him a "villain". Friday also employed the use of psychological tactics; aiming to spook opposing players, Friday would kiss them or fondle their testicles. Cardiff team-mate Paul Went recalled that these tricks would "completely throw" defenders and affect their concentration. Although he was often criticised for the number of bookings and sendings-off he received, Friday believed he was justified to chase victory by any means, explaining his attitude in a 1977 interview: "On the pitch I hate all opponents. I don't give a damn about anyone. People think I'm mad, a lunatic. I am a winner".