Robin Friday the great Reading stricker of all time...

Robin Friday (27 July 1952 – 22 December 1990) was an English footballer who played professionally as

a forward for Reading and Cardiff City during a career that lasted four years in the mid-1970s. earning the nickname

“lower league George Best,”. His on-field performances were regarded as excellent, and he won Reading’s player of

the year award in both of his full seasons there, as well as being the leading goal scorer. However, his habit of

unsettling opponents through physical intimidation contributed to a heavily tarnished disciplinary record, and his

personal life was one of heavy smoking, drinking, womanising and drug abuse. Despite his short career, he remains

prominent in the memory of Reading and Cardiff supporters, both as a player and a personality. He has been voted

Reading’s best ever player three times. He entered the Reading FC ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2022.

Born and raised in Acton, West London, Friday was scouted, but not retained, by four professional clubs during his

teenage years. He appeared for local semi-professional sides in the Isthmian League until he joined Charlie

Hurley’s Fourth Division Reading team in 1974; quickly becoming a key player, he helped Reading to

win promotion to the Third Division during the 1975–76 season. As his drug habit intensified, Friday’s form began to

dip in the first half of the 1976–77 season, leading Reading to sell him to Second Division side Cardiff City around

the New Year. Friday travelled to join his new team by train without a valid ticket and had to be bailed by the Cardiff

manager Jimmy Andrews before he signed for the club. He performed strongly on his debut, but afterwards his form

declined and his personal life caused him to repeatedly miss matches altogether. Following a number of incidents, on

and off the field—including kicking Mark Lawrenson in the face mid-game—Friday retired from football in

December 1977, aged 25. He died in Acton in 1990, aged 38, after suffering a heart attack.

In a 2004 BBC poll, Friday was voted the top “all-time cult hero” for both Reading and Cardiff City, and the Cardiff-

based band Super Furry Animals dedicated their 1996 single “The Man Don’t Give a Fuck” to his memory. Two fact-

based novels, “Man Friday: The First Half” and “Man Friday: The Second Half,” by author Stuart Kane, describe

Friday’s life on and off the field. Andrews called Friday “the complete center-forward” and, along with many of his

peers, retroactively rated Friday as good

Robin Friday the great Reading stricker of all time