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Association Football and How to Play It - John Cameron · True Tales of The Secret Service

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Speaker 1: Section one of Association Football and How to Play It.
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Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Association Football and How to Play
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Speaker 1: It by John Cameron, Section one preface and chapters one,
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Speaker 1: two and three Preface. Then strip lads, and to it.
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Speaker 1: Though sharp be the weather, and if by mischance you
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Speaker 1: should happen to fall, there are worse things in life
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Speaker 1: than a tumble in heather. And life is itself but
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Speaker 1: a game of football. From the above quotation by Sir
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Speaker 1: Walter Scott, it is evident that football is quite an
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Speaker 1: ancient game. Time alters everything, and it has undoubtedly done
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Speaker 1: so in football, where one used to play with half
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Speaker 1: the village on one side and the same on the other,
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Speaker 1: it is now restricted to sides composed of eleven players.
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Speaker 1: As I've been requested to write on the modern game,
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Speaker 1: it's not worthwhile dwelling upon how it was played a
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Speaker 1: hundred years ago. Football is really supposed to be a
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Speaker 1: Scottish game, But it was in England that a proper
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Speaker 1: association with defined rules was first started. This was in
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Speaker 1: the early sixties, and since then the FA has grown
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Speaker 1: to be one of the most powerful bodies connected with
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Speaker 1: sport of any shape or form. Their a most wealthy association,
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Speaker 1: and their power is paramount. It must be said that
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Speaker 1: they have had everything to do with making the game
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Speaker 1: what it is at present. Although autocratic, they deal thoroughly
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Speaker 1: and honestly with both clubs and players, and it will
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Speaker 1: be a bad day for the game when any body
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Speaker 1: of clubs break away. At the time of writing, rumors
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Speaker 1: are very rife, but it is to be sincerely hoped
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Speaker 1: that once again rumor is a lying jade. Friendly matches
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Speaker 1: were the order of the day in the early stages
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Speaker 1: of the game. Then came the establishment of the English
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Speaker 1: cupcut competition for all clubs in the Kingdom. This was
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Speaker 1: in the year eighteen seventy one, and it was only
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Speaker 1: after eleven years had elapsed that the Cup went to
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Speaker 1: the North, when Blackburn Olympic were the winners. May we
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Speaker 1: say on Boissont that a Scottish club, namely the Queen's
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Speaker 1: Park of Glasgow, took part in the final contest in
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Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four and eighteen eighty five, but were beaten
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Speaker 1: by the Blackburn Rovers. In both cases. After that, the
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Speaker 1: Cup had a long sojourn in the North, and it
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Speaker 1: was not until nineteen oh one that my old club,
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Speaker 1: Tottenham Hotspur managed to bring it back to the South again.
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Speaker 1: Since then, the North have had a monopoly of it
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Speaker 1: and Southern enthusiasts are longing for it to have its
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Speaker 1: resting place somewhere in the South. Another epic in the
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Speaker 1: game was the starting of the league system of playing matches.
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Speaker 1: The idea came from the fertile brain of mister W McGregor,
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Speaker 1: who was familiarly known as the father of the League.
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Speaker 1: This system undoubtedly proved a great success, and although loyal
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Speaker 1: amateurs still play in the same friendly style, the public
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Speaker 1: took to it immensely, as is well shown by the
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Speaker 1: difference between the attendance at League and friendly matches. Senior,
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Speaker 1: Junior and Schoolboys are the names of the leagues now existing,
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Speaker 1: not to mention tradesmen's and shopkeepers Thursday Afternoon associations. The
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Speaker 1: mere fact that at Cup ties and international matches the
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Speaker 1: attendance has been over one hundred thousand is convincing testimony
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Speaker 1: to the winter pastime's popularity. A record crowd assembled at
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Speaker 1: Hampden Park, Glasgow last April to see England v. Scotland,
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Speaker 1: the attendants reaching one hundred thirty thousand and the site
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Speaker 1: was a most magnificent one. Before the close of my preface,
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Speaker 1: I should like to express my regret at the separation
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Speaker 1: of a portion of the amateur element from the parent
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Speaker 1: body last year, and personally I could see no reason
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Speaker 1: for their sans so doing. I can only say the
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Speaker 1: pity of it. Again, football and charity are synonymous and
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Speaker 1: it would surprise many critics if the total amount of
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Speaker 1: money collected by clubs and associations was reckoned up. The
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Speaker 1: last match in aid of charity was played at Stamford
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Speaker 1: Bridge between Manchester United and Queen's Park Rangers and realized
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Speaker 1: over one thousand pounds, and I think that speaks for itself.
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Speaker 1: Chapter one. Goalkeepers and goalkeeping. Goalkeepers, like poets, are born,
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Speaker 1: not made. It is really the most difficult position on
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Speaker 1: the field to occupy. If the halfback makes a mistake,
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Speaker 1: it can be rectified by the man behind him, but
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Speaker 1: if the goalkeeper makes a blunder it is fatal. It
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Speaker 1: is the one position on the field that I have
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Speaker 1: never occupied, and I never had any desire to figure there.
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Speaker 1: My ideal for that position would be a man who
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Speaker 1: stood six feet and weighed at least thirteen stone, with
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Speaker 1: an eye as keen as that of a hawk. He
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Speaker 1: must be able to divine where and when the opposing
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Speaker 1: forward is about to shoot. All the great goalkeepers have
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Speaker 1: been of a fearless disposition, practically throwing themselves at the ball,
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Speaker 1: even at the risk of receiving a kick from the
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Speaker 1: attacking forward. Fearlessness is undoubtedly a tremendous asset in the
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Speaker 1: making of a great goalkeeper. He must also have a
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Speaker 1: perfect understanding with his backs, and they must trust him infinitely,
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Speaker 1: which makes his responsibility all the greater. I have often
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Speaker 1: been asked the question whether the goalkeeper should train as
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Speaker 1: regularly as any member of the eleven, and I have
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Speaker 1: replied without any hesitation. Certainly, in one way, he does
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Speaker 1: not require such a severe course as halfback, who has
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Speaker 1: to go through much more work than he does. He
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Speaker 1: should go in for plenty of short sprinting, so that
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Speaker 1: when running out of his goal to meet any forward
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Speaker 1: who has broken through, he will be able to meet
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Speaker 1: the ball quick than his opponent. The reason for this
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Speaker 1: is obvious, as half a yard and twenty will make
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Speaker 1: all the difference between a goal being scored or not.
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Speaker 1: I do not believe a great deal in gymnastics for
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Speaker 1: footballers in general, but this method of training does a
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Speaker 1: goalkeeper a world of good. Punch ball exercises are some
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Speaker 1: of the best he can practice, and nearly all clubs
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Speaker 1: have a ball fitted up in their training room. He
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Speaker 1: ought to also practice place kicking, and endeavor to do
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Speaker 1: so with both feet. I have often seen a goal
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Speaker 1: scored simply through a poor return by the goalkeeper. Many
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Speaker 1: allow one of the backs to take the goal kicks,
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Speaker 1: but this is a big mistake, as it entails extra
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Speaker 1: work on him and he probably has as much to
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Speaker 1: do as he can get through. I always like to
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Speaker 1: see the ball thrown or kicked to the wings instead
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Speaker 1: of the center, where the play is generally concentrated. It
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Speaker 1: is a mistake to attempt to punch a ball when
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Speaker 1: it is wet and greasy and there is plenty of
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Speaker 1: time to give it a lusty kick. Many a match
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Speaker 1: has been won and lost through the goalkeeper attempting the former.
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Speaker 1: The inauguration of the penalty kick has made the position
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Speaker 1: more difficult than in the olden days. Critics say that
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Speaker 1: eleven goals should be scored out of twelve. This is
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Speaker 1: all very well in theory, but in practice it is
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Speaker 1: another matter. It is, however, from both points of view,
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Speaker 1: a most trying time in any game, especially when the
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Speaker 1: result of the match depends upon whether a goal is
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Speaker 1: scored or saved. I shall never forget last year at
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Speaker 1: Chelsea when in the closing moments of the game Notts
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Speaker 1: County were allowed a penalty from which they scored. That
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Speaker 1: goal saved them from going down to the second division
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Speaker 1: of the English League and also saved thousands of pounds
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Speaker 1: for the county. When I was manager of the Spurs,
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Speaker 1: I always made a rule that the goalkeeper should have
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Speaker 1: plenty of practice in this department. I found that in
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Speaker 1: a big match things were certainly different, and especially if
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Speaker 1: there was a large crowd present. The eye of the
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Speaker 1: multitude is concentrated on the keeper and the kicker, and
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Speaker 1: there's a great string on both. Although to my mind
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Speaker 1: the goalkeeper has the advantage in this way. If a
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Speaker 1: goal is scored, no one blames him, as it is expected.
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Speaker 1: If the forward fails, there is usually a loud groan.
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Speaker 1: L R. Russ, the great Welsh international In a well
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Speaker 1: written article for a standard book has very well defined
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Speaker 1: the chief duties that fall to his lot. One to
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Speaker 1: prevent the ball passing between the space bounded by the
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Speaker 1: upright posts. Two to kick off when the ball has
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Speaker 1: been sent behind the goal line by one of his opponents.
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Speaker 1: Another great point where the goalkeeper must use special discretion
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Speaker 1: is whether to run out to meet the forward or
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Speaker 1: to stay at home, as it is called in the
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Speaker 1: football world. Undoubtedly, if the forward is clear of the
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Speaker 1: other players, he should leave his post and endeavor to
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Speaker 1: meet the forward. Every yard he goes out means that
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Speaker 1: he leaves less space to be guarded. It's a well
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Speaker 1: known fact that the more work the goalie has to do,
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Speaker 1: the better he shines, and it often happens that the
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Speaker 1: side that has been resting for half an hour breaks
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Speaker 1: away and a goal results. A forward or a halfback
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Speaker 1: is always in the midst of it and gets warmed
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Speaker 1: whether his side are losing or winning, but the keeper
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Speaker 1: has often to exercise the faculty of patients. There have
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Speaker 1: been many great goalkeepers, and it's very hard to pick
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Speaker 1: out even half a dozen who stand out for their fame.
