Harper Non-Fiction
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in 2000 by CollinsWillow
First published in paperback 2001
© Barry Fry Promotions Ltd 2001
Barry Fry and Phil Rostron asserts the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780002189491
Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2016 ISBN: 9780007483297
Version: 2016-09-09
To my wife Kirstine,
and my children Jane, Mark, Adam,
Amber, Frank and Anna-Marie.
Contents
ONE Who’d be a football manager?
FOUR Bankruptcy and on the scrapheap
FIVE Cheeseman and the frilly knickers
SIX Backs to the wall at Barnet
EIGHT ‘You won’t be alive to pick the team’
ELEVEN ‘How many caps does that woman wear here?’
FOURTEEN A small matter of £3.1 million
SIXTEEN Play-offs, promotion and ponces
SEVENTEEN Competing with the Big Boys
This book would not have been possible but for the support of my family. To my late mum Dora and dad Frank, thanks for all the sacrifices you made for me and your encouragement and understanding in trying to help me fulfil my dream. My wife Kirstine has been a rock, my best ever signing, while her mum Gisela and dad Andy have always been there for me.
I was fortunate enough to be at the birth of each of my six children Jane, Mark, Adam, Amber, Frank and Anna-Marie, and I can honestly say that the experience is better than scoring at Wembley! Since the days they were born they have all, in different ways, brought so much pleasure and enjoyment into my life. As have my three grand-children Keeley-Anne, Yasmin and Louis and the best son-in-law anybody could wish for in Steve. I count my lucky stars that I have been surrounded by such a wonderful group of family and friends through my rollercoaster career in football.
Finally, thanks to my publishers HarperCollins and the man who helped me put my thoughts down in writing, Phil Rostron. It’s been a privilege working with such professionals.
I am privileged to have been asked to write the foreword to the autobiography of a man whom I cannot bring to mind without the thought prompting a smile. This is not because Barry Fry is a figure of fun, but because of his larger-than-life character, happy-go-lucky nature and reliance upon humour to