N/A: Robin Friday, Cardiff City, The Man Don’t Give A F*** - Super Furry Animals, 1996

Emlyn Jones takes a look today at a character so big it seemed acceptable to stretch the definition of “sticker” to decidedly questionable levels. I too was at the Glastonbury festival that Emlyn mentions below and, based on the fact that he snuck me into the staff campsite for the last night, I would suggest that any prospective employers should not hire him to work security again anytime soon. Over to Mr Jones.

Fellow @Sticker500 blogger Rich's article on Paul McGregor has inspired me to get all NME with the cover star of one of 1996's sweariest singles. As a student at Exeter University in 2007, a fellow resident in the distinctly penal Lafrowda halls sorted out Glastonbury tickets in exchange for us working as 'security'. Making sure nobody tried to scale an 18-foot fence and ensuring the security credentials of Chas and Dave's van aside, there were many highlights over the weekend, despite it being one of the wettest in history. One of my favourite performances was the psychedelic Welsh rockers Super Furry Animals, flying through a fantastic greatest hits set, closing with a storming rendition of 'The Man Don't Give a F***'. The cover of this single featured a sideburned player wheeling away from Luton Town goalkeeper Milija Aleksic while flicking him the V sign, having scored moments after being cautioned for a high tackle on the keeper. The man gracing the cover of the single was Robin Friday.

Friday grew up in London, playing semi-professionally for Walthamstow and Hayes. His career nearly met an end when he managed to pierce himself on a spiiiiiiike while working as a scaffolder, however he was able to pull himself free and return to playing within three months. He played in the FA Cup against Reading, impressing in a 0-0 draw. After a few games for Enfield Town, Reading paid the sum of £750 to sign him in 1974. By this time Friday already had a reputation as a drinker, including having turned up 80 minutes late for a game after losing track of time at the pub. Nonetheless Friday was able to score a late winner, and his manager tolerated the behaviour, even sending Friday’s teammates to collect him from the local before games.

Friday is a huge part of Reading legend, with his personality as famed as some of the goals he managed to score. The most famous occurred in March 1976 against Tranmere Rovers. A high ball came to the forward 30 yards from goal, who leapt into the air and controlled it before, without looking, smashed it into the top corner over his shoulder. If you ask Reading fans of the appropriate vintage, you can guarantee every single one of them will claim they were one of the few thousand fans in attendance. One attendee who can be confirmed is referee Clive Thomas, who ranked the goal as the greatest he ever saw – even ahead of Pelé and Cruyff. Friday's response? “You should come down here more often, I do that every week”.

Friday played 121 times for Reading, scoring 46 goals, and endeared himself to fans with his outrageous skill and bizarre behaviour. He was described by his managers as the equal of international strikers such as Shearer, Aldridge, and Saunders, and would always give his all, playing with raw passion, which occasionally manifested itself in unexpected ways; following a game in which he had been unable to find a goal, a frustrated Friday broke into the Mansfield Town’s dressing room and shat in their team bath. Some of Friday's eccentricities were harmless, such as kissing a policeman following a goal against Rochdale, while others were well-meaning if a little questionable, such as entering a hotel bar carrying a swan he had found or dancing naked save for a pair of boots in a Reading club. However, he also began missing training, was frequently banned from pubs for drunkenness, and began missing games through suspension and drink and drug benders.

Incidents such as this couldn't be tolerated forever. Further, Reading's manager Charlie Hurley was all too aware of Friday's problems with drugs by this point. In December 1976 he was sold to Cardiff City for £28,000, which manager Jimmy Andrews considered a 'steal' of a fee. Hurley's response was “You'll see”. Friday made an instant impression, being arrested on arrival at Cardiff Central station for travelling without a valid ticket. He then marked his first game for the club by squeezing Bobby Moore's testicles and running rings around the defence on the way to scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Fulham.

While at Cardiff, a match against Brighton and Hove Albion pitted him against future Liverpool star Mark Lawrenson. Frustrated by the close marking of the future BBC pundit, Friday was eventually sent off after delivering a kick to the still-moustachioed face of Lawro. Continuing the theme from his earlier career, Friday allegedly broke into the Brighton dressing room, and shat in Lawrenson's kitbag.

By this point, Friday was going through his second divorce, and had been transfer listed by Cardiff following his suspension for trying to boot Lawro's 'tache off. His first game back from suspension ended up being his last professional game; fed up of 'being told what to do', at the age of 25, Friday announced he was retiring from the game. He returned to London to work as a painter and decorator.

Friday sadly passed away aged only 38 in 1990, living in a housing association flat in Acton. He had been jailed in the 80s for impersonating a police officer (in order to confiscate people's drugs) and was found dead having suffered a heart attack – rumoured to have been brought on by a heroin overdose. He was sadly not alone in struggling with demons that ultimately stopped him playing at a higher level, and it was a tragic end for a player so beloved by so many fans.

In 2004, the BBC ran a poll to ascertain each Football League club's all time cult hero. Friday was named the all-time hero for both Reading and Cardiff, the only man to appear twice. This was all the more amazing considering his mere 121 appearances for Reading; a veritable hatful compared to the 21 games it took to etch himself into the Cardiff fans' hearts forever. He did this all on his own terms and, as sad as is life was in many ways, I'm sure he had quite a lot of fun. Reading manager Maurice Evans tried to encourage him to come out of retirement in 1978, saying he could still play for England if he wanted. Friday's response? “I'm half your age, and I've lived twice your life”. Truly, The Man Didn't Give a F***.