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I tend to agree with Enoch Mort when it comes to Robin Friday or, to be more accurate, I think his Cardiff career, with two or three glorious exceptions, was a bit of a waste of time. However, I've always thought I'd have a different opinion of him if I were a Reading fan - I'd definitely be interested in getting the second book on his time with City and may well get the one that's out now as well;-
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...atest-18334926
What would be interesting is what happened to him in his life. The anecdotes are great, funny etc, although i'd be more interested in what shaped him. Sometimes football writers are a little bit scared to go to deep and break the narrative with laddish stories etc, although i'm not suggesting that this book does that.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Friday was coming to an end of his carer due to his poor behaviors , lets be fair we always get the rump end of those type of players where we get the odd glimpse of magic ,you can see it now with Tomlin , saw it with Fowler , Bellers , Komas (loan )all a bit naughty or rebels , all arriving at the sunset of their careers , compered to their glory days .
Some might say Fridays greatest City moment was an ironic gesture to a keeper after scoring
I only got around to reading The Greatest Footballer You Never saw 6 weeks ago (part of the lockdown reading binge).
It was interesting, but not particularly well written, and it didn't leave me wanting more.
If this latest pair of books is as good as David Peace's The Damned United they will certainly be worth reading. If they are a fictionalised biography equivalent of the earlier Robin Friday book I will give them a miss. It will all depend on the early word-of-mouth reviews.
I've always thought the Greatest Footballer You Never Saw could have been a much better book than it was and you've hit on one of the reasons why I believe that - there were some insights into what sort of childhood he had, but not a great deal of them and little to offer an explanation as to why he turned out like he did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuerto
Is it soft enough to use as toilet paper, or only good to start a garden fire ??
My copy of Trailing Clouds of Glory (The new Wales 1976 book for those that didn’t know) arrives today hopefully which I’m looking forward to.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
Was there a thread on here recently about the best football books (fiction and non). I seem to remember there was so didn’t want to start another by giving a list of one already exists
In today’s Western Mail - a Robin Friday special
* Interview with the author of a new book on Friday, which gets inside the mind of the maverick player
* An essay on the life of the greatest cult football legend
* Interview with Alan McGee about 'The Man Don't Give A F*ck'
Attachment 3862
The story I remember reading (maybe in the aforementioned book) was that Robin Friday worked with his brother on a construction site. One day he fell and landed on some spikes on a metal fence and nearly died as a result. The theory was that, having a Near Death Experience, caused him to go hay-wire.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
I remember the excitement about his signing for us. Then he went and scored two on his debut versus Fulham and Bobby Moore and the crowd, over 20,000 - our biggest that season, were smitten with him. Two more in that game against Luton later in the season, with the famous photograph of him making a sign to the 'keeper. And six goals in twenty games.
Then in the summer he went missing, a supposed mystery illness. Various stories about him came out later, but he only made two appearances that season (1977/78), I think in a 0-4 defat at Brighton where i believe he was sent off, and a 3-6 defat at Bolton where he was substituted. And that was that.
I think he cost £25,000, which was not a lot even back in those days, even for City. But it has to be said, despite him being a 'folk hero', that it was a waste of time and money. But at least he scored six more goals than Cornelius or Niasse.
He could be brilliant and in other games just be invisible and disinterested. Such a shame. A few months later we bought Gary Stevens for £3000 who tuned in to a great asset for the club. We also offloaded Keith Robson in the same season as Friday as he came and went with a whimper too.
Far too much emphasis is put on the cover art for "The Man Don't Give a ****". It's just a photo. I really can't see the point in Interviewing Alan McGee about it. It's like thinking Shakespeare's Sister is about Pat Phoenix and interviewing someone from Coronation Street about the Smiths.Quote:
Originally Posted by ccfcbluebird
Apart from the fact that Alan McGee owned Creation Records and was the man who decided it should be released as a single and was behind the cover image, but other than that, yeah. :facepalm:Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCBlue
According to journalist Joe Lovejoy he went "missing" in the summer whilst doing a 3 month stint in Exeter Prison as told to him by one of his cell-mates. A story that has never been confirmed. I asked Richard Shepherd if he had the 1977 CCFC board minutes which might have shed some light on his antics but they got chucked out with the usual cavalier attitude the club had to its archives. You are right about the fact that he could be brilliant but in most of the games he played in he was "invisible and disinterested" and i would add to that just plain "absent" which was more often than not. Apologies for nit picking but he scored 6 league goals and one Welsh Cup goal against Shrewsbury in the first leg of the final. His transfer fee was not a lot compared to the £50,000 Reading initially wanted but no-one other than us were prepared to take the risk on him. I agree with you about Gary Stevens but would also add Ray Bishop who we signed that season and cost us only £1,000. In terms of Keith Robson, whilst at West Ham Ron Greenwood had to go to court to prevent him from being jailed after having driven the wrong way up a one way street when already banned for drink driving - we can certainly pick 'emQuote:
Originally Posted by cardiff55
I knew about his Welsh cup goal too. Gary Stevens used to take a hell of lot of stick from supporters but his goalscoring record was very good. I seem to remember a couple of seasons where he started and finished well but had long goalless spells in the middle. Ray Bishop was a bargain too. And we made a profit on them when they left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Mort
As part of a "Robin Friday special"?Quote:
Originally Posted by ccfcbluebird
Would you interview the head of Reception Records for an article about George Best?
David Giles, who was used to share a room with Friday on away trips (because nobody else would), has told me plenty of stories about him. Some are funny, but some are quite disturbing. What's crystal clear is that very few of his teammates liked or trusted him.
It's kind of ironic that Cardiff City fans have turned a player who didn't want to come here in the first place and wanted to leave throughout his brief stay into some sort of an icon.
I've been looking for this 'best football books' thread, but I can't find it - anyone know the tile, or when it was posted?Quote:
Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanton
His status of “icon” is ironic given his lack of achievement on the pitch and the fact that he eventually just walked out on us. In my experience most of the fans who view him in this way never saw him play and are influenced by the famous photo and some of the myths that built up around him.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
I did the same... I even used Fever Pitch as a search criteria... and nothing.Quote:
Originally Posted by tforturton
Someone who posts more often will start a thread... but if not I will
No, but I might interview someone very closely connected with The Super Furry Animals. 2 of the band members are City fans and they even sponsored a kit. I haven’t read the McGee interview but I’d be interested to know why they chose that coverQuote:
Originally Posted by NYCBlue
I'd be surprised if it was him that chose the cover. He probably only chose it as a single to cause controversy. I could understand Guigsy from Oasis being interviewed. But interviewing someone who operated a label that had signed a band that released a single not written about the player in question just seems tenuous to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by StraightOuttaCanton