On top of his technical talent, Friday was physically very strong and able to withstand sustained blows or injuries. According to Hamilton, he was also uncommonly fit despite his lifestyle. He boasted an exceptional work-rate, which Dwyer recalled gave any side including him a strong boost: "When he was in the line-up you'd have a centre-forward "and" a centre-half; not only would he be up there running them ragged, but when it broke down he'd be the first person to start tackling back". He was assisted in this by a smooth and effective sliding tackle which despite all of Friday's attacking skills Hurley considered one of the strongest parts of his game. Reading F.C. historian David Downs described Friday's style of play as "really quite bizarre. It was more or less Robin standing in the middle and saying 'Give me the ball and I'll see what I can do with it'". On receiving the ball, he would then turn and either take on the opposing defence single-handed or run with it to the wing to cross for a teammate. "We didn't need anyone else up front", Hurley later said. "They couldn't get the ball off him. He was one of those guys who could beat five players easily". Andrews agreed: "once he'd got the ball it was almost impossible to get it off him".