Robin Friday: As immortalised by Super Furry Animals, banging in another one for Cardiff.
Considering its such a universal language, worshipped as the ‘beautiful game’, and widely acknowledged as the fuel that pumps through many a man’s veins, the most galling aspect of the eternally burning flame of football is… the protagonists themselves. Either mind numbingly dull, gormlessly stupid, or just head shakingly pre pubescent in their behaviour, footballers themselves are truly banal and lacking in, well, everything really. Character wise of course. Their first touch and bite in the tackle is generally better than ours.
In this commercially driven era, uber professionalism and sports science reigns supreme, which just leads to even more mundane characters plastered on the back of the papers, whose most exciting character trait is how many Big Brother contestants they can rack up as conquests over the course of a season. There are those who admire such skills playing away from home, but really, the modern footballer just isn’t all that. Joey Barton proves that if one, just one, shows some character or something out of the ordinary, the public’s craving for more originality and spark goes into a feeding frenzy for more. An admittedly entertaining Twitter addict, his tweets full of Smiths lyrics, Nietzsche quotes and snarling, no holds barred sharp rebuttals to his neasayers, Barton is ludicrously entertaining in comparison to his peers. And a complete exception to the rule.
The biography, if its not a load of tweets bundled into paperback form, will probably be awaited with baited breath. This is because footballers biographies, as a corollary, are fittingly as anodine as the purveyors themselves, and add nothing to society apart from more substance to a pulping process. If you’re looking for remarkable insights, go elsewhere. Unless you want to read an entire chapter in one of Wayne Rooney’s 3 biographies (before the wise old age of 25) dedicated to the contents of the minibar in his hotel room at the World Cup in 2006. Riveting.
So it doesn’t help that there are no more mavericks out there. But never fear. You’ve probably never heard of the game’s biggest maverick of all time, and his ludicrously entertaining (and originally formatted) biography. Going back to the 70’s, the golden era for football and its cast of mavericks, Robin Friday stood head and shoulders above them all. If you thought George Best, Stan Bowles and Charlie George were wild child poster boys for a hedonistic generation on the pitch, they all appear like a crushingly boring Michael Owen in comparison to Friday. Robin Friday was the ultimate. Paolo Hewitt and Paul McGuigan’s well researched and fitting tribute is called ‘Robin Friday: The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw’, and just like Friday himself, it supersedes all other biographies. Yes, that includes Paul McGrath’s. And yes, I know he drank Demestos.
The book illustrates a man who was a wild, unhinged character who literally lived life like everyday was his last, yet he also managed to somehow balance his libertine ways by being phenomally talented, with a distinctive knack for banging in the goals from everywhere. Iconically celebrated by Super Furry Animals, he was immortalized gracing the cover of their single ‘The Man Don’t Give A Fuck’. During his stint at Cardiff, the shot shows Friday giving the V sign to Luton’s abrasive keeper, having put up with his robust challenges all game, and then rounding him to score. It summed up his ludicrously cavalier attitude succinctly, along with the fitting footballing panache.
Friday was a flame that flickered furiously and brightly. A heavy drinker and drug user by his teens, and in and out of borstal, his talent was spotted by Reading, who signed him up from non league. His ability was immediately apparent, and he became the fulcrum, star and goalscorer and entertainer in chief of their side, being top scorer over two seasons and single handedly being the catalyst for their first promotion. An entertainer due to his phenomenal skill, after scoring yet another goal he would kiss policemen on the sideline, pull the caps over goalkeepers eyes, or just go for the most outlandish attempts on goal possible, and often pull them off. Clive Thomas, the famous international referee, claims Friday scored the best goal of all time, one that he witnessed against Tranmere, a goal so good, he said neither Pele or Maradona ever emulated it. When Thomas approached Friday after that game to tell him it was the best goal he had ever seen, Friday replied ‘You should come down here more often, I do that every week’. Legend.
A ferocious competitor on the pitch, blessed with prodigious flair and talent, it was said he could have been an England great, but for the fact he maintained a completely unsustainable and hedonistic lifestyle off the pitch, which included drink, drugs, women, brawling, and to a lesser extent, heavy metal and stealing crocodile skin boots and leather jackets from Kensington Markets. Although his behaviour was deemed too wild and unhinged by some, most always claimed he had a heart of gold, and would do anything for anybody. He simply knew how to have a good time, and loved to play football. And that was it. He always made sure that he did both to the absolute max.
Although clubs the length and breadth of the country were awed by his unique talent, all were scared off by his manic personality. When Cardiff City took the punt on him, his behaviour became more erratic on the pitch, despite scoring a hat trick on his debut and doing enough over the course of a season to become a club hero. He retired after getting sent off for kicking Mark Lawrenson in the head at the age of 25, before drifting into labour jobs, and dying at the tragically young age of 38.
The biography is a must read for any football fan who wants their faith in the game restored, or is just yearning for a truly original character that shook it to its core. Done chronologically, its is a list of interviews from those that knew him best, his parents, twin brother, Reading manager Charlie Hurley, his fellow players, friends and more. A heavy contributor is Eamon Dunphy, which adds more spice and panache to the book, as he was one of those who understood Friday best, and indeed shared in some of his revelry. With the interviews interspersed and spliced with chronological extracts from match reports from the Reading Evening Post, you get a unique insight into just how alluring his fast and furious career and character was. Coming to the game with a character and mentality that was polar opposite of one that is necessary for a professional sports career, Its easy to see why he was adored, and such an original.
The book is a highly enjoyable, entertaining and enlightening read. Irvine Welsh fittingly does an excellent foreward, and proclaims that all football biographies are generally beyond mediocre, but if you are going to read one, make sure it is this one. My sentiments exactly, how right he is. An individual whose life and career was all too tragically short, he at least ensured that every moment mattered and counted, on and off the pitch. All the hilarious anecdoctes are there, as are all the gushing praise of his skills and abilities in games alongside all the insights into a seemingly invigorating personality. All those he impacted, whether it was those close to him or the fans, certainly appreciated this. That is why he is generally regarded as THE ultimate cult icon. Indeed, he regularly comes in 1st place on BBC’s Cult Icon polls. Hardly surprising really, once you get a taster for the character he was.
For those of you who are keen on the book and want a taster for it, his extremely comprehensive Wikipedia entry is here, and is a ludicrously engrossing and entertaining read in itself. Next time you see Michael Owen or Gareth Southgate as a talking head, have a think about Robin Friday. You may sigh, but you also may realize that’s part of the reason you fell in love with football.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Friday