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Speaker 1: In Scotland. When I was a boy Macauley was considered
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Speaker 1: to be the principal goalkeeper, and quite deservedly so, if
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Speaker 1: only for the simple reason that in international matches, especially
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Speaker 1: against England, he always rose to the occasion. Moon of
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Speaker 1: the Corinthians, a trainer of Preston, north End, Tune of
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Speaker 1: Notts County, and later on Sutcliffe of Bolton, and Robinson
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Speaker 1: of Southampton were always to the fore and of the pair,
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Speaker 1: it is very difficult to say which was the best.
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Speaker 1: Both have played for England on many occasions, and at
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Speaker 1: no time were they ever disgraced. Their methods, in many
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Speaker 1: ways were different, but the one thing they had in
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Speaker 1: common was that they both knew the right moment to
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Speaker 1: go for the ball. Robinson was without hesitation, the more fearless,
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Speaker 1: but Sutcliffe made up for it in many other ways.
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Speaker 1: I've played against both on several occasions and cannot honestly
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Speaker 1: say that one is greater than the other. For what
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Speaker 1: one is deficient in, the other makes up for in
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Speaker 1: some other way or by some other method. The goalkeeper,
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Speaker 1: like the policeman, has a very happy time in comparison
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Speaker 1: with fifteen years ago. In the olden days, one could
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Speaker 1: practically do as he liked, and it was not at
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Speaker 1: all uncommon to see the goalie bundled over the line
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Speaker 1: ere the ball came near him. He is protected now
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Speaker 1: in every way, and he cannot now be charged except
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Speaker 1: when in actual contact with the ball. This is a
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Speaker 1: good rule and has done a great deal for the game.
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Speaker 1: Chapter two full back play One associates the full back
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Speaker 1: with long and lusty kicking, but he must possess many
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Speaker 1: more qualifications. He must be speedy, a fine tackler, and
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Speaker 1: above all a good header of the ball. He must
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Speaker 1: also keep himself thoroughly fit, although in one way he
11:30
Speaker 1: has not so much to do as the men in
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Speaker 1: front of him. He must be strong in defense, but again,
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Speaker 1: when his side is having the most of the play,
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Speaker 1: he should be able to put in many a good shot.
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Speaker 1: Is also requisite that he should be able to kick
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Speaker 1: as well with one foot as the other, and boys
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Speaker 1: especially should study this point. It's simply a case of practice.
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Speaker 1: Every opportunity should be utilized in developing the left foot,
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Speaker 1: which is rather weaker than the other, and every eleven
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Speaker 1: out of twelve are greatly inclined to use the right foot.
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Speaker 1: But if you keep on practicing, it will not be
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Speaker 1: long before you will be quite as proficient with your
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Speaker 1: left as your right. To become a good artist, you
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Speaker 1: must study kicking the ball from any position or angle
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Speaker 1: that it may come to you. There's what we call
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Speaker 1: the drop kick, the free kick, the overhead kick, the
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Speaker 1: place kick, and taking the ball on the run. The
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Speaker 1: overhead kick is practically one to be avoided except in
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Speaker 1: a grave case of emergency, because you are never certain
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Speaker 1: of it coming off or of placing it to any advantage.
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Speaker 1: The dropkick also takes a great deal of practice to
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Speaker 1: be accomplished with anything like success. But the essential thing
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Speaker 1: is to be able to keep the ball on the
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Speaker 1: run and kick it where you desire. A back should
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Speaker 1: be of a steady disposition and always keep cool, for
12:50
Speaker 1: if he loses his head, he is of little or
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Speaker 1: no use to the side. It is also necessary to
12:56
Speaker 1: know when to head or kick the ball. Is often
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Speaker 1: imperative that a back, for the good of his side,
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Speaker 1: should punt the ball over the touch line, But when
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Speaker 1: doing so, he should not make a lusty kick and
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Speaker 1: put it over the grandstand. All that is wanted is
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Speaker 1: a general touch to the railings, which is the proper
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Speaker 1: thing to do. As I have already remarked. To know
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Speaker 1: how to head the ball is of the utmost importance,
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Speaker 1: and it is effective in clearing the line, especially from
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Speaker 1: corner kicks. Heading is quite an art of its own
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Speaker 1: and takes a long time to master. You should be
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Speaker 1: able to get at the ball not only with the forehead,
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Speaker 1: but with either side of the head. There should be
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Speaker 1: a general understanding between the two backs, and also between
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Speaker 1: them and the goalie. Each should understand the other's play
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Speaker 1: to a nicety and cover one another's mistakes to a
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Speaker 1: certain extent. They must have confidence in their goalie and
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Speaker 1: should give him plenty of room in which to operate.
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Speaker 1: It is also important to know when to pass back
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Speaker 1: to the goalkeeper, and to do so correctly. I've seen
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Speaker 1: many goals scored from faultiness in this respect. In tackling,
14:04
Speaker 1: a back must be quick in turning, so that if
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Speaker 1: the forward beats him, he has a chance of overtaking
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Speaker 1: his opponent. This has always been a strong point in
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Speaker 1: the play of all our greatest backs, and should be
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Speaker 1: cultivated by all those who wish to succeed. To the uninitiated,
14:18
Speaker 1: it seems that when the ball comes to a back,
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Speaker 1: he should return it vigorously in nothing more. This is
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Speaker 1: far from being correct. Many of our best backs have
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Speaker 1: been moderate kickers, but when they did kick, they did
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Speaker 1: so with discretion and judgment, placing the ball to the
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Speaker 1: half back if he was free, or to the outside,
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Speaker 1: right or left, as the run of play might be.
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Speaker 1: Above all, a back should be a fine tactician, knowing
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Speaker 1: when to go for the ball or when to put
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Speaker 1: it quickly into touch, thus giving his fellow players time
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Speaker 1: to get back and save the position. There have been
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Speaker 1: many fine full backs during the last decade of football history,
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Speaker 1: and probably the greatest were the brothers Walters of Corinthian fame,
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Speaker 1: Nick Ross of Preston, North End and Walter Arnett of
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Speaker 1: Queen's Park. The two Walters understood each other thoroughly, and
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Speaker 1: as a pair were second to none. Arnett was the
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Speaker 1: prettiest back to watch that I have ever seen, and
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Speaker 1: Ross was about the most effective. The latter was certainly
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Speaker 1: the most fearless player that I have ever run across,
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Speaker 1: and seemed at times to plow his way through the
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Speaker 1: attacking forwards. Chapter three. The middle line. There is no
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Speaker 1: shadow of doubt but that the half back line is
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Speaker 1: the backbone of a football team, and probably the center
15:36
Speaker 1: half catches the eye more than any other member of
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Speaker 1: the eleven. He ought really to be a general, as
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Speaker 1: he is in command of both the attack and the defense.
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Speaker 1: For many reasons, he should be the captain of the side,
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Speaker 1: for he can always encourage either the defense or the attack.
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Speaker 1: He is like a wicket keeper in cricket who sees
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Speaker 1: more of the game than any other player, and if
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Speaker 1: he be not the captain, his advice should always be
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Speaker 1: taken into serious consideration. I have seen so many expert
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Speaker 1: halfbacks that I must refrain from dwelling upon the abilities
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Speaker 1: of individual players. However, taking such great examples as C.
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Speaker 1: Campbell of Queen's Park, Glasgow, Johnny Holt of Everton Fame, J.
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Speaker 1: Cowan of Aston Villa, now manager of Queen's Park Rangers,
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Speaker 1: and many others, their methods practically agree. A half back
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Speaker 1: should be able to distribute the ball when it comes
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Speaker 1: his way to the best advantage, and a long swinging
16:29
Speaker 1: pass from center or outside, right or left, according to
16:32
Speaker 1: his judgment, has always proved most effective. No one understood
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Speaker 1: this game more than Cowan, and I am certain others
16:40
Speaker 1: who know the player and game will testify to this,
16:44
Speaker 1: I prefer a fast man for this position, if only
16:48
Speaker 1: for the reason that from kickoff he gets going invariably
16:51
Speaker 1: before any one else in the field. His head work
16:54
Speaker 1: ought to be excellent, and a great deal depends upon
16:56
Speaker 1: him whether the run of play be in the opponent's
16:58
Speaker 1: hands or otherwise. As a matter of fact, the distribution
17:02
Speaker 1: of play to the best results is practically left to him.
17:06
Speaker 1: It is a debatable point regarding the halves whether they
17:08
Speaker 1: should direct their main efforts against the opposing inside or
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Speaker 1: outside forward. To my mind, there ought to be an
17:15
Speaker 1: understanding between the back and the half but in theory
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Speaker 1: the half back should tackle the inside forward and leave
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Speaker 1: the outside man to the back. The best of critics
17:24
Speaker 1: disagree on this point, and I only give my personal
17:27
Speaker 1: view from the long experience I have had in playing
17:29
Speaker 1: the game. Still touching on the wing half, a halfback
17:32
Speaker 1: should certainly cultivate speed as well as ability, for he
17:35
Speaker 1: must never know when he is beaten. If a forward
17:38
Speaker 1: out maneuvers him, he should instantly fall back on his
17:41
Speaker 1: own goal, so that when his back tackles the opposition,
17:44
Speaker 1: the half back should be available to retrieve the position.
