Robin Friday

[coyrls]

I'm glad his relationship with the fans has been mentioned. My memory (although faded) is that he would run over to the South Bank to celebrate his goals with the fans more than celebrate with the other players.

[Forbury Lion]

What Friday lacked in pace, he made up on skill.

Teddy Sherringham springs to mind as a recent example of a top flight striker with no pace.

[Mr Angry]

Well worth adding that it was before the days of the internet, and instant information, the tannoy was dire, if you could even hear it, team news was as listed in the program, and often you did not know the team until they appeared from the tunnel. Most games you would be lucky to see 3 or 4 pictures in the Post and Chronicle, very little television coverage. There was no local radio either, and we barely got a mention in national media. The main knowledge was from being there, and I would say that everyone knew Friday would have been a top league player, had he been the type to knuckle down and conform, I am damned glad he did not.

Rodney Marsh
Charlie Cooke
George Best

Friday was there in the same league, if not the same division.

I most closely associate Robin with Charlie George of Arsenal; no pace, but lots of skill and every bit as hard as the hard core hoolies of the day.

Would Robin have made it in todays game? Obviously, its impossible to say, as todays society is so different from the early mid-70's, but I suspect that he wouldn't have got a chance to become a pro footballer today.

But then, so many of the stars of that time would have struggled to be in todays game; the number of genuinely "bad boy" footballers in the game now can be counted on the fingers of one hand....

[Gordons Cumming]

Now if Robin was playing today......................

Promotion guaranteed.

[LUX]

Agreed. I know us oldies who saw him play many times get accused of romanticising, overrating him and failing to take account of the fact he was playing in a lower division. However, we have seen plenty of great players to compare him against and he did stand up to such comparisons. His skill was incredible and he added real passion, incredibly high work rate (when on the pitch), will to win and never say die attitude to it. No losing the ball and giving up from him. He would chase, hassle and challenge until he got it back.

Nowadays, the BBC's sports personalities of the year rarely have striking personalities. Friday was a really big personality (in the Daley Thompson style) albeit not an ideal role model for the young and impressionable! Despite that, as a fan in his early-mid teens at the time, I can say Friday always made time to chat with the youngsters and sign autographs, even when he was already late turning up prior to a game.

People would happily pay just to see Friday play. You never knew what you were going to get but you were absolutely certain you would get something special from him to talk about after the game.

good post. I was one posting above about him being only a star in the fourth division, but that was just to deflect criticisms of me being OTT. Regardless of how good he was by today's standards, he was the most exciting player I've ever seen.

ps I must be the same age as you RB, and 75/76 remains my favourite ever season at RFC. Third place and promoted iirc

[RoyalBlue]

Agreed. I know us oldies who saw him play many times get accused of romanticising, overrating him and failing to take account of the fact he was playing in a lower division. However, we have seen plenty of great players to compare him against and he did stand up to such comparisons. His skill was incredible and he added real passion, incredibly high work rate (when on the pitch), will to win and never say die attitude to it. No losing the ball and giving up from him. He would chase, hassle and challenge until he got it back.

Nowadays, the BBC's sports personalities of the year rarely have striking personalities. Friday was a really big personality (in the Daley Thompson style) albeit not an ideal role model for the young and impressionable! Despite that, as a fan in his early-mid teens at the time, I can say Friday always made time to chat with the youngsters and sign autographs, even when he was already late turning up prior to a game.

People would happily pay just to see Friday play. You never knew what you were going to get but you were absolutely certain you would get something special from him to talk about after the game.

good post. I was one posting above about him being only a star in the fourth division, but that was just to deflect criticisms of me being OTT. Regardless of how good he was by today's standards, he was the most exciting player I've ever seen.

ps I must be the same age as you RB, and 75/76 remains my favourite ever season at RFC. Third place and promoted iirc

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

[Gordons Cumming]

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

A very rare occasion. Reading on TV in the seventies.

I don't remember that.

Reading v Crewe? Big Match?

[RoyalBlue]

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

A very rare occasion. Reading on TV in the seventies.

I don't remember that.

Reading v Crewe? Big Match?

Was there any other football programme shown on a Sunday afternoon? We were definitely on the tv that afternoon. I suspect the footage still exists somewhere.

[Gordons Cumming]

Nope.

I just don't remember it.

Footage has probably been wiped.

[RoyalBlue]

Nope.

I just don't remember it.

Footage has probably been wiped.

Not sure it has. I may be hallucinating but I'm pretty sure I saw it shown somewhere not that long ago.

Just seen that a programme for that game was on sale on ebay in November this year for 99p. It didn't sell!

Cost 10p at the game!

