Football Speakers

A english football manager who is now a big hit on the after dinner circuit.



Barry Francis Fry is an English football manager. A former Manchester United apprentice as a winger, his playing career involved brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he retired prematurely due to injury.

He has managed Dunstable Town, Bedford Town, Maidstone United, Southend United, Barnet, Birmingham City and, most recently, Peterborough United, Fry is currently director of football at Peterborough.

Fry´s many and often erratic dealings in the transfer market led to lifelong Birmingham City supporter Jasper Carrott claiming Fry "was probably trying to sort out the unemployment problem single-handed!". In a game against Huddersfield Town in 1995, Birmingham City took the lead, and Fry memorably leapt from the dugout and charged down the length of the touchline flailing his arms around like a windmill, before leaping into a commentators booth. Such antics were rarely seen when matches were not being shown on television.

Fry was often renowned for his attacking brand of football, although his tactics often meant his teams conceded as many goals as they scored.

Fry starred in a documentary called There´s Only One Barry Fry. The programme included some of Fry´s dressing room antics, including a row with Mick Bodley and his promise to get the Posh out of Division Two. Fry´s Peterborough United were later the subject of Sky One´s 2006 documentary series Big Ron Manager in which Ron Atkinson was bought in as a troubleshooter to help Fry and the management team during Peterborough´s quest for promotion. The series was most known for seeing Peterborough manager Steve Bleasdale quit his position just 70 minutes before a match in front of his team in the dressing room. Bleasdale cited too much interference as his reason. This is thought to be mainly from Fry and Atkinson.

Fry still occasionally takes charge of both legend and pro-celebrity teams whenever Birmingham City hold either testimonial or fund raising games at their home ground, St Andrews.