17:47
Speaker 1: That is to say, if the outside left for instance,
17:50
Speaker 1: beats the right half back, the latter should immediately get
17:54
Speaker 1: between the forward and the goal post, especially when his
17:57
Speaker 1: opponent is known to be a dangerous attacker. It is
18:01
Speaker 1: understood that a halfback has much more to do in
18:04
Speaker 1: proportion than any other player in the field and should
18:06
Speaker 1: always be in the pink of condition. He has infinitely
18:10
Speaker 1: more running and twisting about to do, and should be
18:13
Speaker 1: most elastic. Many wing halfbacks are rather prone to wander
18:17
Speaker 1: all over the field, which is a mistake except in
18:20
Speaker 1: isolated cases. Probably E. Needham of Sheffield United was the
18:26
Speaker 1: most adaptable player in this respect, although H. Wilson, the
18:29
Speaker 1: Scottish international, ran him close. The mention of the latter's
18:34
Speaker 1: name brings back to my mind the period before the
18:36
Speaker 1: law as to throwing the ball in from touch was altered.
18:39
Speaker 1: Wilson was the expert and stood alone. When playing for Sunderland.
18:44
Speaker 1: It was nothing unusual for him to throw the ball
18:46
Speaker 1: from the halfway line right into the goal mouth. Much
18:50
Speaker 1: may have been lost owing to the alteration in the law,
18:52
Speaker 1: for the player must now stand with both feet on
18:55
Speaker 1: the line, instead of being able to have a good
18:56
Speaker 1: run aired parts with the ball. The half back should
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Speaker 1: be a good shot, and should cultivate taking the ball
19:03
Speaker 1: in the run when shooting at goal. More goals would
19:06
Speaker 1: be scored if the half backs did not hesitate but
19:09
Speaker 1: shot straight at the goal. The man who hesitates is lost,
19:13
Speaker 1: says a well known proverb, and its truth is shown
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Speaker 1: in half back shooting as in any other way. Why
19:20
Speaker 1: more goals do not come from the half back line
19:22
Speaker 1: is a mystery to me, but upon reflection I think
19:26
Speaker 1: it is because they do not act on the spur
19:28
Speaker 1: of the moment. Still, this is a failing in the
19:31
Speaker 1: forward line as well as in the half back division,
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Speaker 1: and it is hardly fair to criticize them severely. In summary,
19:40
Speaker 1: my ideal half back would be quite as proficient in
19:43
Speaker 1: defense as in attack, and to secure this result, he
19:47
Speaker 1: will be wise to constantly develop the latter department, for
19:51
Speaker 1: it is especially true of football that attack is the
19:53
Speaker 1: best defense. This may seem a tall order, but a
19:58
Speaker 1: half back should be both a forward and and to
20:00
Speaker 1: half back combined. Halfbacks should certainly receive a great deal
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Speaker 1: of assistance, especially from the forwards, and if this is
20:07
Speaker 1: not forthcoming, it puts an extra amount of work upon
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Speaker 1: their shoulders. This I shall deal with in another chapter.
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Speaker 1: From a forwards point of view, I cannot conclude this
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Speaker 1: chapter without alluding to the late J. Crabtree, who played
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Speaker 1: for many years with Aston Villa and upheld his club
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Speaker 1: so well and half back in full back play. I
20:27
Speaker 1: have played against him on many occasions, and he certainly
20:30
Speaker 1: was the finest man I ever came across in defense
20:32
Speaker 1: and attack. He seemed to be able to read the
20:35
Speaker 1: forwards thoughts and knowing what was going to be done
20:38
Speaker 1: with the ball intercepted in a way that has rarely,
20:41
Speaker 1: if ever been equaled. This, in one way, is a
20:44
Speaker 1: gift which is not mastered by cultivation. But still practice
20:48
Speaker 1: is a great thing, and it is only by this
20:50
Speaker 1: means that any man can hope to come to the
20:52
Speaker 1: front end of Section one, Section two of Association Football
21:07
Speaker 1: and how to play it. This LibriVox recording is in
21:10
Speaker 1: the public domain. Section two, Chapters four and five. Chapter
21:18
Speaker 1: four Forward play. A good forward line is perhaps a
21:24
Speaker 1: club's chief asset. If the forwards continue to attack, the
21:29
Speaker 1: defense has an easy time, and as previously mentioned, the
21:32
Speaker 1: best defense is attack. It's not the man who scores
21:35
Speaker 1: that is necessarily the best forward, but to get goals
21:39
Speaker 1: should be the aim of a forward, whether he gets
21:41
Speaker 1: the goal himself or leaves a comrade to shoot the
21:43
Speaker 1: ball into the net. From this it will be gathered
21:46
Speaker 1: that a forward should really understand something of the art
21:49
Speaker 1: of goalkeeping, so that he may know how best to
21:51
Speaker 1: defeat the goalkeeper. The object of every forward movement should
21:56
Speaker 1: be to get to the goal by the nearest way possible,
21:58
Speaker 1: eluding the goalie by playing the ball out of his reach.
22:02
Speaker 1: We have all heard of Johnny Goodall's method in this line.
22:05
Speaker 1: It is a well known fact that he used to
22:07
Speaker 1: put a tall hat on top of the bar and
22:09
Speaker 1: endeavor to knock it off. In this way, he practically
22:13
Speaker 1: put the ball wherever he wanted to, and this was
22:15
Speaker 1: the great secret of his goal scoring power, which, as
22:18
Speaker 1: I have already remarked, is the chief asset in a forward.
22:23
Speaker 1: While we were on the point of shooting, another thing
22:26
Speaker 1: is to be able to take the ball on the run,
22:28
Speaker 1: which is to say that a forward should shoot without
22:30
Speaker 1: having to trap the ball. By doing so, he gives
22:34
Speaker 1: the goalkeeper no possible chance of knowing where it is going.
22:38
Speaker 1: If he can do this while running at top speed,
22:40
Speaker 1: he will certainly be an artist in this department. And
22:42
Speaker 1: no one was better able to do this than Stephen Bloomer,
22:45
Speaker 1: the great international. I have often been asked what was
22:50
Speaker 1: the secret of his success, and have always put it
22:52
Speaker 1: down to this reason, running at top speed and being
22:55
Speaker 1: able to give the ball without slackening down the final
22:58
Speaker 1: kick into the net. In the last decade, the forward
23:04
Speaker 1: line was purely individualist, and there were certainly many giants
23:07
Speaker 1: of the game. Combination was generally speaking unknown, and every
23:12
Speaker 1: forward was quite on his own. The forward line is
23:15
Speaker 1: now a combined one, and in one way it is
23:18
Speaker 1: more effective than the old style. It is hardly possible
23:22
Speaker 1: to get a blending of both, but it can be done,
23:24
Speaker 1: and if a team are fortunate enough to do so,
23:26
Speaker 1: they would certainly come out on top at the end
23:28
Speaker 1: of the season. It is a recognized fact that the
23:32
Speaker 1: forward play of today is rather too mechanical, and we
23:35
Speaker 1: miss the individual efforts that we used to appreciate so
23:38
Speaker 1: very much in the days gone by. Naturally, the center
23:43
Speaker 1: forward is the connecting link of the rank. He should
23:47
Speaker 1: be tall, a fine dribbler, and more often an individualist
23:50
Speaker 1: than any of his comrades. He should also be able
23:54
Speaker 1: to keep his wings well together and distribute the play
23:57
Speaker 1: to the best advantage, and most of all, to be
23:59
Speaker 1: a fine shot. The inside forwards should do what is
24:04
Speaker 1: called the donkey work, to fetch and carry, and to
24:07
Speaker 1: help the halfbacks when they are in a dilemma. Theirs
24:11
Speaker 1: is the most thankless job of the lot, and a
24:13
Speaker 1: great deal done by them is often unappreciated. How often
24:18
Speaker 1: I have heard the crowd cheer a center forward for
24:20
Speaker 1: a goal, while the man who did so much to
24:22
Speaker 1: lead up to it was quite overlooked. Happily, he has
24:26
Speaker 1: the consolation of knowing that the men with him quite
24:29
Speaker 1: appreciate his work, as also does the educated public. I
24:33
Speaker 1: always try to impress upon the young and old that
24:36
Speaker 1: it is not the man who scores the goal that
24:38
Speaker 1: deserves the credit, but that in an ideal forward line,
24:41
Speaker 1: each one should work for the benefit of the side,
24:44
Speaker 1: treating the getting of the goal as a mere item
24:46
Speaker 1: of the play. Perhaps, having played mostly on the inside,
24:51
Speaker 1: I may be inclined to be biased. Still I think not,
24:55
Speaker 1: and I can fortunately plead my long connection with the game,
24:58
Speaker 1: and I care not what others may say. This is
25:00
Speaker 1: the esprit de corps that must prevail in any team
25:03
Speaker 1: which intends to reach the highest pinnacle in the association world.
25:09
Speaker 1: One would imagine that it is the simple duty of
25:12
Speaker 1: the inside right to pass the ball to his outside man,
25:14
Speaker 1: or on occasions, to the center forward. But this is
25:17
Speaker 1: far from being correct, and one of the most effective
25:20
Speaker 1: passes is from the inside right to outside left, or
25:23
Speaker 1: vice versa, from inside left to outside right. The reasons
25:28
Speaker 1: for this are obvious. In the first place, all the
25:30
Speaker 1: play is concentrated on the right wing, and the outside left,
25:33
Speaker 1: being correctly placed, passes it with a long swing to him,
25:37
Speaker 1: and that always means danger to the opposition. Another reason
25:41
Speaker 1: is that he retrieves the play to a certain extent
25:44
Speaker 1: by carrying the play right up the field and so
25:46
Speaker 1: giving the defense an opportunity to reveal itself. An inside
25:50
Speaker 1: forward must also come back for the throw in when
25:52
Speaker 1: the ball goes out of touch coming to the outside man.