[Man Friday]

Agreed. I know us oldies who saw him play many times get accused of romanticising, overrating him and failing to take account of the fact he was playing in a lower division. However, we have seen plenty of great players to compare him against and he did stand up to such comparisons. His skill was incredible and he added real passion, incredibly high work rate (when on the pitch), will to win and never say die attitude to it. No losing the ball and giving up from him. He would chase, hassle and challenge until he got it back.

Nowadays, the BBC's sports personalities of the year rarely have striking personalities. Friday was a really big personality (in the Daley Thompson style) albeit not an ideal role model for the young and impressionable! Despite that, as a fan in his early-mid teens at the time, I can say Friday always made time to chat with the youngsters and sign autographs, even when he was already late turning up prior to a game.

People would happily pay just to see Friday play. You never knew what you were going to get but you were absolutely certain you would get something special from him to talk about after the game.

good post. I was one posting above about him being only a star in the fourth division, but that was just to deflect criticisms of me being OTT. Regardless of how good he was by today's standards, he was the most exciting player I've ever seen.

ps I must be the same age as you RB, and 75/76 remains my favourite ever season at RFC. Third place and promoted iirc

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

Same! If we could see this footage we'd see ourselves side by side! If I recall, about 3 of us ran on.

[oldebiscuit]

What a hopeless concept the 'e-book' is. Half the joy of reading the book is that you can do so wherever and whenever you like; on the bus or train to work, on the beach etc. You don't have the joy of thumbing through the pages at leisure with a poxy e-book

floyd, that seems a somewhat ironic statement from a man that seems to spend most of his life on this website.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Nope.

I just don't remember it.

Footage has probably been wiped.

Not sure it has. I may be hallucinating but I'm pretty sure I saw it shown somewhere not that long ago.

Just seen that a programme for that game was on sale on ebay in November this year for 99p. It didn't sell!

Cost 10p at the game!

I am sure it was on as can moreorless recall it - there were lots of regional variations of the Big Match and Reading were on a few times on the Southern TV version - even when in the 4th Division in the 70's.

[oldebiscuit]

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

A very rare occasion. Reading on TV in the seventies.

I don't remember that.

Reading v Crewe? Big Match?

Game was definately televised but may have been Southern (Meridian or whatever the tv station is now called) so most of us would not have seen it.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Nope.

I just don't remember it.

Footage has probably been wiped.

Not sure it has. I may be hallucinating but I'm pretty sure I saw it shown somewhere not that long ago.

you are not hallucinating...bits of it (from Southern TV) were shown recently (indeed within the past three years) on some local programme.

A game that I recall, being the first time I'd ever seen myself on telly....at the front wall of the Tilehurst Road end smugly tucked in behind a home-made banner

[southstand67]

The only time I ever remember Reading being on 'Big Match' was when they showed Steve Death making a goal keeping howler - anyone shed light on that one?

[Man Friday]

I came over the wall at the Town End and onto the pitch to celebrate with Dennis Nelson when he scored the third goal against Crewe at the end of that season! Would have got me arrested and banned nowadays! Next day, saw myself on the tv when the game was shown 'The Big Match'?

A very rare occasion. Reading on TV in the seventies.

I don't remember that.

Reading v Crewe? Big Match?

Game was definately televised but may have been Southern (Meridian or whatever the tv station is now called) so most of us would not have seen it.

It was on "Southern TV". Watched it at a friend's house as we couldn't get "Southern TV", although we could get "Midlands TV" despite living in Thatcham!!!

[AthleticoSpizz]

you were deprived

we had ITV London, Southern, Midlands and even Anglian ( ) in Whitley

good aerials in them days

[RoyalBlue]

you were deprived

we had ITV London, Southern, Midlands and even Anglian ( ) in Whitley

good aerials in them days

I remember my dad going up into the loft and adjusting our aerial, just so that we could pick up Southern ITV and see what limited coverage there was of RFC in those days.

When I first moved to the Northwest of London, I bought a big new aerial and signal amplifier from Maplin and installed that in my loft pointing towards the Meridian transmitter. I then had a switch so that I could change aerials when I wanted to watch coverage of RFC on Meridian. Not long after, Meridian began their real love fest with Southampton, even on the transmitter covering Reading, and their coverage became absolute shyte, so a bit of a wasted effort really.

The only time I ever remember Reading being on 'Big Match' was when they showed Steve Death making a goal keeping howler - anyone shed light on that one?

They must have doctored the footage! Steve Death didn't make any howlers! He was/is 'God' of all of our keepers!

[jonboy29red]

dunno if its been mentiond on here or not but after the game yesterday bbc berks had a documentry on the great man prob was on the friday show as well