one day in early 1971. Friday played well enough for Walthamstow to sign him the same day on wages of £10 per week. Many of his new teammates were asphalters from east London, and Friday soon joined them in that trade. Friday made his debut for Walthamstow on 27 March 1971, against Bromley, coming off the bench to set up Walthamstow's equaliser. His first goal came on 17 April, when playing against Tooting & Mitcham he once again appeared as a substitute and scored a header late in the game. He joined west London club Hayes in December 1971 after scoring twice against them in an Isthmian League match. Hayes offered £30 per week, and were also based closer to his home in Acton. A near-fatal accident at work in July 1972 caused Friday to undergo extensive surgery; while working on a roof in Lambeth, a hoist rope became stuck on the scaffold he was working on. The Hayes forward attempted to free the rope but fell and landed on a large spike: the spike went up through one of his buttocks, through his stomach and narrowly avoided a lung. Not only was Friday strong enough to pull himself off the spike, he recovered from his injuries within three months and returned to the Hayes team in October 1972. Friday was known at Hayes for his excessive drinking, and on one occasion the team started a match a player short because Friday had not turned up. When he finally arrived, eighty minutes after kick-off, his intoxication was obvious, but he was still sent onto the pitch with the match still goalless. The opposition paid him little attention and Friday scored a late winning goal. Hayes were drawn to play Football League Fourth Division club Reading in the FA Cup's second round on 9 December 1972; the team managed to draw 0–0 at Reading and earn the right to a replay at home, which they lost 1–0 three days later. Although Hayes had lost, the interest of Reading manager Charlie Hurley was piqued. Hurley travelled to Hayes more than once to watch Friday. Having researched the player's background, he was cautious about signing him, but was impressed all the same by his on-field performances. The 1972–73 season was Friday's most prolific non-League year in terms of goals. He briefly joined Enfield early in the 1973–74 season and scored against Hayes in