25:57
Speaker 1: He should be able to shoot accurately from any Often
26:01
Speaker 1: a great failing of his is running the ball towards
26:04
Speaker 1: the corner flag instead of making a bee line for goal.
26:08
Speaker 1: It is given to few to be able to land
26:10
Speaker 1: the ball in the mouth of the goal from the
26:12
Speaker 1: corner flag when on the run, and even if anyone
26:14
Speaker 1: is able to do so. It would certainly be more
26:17
Speaker 1: effective to make straight for the goal at an applieve
26:21
Speaker 1: in an outside forward coming to the assistance of the defense.
26:24
Speaker 1: Save under exceptional circumstances, an outside may do so and
26:28
Speaker 1: receive a cheer for it, but it is much more
26:30
Speaker 1: important that he should be in position to take up
26:32
Speaker 1: the ball next time it is sent to where he
26:34
Speaker 1: should be waiting. One of the virtues that an outside
26:37
Speaker 1: man should possess is that of patience. Often on the
26:41
Speaker 1: run of play, the ball goes on quite the opposite
26:44
Speaker 1: side of the field, and he must control the impulse
26:46
Speaker 1: to go after it. It is a great mistake to
26:49
Speaker 1: leave your place, for when the ball does come along,
26:52
Speaker 1: the outside man will be practically clear and have a
26:54
Speaker 1: straight run before him. I know it is a great
26:57
Speaker 1: strain on an outside man to stand still while all
27:00
Speaker 1: the others are in the thick of the play. Still,
27:02
Speaker 1: it is his place to do so, and it should
27:05
Speaker 1: be done. Centering the ball is a great feature, and
27:09
Speaker 1: the best position from which to do so is about
27:11
Speaker 1: thirty yards out, landing the ball close upon the twelve
27:15
Speaker 1: yards line. If he puts the ball further than that,
27:17
Speaker 1: the goalkeeper is in a position to catch it and
27:19
Speaker 1: thus save the position. The art of being able to
27:23
Speaker 1: place corner kicks effectively is a thing of the past.
27:27
Speaker 1: Perhaps this is due to the restrictions against charging the
27:29
Speaker 1: goalkeeper unless he is in actual contact with the ball. Still,
27:33
Speaker 1: it behooves an outside man to study this point. It
27:37
Speaker 1: may seem strange, but the best way for the outside
27:40
Speaker 1: right to kick is with his left foot. The same
27:43
Speaker 1: applies to the outside left. He should kick with his
27:46
Speaker 1: right foot. The reason here is surely obvious, because kicks
27:50
Speaker 1: with your left foot from the right wing cause a
27:52
Speaker 1: slight swerve on the ball. There have been many great
27:57
Speaker 1: forwards in both the individual and combination line. Aston Villa
28:03
Speaker 1: maintained that Archie Hunter was the greatest center forward and
28:06
Speaker 1: the best general that ever kicked a ball, and this
28:08
Speaker 1: statement is endorsed by very many competent judges. I was
28:12
Speaker 1: fortunate enough to see him play in Scotland when on
28:14
Speaker 1: tour twenty years ago, and he very greatly impressed me.
28:18
Speaker 1: As I was very young at the time, perhaps I
28:20
Speaker 1: should not make any definite statement. I have played with G. O.
28:25
Speaker 1: Smith and he was a great forward, as also as V. J. Woodward,
28:29
Speaker 1: with whom I have played in later days. These three
28:32
Speaker 1: played the game as it should be played, with no
28:35
Speaker 1: unnecessary charging. They always got on the ball and knew
28:38
Speaker 1: when it was best to dribble and when to shoot.
28:41
Speaker 1: William Bassett of West Bromwich Albion fame was a great
28:45
Speaker 1: outside right and could center the ball from any position.
28:49
Speaker 1: He and Johnny Goodall, now manager of Watford, made a
28:53
Speaker 1: great wing. We all know the abilities of Bloomer, who
28:57
Speaker 1: has been the greatest goal getter of recent years. The
29:01
Speaker 1: outside left position is the most difficult one to fill
29:04
Speaker 1: in the forward line, and consequently there have not been
29:06
Speaker 1: so many giants in this position. Probably this is owing
29:10
Speaker 1: to the fact that few can kick as well with
29:12
Speaker 1: both feet, but with practice there should be no difficulty
29:16
Speaker 1: in acquiring this accomplishment. Chapter five Training. Not the least
29:25
Speaker 1: important thing about football is the matter of training, and
29:28
Speaker 1: nearly every professional club has a trainer whose business it
29:31
Speaker 1: is not only to get the men fit, but also
29:33
Speaker 1: to keep them so. For eight months I've spoken to
29:36
Speaker 1: a great many whose work it is to get their
29:38
Speaker 1: men into condition and to keep them so, and I
29:41
Speaker 1: find that a great many of them have different methods,
29:44
Speaker 1: but nearly all are agreed that every individual must be
29:47
Speaker 1: taken by himself. The majority of people, however, are not
29:51
Speaker 1: paid players, although as I have already said, these are
29:54
Speaker 1: largely increasing in number, because year by year we see
29:57
Speaker 1: fresh clubs springing up. Besides which every member of an
30:01
Speaker 1: ordinary club should be bound to turn out in as
30:03
Speaker 1: perfect a condition as possible. Many make a practice of
30:07
Speaker 1: walking to and from their work, and this in itself
30:09
Speaker 1: is excellent. When Montague Holban was training for his Channel swims,
30:14
Speaker 1: he used to make a practice of walking from Catford
30:17
Speaker 1: to the city and also back, a distance of several miles,
30:20
Speaker 1: and this he found very valuable. Indeed, in the early
30:24
Speaker 1: days of some of the more important clubs, a great
30:27
Speaker 1: many of the players who were professionals went to their
30:29
Speaker 1: ordinary occupations all the week and used to play on
30:32
Speaker 1: a Saturday. When West Bromwich Albion captain by William Bassett
30:37
Speaker 1: won the English Cup against Preston North End twenty years ago,
30:40
Speaker 1: the Midlanders were all local lads whose wages totaled about
30:43
Speaker 1: ten pounds a week, while Preston's pay list was four
30:47
Speaker 1: times as much. Indeed, men who are regularly at work,
30:51
Speaker 1: especially if it be out of doors and if it
30:53
Speaker 1: taxes one's bodily powers need very little training. No one
30:57
Speaker 1: ought to play football unless he is a sound constant,
31:00
Speaker 1: and every organ in the body must be sound, especially
31:03
Speaker 1: the hard and lungs. It is a game for those
31:05
Speaker 1: who are healthy and vigorous. A good plan is to
31:09
Speaker 1: pursue some exercise during the closed season, i e. The
31:12
Speaker 1: summer months. Professionals will tell you that August is their
31:15
Speaker 1: hardest month, a large number of them having done nothing
31:18
Speaker 1: since the end of April. Their muscles have become stiff,
31:22
Speaker 1: and they have probably too much surplus flesh. It is
31:25
Speaker 1: very different where professionals take up first class cricket, and
31:29
Speaker 1: trainers have frequently told me that those professionals and amateurs
31:31
Speaker 1: who play the summer game require little or no preparation,
31:35
Speaker 1: and there are many instances of that. Take for instance,
31:39
Speaker 1: j Sharp, the famous Everton forward. He must be getting
31:42
Speaker 1: on in years, and yet season after season he plays
31:45
Speaker 1: cricket up until the end of August and then turns
31:47
Speaker 1: up at Goodison Park and shows how well he can
31:49
Speaker 1: carry the ball along and whip it into goal like
31:52
Speaker 1: a rocket, though not so straight up, as one great
31:55
Speaker 1: judge has written of him. He's been an international this
31:58
Speaker 1: year He has done splendid work as a cricketer and
32:02
Speaker 1: is second on the list of Lancashire averages, and may
32:04
Speaker 1: be described as one of the greatest all round men
32:06
Speaker 1: in England. Now in his thirty first year, he has
32:10
Speaker 1: given evidence that if you keep in condition, there is
32:12
Speaker 1: no need to worry about special preparation or anything of
32:15
Speaker 1: the sort. Another instance is E Needham, the captain of
32:20
Speaker 1: Sheffield United and perhaps the greatest halfback for many years
32:23
Speaker 1: that we have had. He is now thirty five and
32:27
Speaker 1: it is a long time since he played his first
32:29
Speaker 1: international match, and long before he was a cricketer he
32:32
Speaker 1: had made his name as a footballer. He is a
32:35
Speaker 1: tireless worker, as anyone who has watched him with the
32:37
Speaker 1: Sheffield United club knows quite well, and long before his
32:41
Speaker 1: age many men have retired from the game. He has
32:44
Speaker 1: the respect and admiration of every one, and this year
32:48
Speaker 1: he has come to the front as a cricketer and
32:49
Speaker 1: finished at the head of the Derbyshire averages. The result
32:53
Speaker 1: of his always keeping in condition is that he will
32:55
Speaker 1: probably go on for some years as a great cricketer,
32:58
Speaker 1: and as one career is on the wane, the other
33:00
Speaker 1: seems to be beginning. He is great. Indeed at both games.
33:06
Speaker 1: Two other members of the Sheffield United club have also
33:08
Speaker 1: made their presence felt at the Summer game. I refer
33:11
Speaker 1: to the two halfbacks, the brothers Wilkinson. W h the halfback,
33:16
Speaker 1: has never done better as a cricketer. He is a
33:18
Speaker 1: left handed batsman and has made a great advance on
33:21
Speaker 1: anything he has done before. While B. Wilkinson is a
33:24
Speaker 1: player of some repute. Lewis of Somerset, Makepeace of Lancashire,
33:30
Speaker 1: Duckett of Surrey, Aermonger of Knots and Leech and Vincette
33:34
Speaker 1: of Sussex are all cricketers who have done splendid work
33:37
Speaker 1: during the Summer Game and have turned out as footballers
33:39
Speaker 1: perfectly fit at the beginning of the season. Indeed, if
33:43
Speaker 1: you play cricket as it should be played, it is
33:45
Speaker 1: magnificent training for football. This hard work getting fit at
33:49
Speaker 1: the start of the season. If you have allowed your
33:51
Speaker 1: muscles to become flabby, while there may be no regular
33:54
Speaker 1: circulation of the blood and generally the muscles that you
33:56
Speaker 1: require are very lethargic. So the difficulty is with those
34:00
Speaker 1: who do not play tennis or cricket or go in
34:02
Speaker 1: for rowing or swimming, or some other form of active
34:05
Speaker 1: exercise during the summer that they will have to take
34:07
Speaker 1: up some serious practice. Skipping is good, walking and running,
34:12
Speaker 1: especially short sprinting, while punchball exercise and dumbbells may be used.
34:18
Speaker 1: There should be moderation in all things, and one must
34:21
Speaker 1: start carefully at first and increase the amount of training
34:24
Speaker 1: until one feels fit. During the season. Walking and some
34:28
Speaker 1: practice at kicking with an occasional sprint are quite enough
34:31
Speaker 1: to keep the player well. It is quite possible that
34:35
Speaker 1: some may suffer from the tremendous amount of energy that
34:37
Speaker 1: they put into their game. I do not think that
34:40
Speaker 1: those who work indoors, such as clerks and others who
34:42
Speaker 1: are called upon to follow indoor occupation, require more than
34:46
Speaker 1: moderate regular exercise. It's very likely that they will have
34:50
Speaker 1: to do their training after or before business hours and
34:53
Speaker 1: in the evening. Brisk walking of a couple of miles
34:56
Speaker 1: with a sprint of one hundred yards four or five
34:58
Speaker 1: times is a good way of getting rid of superfluous fat,
35:01
Speaker 1: and everyone can do this if he likes, though laziness
35:04
Speaker 1: will often lead some to shield to themselves under the
35:07
Speaker 1: excuse they have no time One well known forward, thoroughly
35:12
Speaker 1: conscientious in his training, used to exercise on the embankment,
35:16
Speaker 1: an excellent plan. Everyone who has to work sitting down
35:20
Speaker 1: should take a morning bath and a little practice with
35:22
Speaker 1: the skipping rope or dumbbells. The question of diet is
35:26
Speaker 1: of some importance. The game is so strenuous and exhausting
35:29
Speaker 1: that a substantial meal should be taken at least two
35:32
Speaker 1: hours before a match. Many have a beef steak well cooked,
35:36
Speaker 1: with stale bread and vegetables that are well done, always
35:39
Speaker 1: excluding potatoes, and they are able to play right through
35:42
Speaker 1: the game without feeling in any way fatigued. The plainer
35:45
Speaker 1: the food, the better. All players are better if they
35:48
Speaker 1: leave alone intoxicants. Needham earnestly advises young players to abstain
35:54
Speaker 1: from them. He says that his experience is that they
35:57
Speaker 1: do not sustain any long continued effort, and their stile
36:00
Speaker 1: simulating effect is followed by an invariable depression. From my
36:04
Speaker 1: own observation of players who have abstained and those who
36:07
Speaker 1: have not, I am sure the former have done far
36:10
Speaker 1: better than the latter. Plenty of internationals and men whose
36:14
Speaker 1: names are household words are total abstainers. I remember Vivian J.
36:18
Speaker 1: Woodward at a dinner in the football season, would neither
36:21
Speaker 1: touch intoxicating drinks nor smoke, And England's captain knew what
36:24
Speaker 1: he was about. Kerwin who captain Ireland, John Goodall, one
36:30
Speaker 1: of the props of the game. John Lewis, the famous
36:32
Speaker 1: penalty king see Williams. The Brentford and Tottenham goalkeeper Duckett
36:37
Speaker 1: of Woolwich Arsenal are only a few of the total abstainers,
36:41
Speaker 1: and to them I might add R M Hawks International
36:44
Speaker 1: and the Luton captain. Indeed, if you want to be
36:48
Speaker 1: of the greatest value to your side, you may take
36:50
Speaker 1: it from me that you will do better service by
36:52
Speaker 1: leaving alone all sorts of alcohol. And as to smoking,
36:55
Speaker 1: I'm quite sure that it is thoroughly bad. I see
36:59
Speaker 1: one picture which explains to me why a great deal
37:02
Speaker 1: of the slackness is creeping over our boys. Again and again.
37:05
Speaker 1: I have watched mere lads of fourteen and fifteen, as
37:08
Speaker 1: well as young men of twenty five, come on to
37:11
Speaker 1: the cricket and football field smoking those horrible, cheap inferior fags.
37:16
Speaker 1: How any captain can allow it is a great mystery
37:18
Speaker 1: to me, because if we are training for a match.
37:21
Speaker 1: We always say do not smoke a day or two
37:23
Speaker 1: before because it interferes with one's staying powers. Yet I
37:27
Speaker 1: have seen boys come down to Tottenham smoking all the
37:29
Speaker 1: way from London, all the time they are changing, and
37:32
Speaker 1: actually come from the dressing room with cigarettes and blow
37:35
Speaker 1: and blow away right to the moment of kicking off.
37:39
Speaker 1: Not content with that, they get through some more cigarettes
37:41
Speaker 1: at the interval and then wonder why they are tired
37:44
Speaker 1: before the match is over. I have often begged of
37:47
Speaker 1: our youths, if they wish to be athletes, to remember
37:49
Speaker 1: that it means a certain amount of self denial, and
37:52
Speaker 1: if they want to do their best for their side,
37:54
Speaker 1: they will take this matter seriously to heart and remember
37:57
Speaker 1: that smoking and drinking intoxicants make one unfit rather than otherwise.
38:02
Speaker 1: I do not think that the ordinary player need think
38:05
Speaker 1: about special training, but if, on the other hand, staleness
38:09
Speaker 1: comes to him, a complete rest is necessary. When you
38:13
Speaker 1: are overworked at the end of a long season, your
38:15
Speaker 1: feet will seem heavy and your kicking will be uncertain,
38:18
Speaker 1: while you will fall and stumble about. This is the
38:21
Speaker 1: time to retire and make room for someone else. With
38:25
Speaker 1: a little care, you will gain the necessary freshness, and
38:28
Speaker 1: you'll be able to tell when you have got that,
38:30
Speaker 1: because you will be anxious to play the game. End
38:36
Speaker 1: of Section two, Section three of Association Football and How
38:45
Speaker 1: to Play It. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
38:51
Speaker 1: Section three, chapters six and seven. Chapter six hints to
38:58
Speaker 1: junior and amateur clubs. It is an old adage that
39:02
Speaker 1: the boy is father to the man, and this applies
39:05
Speaker 1: casually to football circles. The boy of today has a
39:08
Speaker 1: great advantage over a boy of say ten or fifteen
39:10
Speaker 1: years ago. Every possible opportunity is put in his way
39:14
Speaker 1: for developing his play. As schoolmasters take a bigger interest
39:18
Speaker 1: in their boys than in olden days, schoolboy internationals and
39:22
Speaker 1: shield competitions are the order of the day, while years
39:25
Speaker 1: ago boys used to meet together picksides, put their jackets
39:28
Speaker 1: down for posts and go full speed ahead without any
39:31
Speaker 1: referee or any official. I have followed closely these schoolboy competitions,
39:37
Speaker 1: and in my heart think they are really a mistake.
39:40
Speaker 1: A boy of twenty years ago had to do all
39:42
Speaker 1: the initial work, which amounted to carrying the goalposts to
39:46
Speaker 1: the field of play, whether it were a common or
39:48
Speaker 1: any other open space. They had to find their own ball,
39:51
Speaker 1: and many times I have given a few pence to
39:54
Speaker 1: an aspiring club. The blowing up of the ball was
39:57
Speaker 1: another great event, and in those days it took a
40:00
Speaker 1: lot of doing. The youth with the strongest and biggest
40:03
Speaker 1: lungs having the privilege of giving the ball its last
40:05
Speaker 1: few blows. The captain always had the honor of carrying
40:09
Speaker 1: the ball to the field of play, and could do
40:12
Speaker 1: practically what he liked with it. Nowadays things seem completely altered.
40:18
Speaker 1: The boy, instead of doing everything for himself, has everything
40:21
Speaker 1: done for him, and all he has to do is
40:23
Speaker 1: simply turn up in time to change and go on
40:26
Speaker 1: to the field of play. I think this is a
40:29
Speaker 1: great mistake, and if the youth of to day had
40:31
Speaker 1: to go out of his way to a great extent
40:33
Speaker 1: for his Saturday pastime, he would be all the better
40:35
Speaker 1: for it. When I was a youngster, it was nothing
40:39
Speaker 1: unusual for an enthusiast to get out of bed at
40:41
Speaker 1: an unearthly hour in the morning and make all the
40:44
Speaker 1: preparations for the day's game, go back to breakfast, and
40:47
Speaker 1: then turn up at the office at the usual time.
40:50
Speaker 1: To do this, one must be very fond of the game,
40:53
Speaker 1: and such a spirit will carry any club or player
40:56
Speaker 1: right to the front. I have been secretary to both
41:00
Speaker 1: the amateur and professional clubs, and my sympathy goes out
41:03
Speaker 1: to the secretary of the first named. The professional secretary
41:07
Speaker 1: or manager has only to say to the player, do this,
41:11
Speaker 1: and he does it like the centurion of old. But
41:14
Speaker 1: the man who holds the reins of an amateur club
41:16
Speaker 1: has to put up with many disappointments through the thoughtlessness
41:19
Speaker 1: of members of his team. I should like to put
41:22
Speaker 1: this point very strongly before these players and ask them
41:25
Speaker 1: to consider their secretary in every way. Charles Reed wrote
41:30
Speaker 1: a very fine novel Put Yourself in His Place, and
41:34
Speaker 1: this applies to the case in point. The honorable secretary
41:37
Speaker 1: of an amateur club, as a rule, is a very
41:39
Speaker 1: busy man and takes the position from mere love of
41:42
Speaker 1: the game. It must be admitted that it is rough
41:45
Speaker 1: on him to find on Saturday morning that many players
41:47
Speaker 1: cannot put in an appearance at the match, and could
41:49
Speaker 1: have saved him all the trouble of wiring and sending
41:51
Speaker 1: round the district for another player if they had only
41:54
Speaker 1: let him know a day or two before, so that
41:56
Speaker 1: he would have had a chance of filling the places
41:58
Speaker 1: they had vacated. It means a great deal of trouble
42:00
Speaker 1: to him, which, for the sake of a little thought,
42:03
Speaker 1: could have easily been avoided. I am speaking feelingly now,
42:07
Speaker 1: and if any player happens to read this chapter, I
42:09
Speaker 1: hope you will consider this matter seriously. Junior and amateur
42:14
Speaker 1: clubs have a few failings that I might be permitted
42:17
Speaker 1: to point out. I might start in the first place,
42:20
Speaker 1: with punctuality. Although this is considered by many a virtue,
42:24
Speaker 1: it is not so considered by them. Probably before a
42:28
Speaker 1: match starts, twenty players have to wait for the dilatoriness
42:31
Speaker 1: of the other two. Of course, there are exceptional circumstances
42:35
Speaker 1: which are excusable, but the unpunctuality of the players in
42:38
Speaker 1: junior and amateur matches has done a great deal of
42:41
Speaker 1: harm from the spectatorial point of view. Professional clubs soon
42:45
Speaker 1: realize this point, and much of their success in league
42:48
Speaker 1: matches is due to players and officials being invariably ready
42:52
Speaker 1: to start at the advertised time of kickoff. If a
42:55
Speaker 1: professional is late, a severe penalty is imposed upon him,
42:59
Speaker 1: and the football lead league are most autocratic in knowing
43:02
Speaker 1: that the referee and linesmen are always there at the
43:04
Speaker 1: correct time, and if they are late, they are liable
43:07
Speaker 1: to be fined. Regarding training for juniors, it only behooves
43:13
Speaker 1: a boy to be thoroughly fit and well. If he
43:16
Speaker 1: indulges in some summer games such as cricket, tennis or golf,
43:19
Speaker 1: or if he plays regularly lawn tennis, he should start
43:22
Speaker 1: the season quite fit and well. If, however, he feels
43:26
Speaker 1: in the summer not inclined to follow any of these pastimes,
43:29
Speaker 1: he ought to go in for walking or swimming so
43:31
Speaker 1: as to reduce his weight and thus enable him to
43:34
Speaker 1: go on to the field and play as usual. In
43:37
Speaker 1: recent years, one has heard and read a great deal
43:39
Speaker 1: about special training, and I may remark that special training
43:43
Speaker 1: is not really necessary, even from a professional point of view.
43:47
Speaker 1: What is necessary is to keep the players well together,
43:50
Speaker 1: regular hours for meals, and off to bed in good time.
43:54
Speaker 1: It is the espreed a corps that must be cultivated.
43:57
Speaker 1: The junior who is at business all the week should
44:00
Speaker 1: require but little training. His match on the Saturday, if
44:03
Speaker 1: he leads a regular life, should be quite sufficient to
44:06
Speaker 1: enable him to turn up on that day as fit
44:08
Speaker 1: as possible. Still, if he has a little time to spare,
44:12
Speaker 1: a few short sprints once or twice a week will
44:14
Speaker 1: do him a great deal of good. He may probably
44:17
Speaker 1: add two or three yards in a hundred, and speed
44:20
Speaker 1: is a great asset in modern football. Probably one yard
44:24
Speaker 1: and twenty is of infinitely more advantage than say five
44:28
Speaker 1: and a hundred, and for that reason alone, I have
44:30
Speaker 1: always encouraged a player, if he can possibly do so,
44:33
Speaker 1: to go in for short sprints from twenty five yards
44:36
Speaker 1: to fifty Should he not be able to run on
44:40
Speaker 1: an open piece of ground, there would be no harm
44:42
Speaker 1: in putting on a pair of canvas shoes at home
44:45
Speaker 1: and sprinting for fifty yards on the pavement opposite his
44:47
Speaker 1: house or on the road. If the district is fairly quiet,
44:51
Speaker 1: nobody will take any notice, especially after the first once
44:54
Speaker 1: or twice and on coming indoors. Take a hot bath
44:58
Speaker 1: if going out again, never forget to have a cold
45:01
Speaker 1: plunge afterwards. I am a great believer in hot baths
45:04
Speaker 1: for taking away any nasty knock or soreness, but they
45:07
Speaker 1: must be taken with the greatest possible care so as
45:10
Speaker 1: to avoid catching cold. There is no finer sensation after
45:14
Speaker 1: having a hot bath than to jump into a stone
45:17
Speaker 1: cold one, or to stand under a shower. It makes
45:20
Speaker 1: you tingle all over, and after having a rub down,
45:24
Speaker 1: you feel like a giant refreshed. Am I a believer
45:28
Speaker 1: in Turkish baths? Is a question often asked me, and
45:32
Speaker 1: I must admit that I generally qualify my reply once
45:36
Speaker 1: now and again. Does no harm To indulge in them regularly,
45:40
Speaker 1: to me seems a great mistake, as they are certainly
45:43
Speaker 1: most lowering. Another point I should like to dwell upon
45:47
Speaker 1: is that the junior of today makes a practice of
45:50
Speaker 1: playing with his cap on, especially in wet weather. I
45:53
Speaker 1: must honestly state that I hate to see anyone playing
45:57
Speaker 1: with a head gear. It seems to me strange, and
46:00
Speaker 1: I know many a player who has caught a very
46:02
Speaker 1: bad cold through playing in this way, and after changing
46:05
Speaker 1: going home in the same If he has a change,
46:08
Speaker 1: it is not so bad. But it takes a longer
46:11
Speaker 1: time for this cap to dry than his hair, and
46:13
Speaker 1: it is some considerable time before the former is fit
46:16
Speaker 1: to wear after getting soaked. Just a word in conclusion
46:20
Speaker 1: to the juniors, play the game as it should be played.
46:24
Speaker 1: Do not hold your opponents up to ridicule. By beating
46:27
Speaker 1: them two or three times, when once will suffice get
46:31
Speaker 1: as many goals as you possibly can. For a team
46:33
Speaker 1: will prefer to be beaten by double figures rather than
46:36
Speaker 1: know that their opponents were toying with them and could
46:39
Speaker 1: score whenever they chose. Be loyal to your club and clubmates,
46:44
Speaker 1: and do not forget that enthusiasm is the great thing
46:47
Speaker 1: that will carry you to the front in football as
46:49
Speaker 1: well as in other spheres in life. Unselfishness is also
46:54
Speaker 1: another great point. Should your captain or committee choose another
46:59
Speaker 1: man as your superior, do not grumble, but turn out
47:02
Speaker 1: for the second eleven and play with all your heart
47:04
Speaker 1: and soul, and if you have the merit, you will
47:07
Speaker 1: soon regain your old position in the first team. Above all,
47:12
Speaker 1: play the game fairly and squarely, and you will succeed
47:15
Speaker 1: either as a professional, senior, junior or amateur Chapter seven captaincy.
47:26
Speaker 1: There are a good many people who think that the
47:28
Speaker 1: office of captain is not very important, but my idea
47:32
Speaker 1: is that the judicious choice of a skipper is very great. Indeed,
47:36
Speaker 1: I've heard it said that the office is an empty
47:38
Speaker 1: honor in a professional club, but I'm sure that this
47:41
Speaker 1: is a great mistake, and in an ordinary club as
47:45
Speaker 1: much depends on the leader as all the rest put together.
47:49
Speaker 1: The best players in the world are sacrificed if placed
47:52
Speaker 1: under an inefficient general. But on the other hand, a
47:55
Speaker 1: leader of ability and energy has often made a strong
47:58
Speaker 1: club out of what seems aimed to be very unpromising material.
48:03
Speaker 1: So the best all round player should be skipper. It
48:06
Speaker 1: seems to me quite necessary that whoever holds this position
48:10
Speaker 1: must have the confidence of every member of the side,
48:12
Speaker 1: and there can only be one leader in the field.
48:15
Speaker 1: And unless any fellow has ability and character enough to
48:18
Speaker 1: gain the loyal support of his men, he had certainly
48:21
Speaker 1: better never think about taking the office. So many clubs
48:24
Speaker 1: fail because they have no confidence in their leaders. Ernest Needham,
48:30
Speaker 1: the great leader of the Sheffield United side, has said
48:33
Speaker 1: that when a team is in a winning mood, how
48:35
Speaker 1: proud the captain may be, but what a difficult post
48:38
Speaker 1: he has to feel when a team is on the
48:39
Speaker 1: downward grade and losing match after match. The man you
48:44
Speaker 1: choose should have a thorough knowledge of the game, and
48:47
Speaker 1: also enthusiasm and keenness, which should be a standing rebuke
48:51
Speaker 1: to that subtle spirit of slackness. Which is so characteristic
48:55
Speaker 1: of our men to day. Personally, I'm very sorry to
48:58
Speaker 1: see this. And if you you have at the head
49:00
Speaker 1: one who sets an example of hard work, coolness and determination,
49:05
Speaker 1: you may be sure that he will do his best
49:07
Speaker 1: to get all he can out of his men. Example
49:10
Speaker 1: is far better than precept. Now. The captain should be
49:15
Speaker 1: the oldest member of a team as a rule, and
49:18
Speaker 1: the one with most experience. Alexander Tate and Walter Bull,
49:23
Speaker 1: when they were leaders of the Spurs, were examples of
49:25
Speaker 1: ability and experience going hand at hand, and they naturally
49:29
Speaker 1: commanded respect. As a rule, the captain should decide on
49:33
Speaker 1: the composition of the team and what they should do.
49:36
Speaker 1: If he has an idea, he can improve it by
49:38
Speaker 1: giving a few new men a trial. He should inform
49:41
Speaker 1: his committee, who in a small club should always be
49:43
Speaker 1: men who have played and know the game. They too,
49:47
Speaker 1: must have perfect confidence in the man they have chosen
49:50
Speaker 1: and allow him a very free hand if they wish
49:52
Speaker 1: to get the best results. One caution which has often
49:55
Speaker 1: been uttered, but each season seems to need repetition, is
49:59
Speaker 1: that when the side is playing, the captain has absolute
50:03
Speaker 1: control of his men and is responsible for their formation.
50:06
Speaker 1: And play. He should be above favoritism. For in junior clubs,
50:11
Speaker 1: the leader has often favorites, and no matter how very
50:14
Speaker 1: able the man may be himself, one player does not
50:17
Speaker 1: make a team, and it is necessary to be friendly
50:19
Speaker 1: with all and not be partial to anybody. The game
50:23
Speaker 1: and the ability of each for his particular part in
50:26
Speaker 1: it must be the chief consideration, and I hope that
50:29
Speaker 1: this will ever be so. Without it, there will be
50:32
Speaker 1: no success. Again, it is very necessary that a captain
50:37
Speaker 1: should be in a position to be able to point
50:40
Speaker 1: out the errors of each one, so that there may
50:42
Speaker 1: be no resentment. On the field of play. Too. He
50:46
Speaker 1: must feel that he has the support of his men,
50:49
Speaker 1: because it is when they are playing matches that he
50:51
Speaker 1: has great responsibility. He will carefully watch for openings on
50:55
Speaker 1: the part of the opposing club, and if he thinks
50:57
Speaker 1: he detects a weak place, will direct the play so
51:01
Speaker 1: as to take advantage of this and gain the upper hand,
51:03
Speaker 1: giving his comrades hints as to how this may be done.
51:07
Speaker 1: Many captains that I know of hardly speak a word
51:10
Speaker 1: on the field of play, but the interval forms a
51:14
Speaker 1: very useful opportunity, indeed for advice, which must be taken
51:18
Speaker 1: in the proper spirit. He will watch the play of
51:21
Speaker 1: his opponents and adopt what he thinks will be the
51:24
Speaker 1: best game. Ernest Needham remembers how in the Great Cup
51:28
Speaker 1: tie Sheffield United against Liverpool his side were ten minutes
51:32
Speaker 1: from the close of play two goals down and then
51:35
Speaker 1: played eight forwards, one back and one half back, and
51:39
Speaker 1: in this way managed to get a draw. Game. Of course,
51:42
Speaker 1: as he explains, goals against them mattered little, but the
51:46
Speaker 1: Liverpool forwards were soon offside in their attempt to break away.
51:50
Speaker 1: In this case, the captain was in a weak position
51:53
Speaker 1: and reverted to what may seem a strange formation in
51:55
Speaker 1: order to save the day. Two great captains who have
52:00
Speaker 1: left their mark upon the game have been Howard Spencer
52:03
Speaker 1: and V. J. Woodward. Spencer was the leader of Aston Villa,
52:07
Speaker 1: and he gained his unique position by qualities that may
52:09
Speaker 1: well be imitated. He was something more than an English
52:13
Speaker 1: gentleman and sportsman. He was perhaps the fairest player ever
52:17
Speaker 1: known to the game. He has never been known to
52:20
Speaker 1: lose his temper and self restraint seemed to him perfectly natural.
52:25
Speaker 1: No player or referee has ever accused him of a
52:28
Speaker 1: wilful foul, and he has nothing except honest and straightforward
52:31
Speaker 1: play and skill. His knowledge of the game was very great,
52:35
Speaker 1: and is shown by the fact that his club won
52:38
Speaker 1: the league championship four times, while three times in ten
52:41
Speaker 1: years he helped Aston Villa to win the English Cup.
52:45
Speaker 1: I dare say, like the rest of humanity, he had faults,
52:48
Speaker 1: but at the same time he stood out a man
52:51
Speaker 1: who was a brainy player of great ability. The other
52:55
Speaker 1: man is V. J. Woodward, who has hardly reached the
52:59
Speaker 1: zenith of his fame. He is very fair in his
53:01
Speaker 1: play and is ever heartily welcomed by those who have
53:04
Speaker 1: the pleasure of his acquaintance. It was a mere accident
53:07
Speaker 1: that brought him to the front. A Tottenham supporter happened
53:10
Speaker 1: to see him taking part in a local game at
53:13
Speaker 1: the time when G. O. Smith was retiring, and he
53:15
Speaker 1: was invited to show his prowess in good company. With
53:18
Speaker 1: what result. Everybody knows. If he has been left out
53:22
Speaker 1: of a side, it is perhaps because he is so
53:24
Speaker 1: unselfish that he has not been chosen on every occasion
53:27
Speaker 1: that he might have been. But nature and skill asserted themselves,
53:31
Speaker 1: and he is the unanimous choice of the selectors now
53:34
Speaker 1: he would rather lose a game than win it by
53:36
Speaker 1: dirty tactics. He is never individual and always gives the
53:40
Speaker 1: others a chance. To my mind, he is the ideal
53:44
Speaker 1: captain of the day, and every one who wishes to
53:46
Speaker 1: be successful as a leader should go and watch him.
53:50
Speaker 1: The young player must always remember to keep perfect control
53:55
Speaker 1: over his temper, or he will do very little. Walter
53:59
Speaker 1: Bull thinks the the ideal place for a skipper is
54:01
Speaker 1: that of center half, but some others have preferred the
54:04
Speaker 1: goalkeeper's place. In the latter you have all the play
54:08
Speaker 1: before you, but from center half hints can be passed
54:12
Speaker 1: unobserved to the front line. Alexander Tate of Leyton was
54:17
Speaker 1: ever quiet as a captain. No shouting on the field
54:19
Speaker 1: of play, but a friendly tip during the interval. What
54:24
Speaker 1: you regard as hard lines will often try your temper.
54:27
Speaker 1: But if you expect your side to obey the referee
54:30
Speaker 1: and the spectators to behave well, you must show the way.
54:34
Speaker 1: The skipper who succeeds is the man of few words
54:37
Speaker 1: on the field, though off it he may say a
54:39
Speaker 1: great deal. The club's affairs will go much more smoothly
54:44
Speaker 1: if he tries to be fair. No personal feeling must
54:47
Speaker 1: interfere with his choice of a player, the best man
54:50
Speaker 1: for the position, and the one who plays not for
54:52
Speaker 1: himself but for his side. Today combination is required. I
54:57
Speaker 1: know one brilliant international who was very individual. Remonstrances were
55:02
Speaker 1: of no use, and at last came the time when
55:04
Speaker 1: he had to be left out of the team. He
55:06
Speaker 1: was a nice fellow, and since he left he has
55:08
Speaker 1: been captain for his country. One man, good as he
55:12
Speaker 1: may be, cannot win a match, and the captain at
55:15
Speaker 1: least should be free from reproach. End of Section three,
55:27
Speaker 1: Section four of Association Football and How to Play It.
55:31
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Section four,
55:37
Speaker 1: Chapters eight and nine. Chapter eight. The referee. In one way,
55:45
Speaker 1: the most important man on the field is the referee,
55:47
Speaker 1: as the success of the game depends a great deal
55:50
Speaker 1: on his ability to control the play and players adequately.
55:54
Speaker 1: He is commonly known as the Knight of the whistle,
55:57
Speaker 1: and his responsibilities are manifold. To be a successful referee,
56:02
Speaker 1: one must keep thoroughly fit and be able to turn
56:05
Speaker 1: out onto the field in as good a condition as
56:07
Speaker 1: the player does, for he has got to go through
56:09
Speaker 1: more running than any of the twenty two players, and
56:12
Speaker 1: must keep up with their pace. Like Caesar's wife. He
56:16
Speaker 1: should be above suspicion and give his decisions without fear
56:20
Speaker 1: or favor. It is the weak referee that often spoils
56:24
Speaker 1: a game and brings football into disgrace. Refereeing in a
56:29
Speaker 1: first class match is much easier than taking the whistle
56:32
Speaker 1: in what we might call junior ones. In senior circles,
56:36
Speaker 1: players know the game from A to Z and play accordingly.
56:40
Speaker 1: But often a referee has to use more judgment than
56:43
Speaker 1: if he were officiating for the English Cup at the
56:45
Speaker 1: Crystal Palace. However, this is only by the way, and
56:49
Speaker 1: I must dwell upon the senior referee more than the junior.
56:54
Speaker 1: In brief, my ideal referee must have the following qualifications.
56:59
Speaker 1: One a thorough knowledge of the rules of the game. Two,
57:04
Speaker 1: be strong minded enough to enforce his decisions when once
57:07
Speaker 1: they are given. Three he should have been a player
57:12
Speaker 1: himself and still be as active as ever on the field.
57:17
Speaker 1: Four he must be an autocrat. If necessary, the effe
57:22
Speaker 1: will support him to the fullest extent possible. Really, the
57:27
Speaker 1: duties of a referee are manifold. He has full control
57:30
Speaker 1: of the play, and must use a great amount of tact,
57:33
Speaker 1: for if he does not, he not only spoils the
57:35
Speaker 1: game but his own reputation. He should be quick in
57:38
Speaker 1: giving his decisions and must adhere to them despite the
57:41
Speaker 1: grumblings and comments of the players or spectators. The professional
57:46
Speaker 1: footballer of to day is very quick in weighing up
57:48
Speaker 1: the referee. He knows in his heart whether he can
57:51
Speaker 1: do as he likes, or if the referee is to
57:53
Speaker 1: be obeyed. Supposing the man with the whistle is weak,
57:57
Speaker 1: no one knows better than the players. And again, if
58:00
Speaker 1: he is strong, they know they can take no liberties
58:02
Speaker 1: during the course of the game. In ordinary games, the
58:06
Speaker 1: referee must be strong and have no connection with the
58:08
Speaker 1: clubs engaged. The most able referees that I have played
58:12
Speaker 1: under or witnessed were men who were slow to speak,
58:15
Speaker 1: but when occasion arose, were quick to act. As a
58:19
Speaker 1: matter of fact, they have simply to say, do this,
58:22
Speaker 1: and it is done, and there is trouble for anyone
58:25
Speaker 1: who endeavors to dispute their ruling. The greatest referee may
58:29
Speaker 1: make mistakes, still he must maintain the dignity of his
58:33
Speaker 1: decisions when once given. In many ways a referee is
58:38
Speaker 1: born and not made, And all the best referees are
58:40
Speaker 1: those who have played the game when they were young
58:43
Speaker 1: and have followed it up continually since leaving off actually
58:46
Speaker 1: taking part in the kicking of the ball. Their hearts
58:49
Speaker 1: are in the game, and this makes all the difference
58:52
Speaker 1: to a great degree whether they are successful or not.
58:56
Speaker 1: In senior circles, referees are supposed to be unbiased, which
59:00
Speaker 1: I am glad to say in the general run of
59:02
Speaker 1: cases they are. The crowd of the home side are
59:05
Speaker 1: naturally in favor of their friends, and the referee has
59:08
Speaker 1: often to put up with any amount of comment and ridicule.
59:11
Speaker 1: It is then that he should show his character and
59:14
Speaker 1: worth by distributing the law of the game as it
59:16
Speaker 1: ought to be done, in all honesty and fairness. Probably
59:21
Speaker 1: it may be considered vanity on my part to give
59:23
Speaker 1: the would be referee a few ideas. From a player's
59:26
Speaker 1: point of view, A referee should, if possible, know each
59:30
Speaker 1: man by name and the position he occupies in the field,
59:34
Speaker 1: so that if a reprimand is necessary, he can say
59:36
Speaker 1: Jones or mac pherson. Stop that A little phrase like
59:40
Speaker 1: that goes a very long way. And I may attribute
59:43
Speaker 1: the secret of some of our referee's success to knowing
59:46
Speaker 1: the names of the players they are refereeing, and so
59:48
Speaker 1: being able to call them personally to order when necessary.
59:53
Speaker 1: The relation of the referee to the linesman is a
59:55
Speaker 1: very great question, and whether he should be persuaded by
59:58
Speaker 1: the two men on the line has often discussed both
1:00:01
Speaker 1: on and off the field. To sum it up briefly,
1:00:05
Speaker 1: my opinion is that a referee should act upon his
1:00:07
Speaker 1: own discretion, but when in doubt, should consult his linesman.
1:00:13
Speaker 1: If he gives a decision on the spur of the moment,
1:00:15
Speaker 1: when he is certain he is quite correct, he must
1:00:18
Speaker 1: not be persuaded by the opposition one way or the other. Still,
1:00:22
Speaker 1: when he is in doubt, he should certainly appeal to
1:00:25
Speaker 1: the linesman, and the referee who does not do so
1:00:28
Speaker 1: is bound to get into bad odor. The linesman is
1:00:31
Speaker 1: closely connected with the referee in every way, although his
1:00:34
Speaker 1: duties are not really arduous. In reality, he has simply
1:00:39
Speaker 1: to follow the ball up the field, give his decision
1:00:42
Speaker 1: as to whether the sphere has gone over the lines,
1:00:44
Speaker 1: and to say which side should have the benefit, and
1:00:47
Speaker 1: whether a corner kick should be given or not. Of
1:00:51
Speaker 1: recent years, the penalty kick has often been a great
1:00:55
Speaker 1: trouble to the referee, and should a man be forgiven
1:00:57
Speaker 1: for overlooking a certain foul, it must be decided by
1:01:00
Speaker 1: the opinion of the man on the line. The penalty
1:01:04
Speaker 1: kick is probably the most difficult point the referee of
1:01:07
Speaker 1: today has to deal with, and he should give it
1:01:09
Speaker 1: instantly with the courage of his convictions, and even if
1:01:13
Speaker 1: the decisions of his linesmen are different. Quickness and decision
1:01:17
Speaker 1: are what is really wanted in a referee just a
1:01:22
Speaker 1: word or two to the spectators. They should not judge
1:01:26
Speaker 1: quickly or harshly, and should always recognize that it is
1:01:29
Speaker 1: one man that must decide rightly or wrongly. They must
1:01:34
Speaker 1: not overlook the fact that he has got to do
1:01:37
Speaker 1: so on the spur of the moment, and that he
1:01:39
Speaker 1: has no time for reflection. Whilst dwelling on the subject
1:01:44
Speaker 1: of referees, it is a matter of regret that many
1:01:47
Speaker 1: players do not take any interest in junior circles where
1:01:50
Speaker 1: their personality would command respect. The boy of today, knowing
1:01:55
Speaker 1: that a certain international is going to officiate in the
1:01:58
Speaker 1: game he is taking part in, will play much better
1:02:01
Speaker 1: than if Tom Dick or Harry had the control, a
1:02:03
Speaker 1: fact which proves for itself that personality is a great thing.
1:02:07
Speaker 1: In the night of the whistle. John Lewis of Blackburn
1:02:12
Speaker 1: has been crowned King of Referees, and undoubtedly this was
1:02:15
Speaker 1: greatly due to his personality. On the field. The player
1:02:19
Speaker 1: knew he could take no liberties whatever, and when a
1:02:21
Speaker 1: warning was once given, it was given so that the
1:02:24
Speaker 1: player was sure that his next act of disobedience would
1:02:27
Speaker 1: insure for him his marching order off the field, and
1:02:30
Speaker 1: that later he would be dealt with by the fa.
1:02:34
Speaker 1: Mister Lewis always let the player know when he had
1:02:36
Speaker 1: gone too far in any way, and afterwards it was
1:02:40
Speaker 1: for a player to see that it did not occur again.
1:02:43
Speaker 1: It is a pity that more first class players, when
1:02:46
Speaker 1: they have finished their playing career, do not follow it
1:02:48
Speaker 1: up by becoming referees. Referees of the class of Major Marinden, J. C. Clegg,
1:02:55
Speaker 1: JJ Bentley and many others are badly wanted in the
1:02:59
Speaker 1: football of today. I might appeal to the older players
1:03:02
Speaker 1: to take a greater interest in the beginners than they
1:03:05
Speaker 1: are doing at the present time. They should remember the
1:03:08
Speaker 1: days when they were young and the interest then taken
1:03:11
Speaker 1: in them by their elders who used to go out
1:03:13
Speaker 1: of their way to encourage them in their sport, and
1:03:16
Speaker 1: endeavor to do today what was done for them years ago.
1:03:20
Speaker 1: Junior referees are badly wanted, especially men of a reputation
1:03:23
Speaker 1: that is well respected. I even in my little way
1:03:27
Speaker 1: refereeing last year found my name and fame as a
1:03:30
Speaker 1: cup holder and international was a great recommendation and called
1:03:34
Speaker 1: for the respect that is really due to worthy officials.
1:03:38
Speaker 1: If this appeals to any player, it is easy for
1:03:40
Speaker 1: him to become a referee by applying to his local association.
1:03:46
Speaker 1: The biggest bugbear that the referee has to contend with
1:03:49
Speaker 1: is the penalty and off side restrictions. To the uninitiated,
1:03:54
Speaker 1: the off side rule appears quite simple, but to the
1:03:56
Speaker 1: referee it is the most difficult problem he has got
1:03:59
Speaker 1: to own overcome. During the course of the day, his
1:04:02
Speaker 1: eye is always on the ball, and whilst following it
1:04:05
Speaker 1: up quickly, he is naturally inclined to miss some point
1:04:09
Speaker 1: which appeals to the onlookers, every one of whom considers
1:04:12
Speaker 1: himself a critic. The penalty kick plays an important part
1:04:17
Speaker 1: in the game of today, and this particular point requires
1:04:20
Speaker 1: instant decision. Consequently, the referee needs to be a man
1:04:25
Speaker 1: with good judgment and one who is not to be
1:04:28
Speaker 1: deterred by criticism, whether it be by players, spectators, or directors.
1:04:37
Speaker 1: Chapter nine, Football as a profession. There are many young
1:04:43
Speaker 1: fellows who are inclined to take up football as a profession,
1:04:45
Speaker 1: and to these the writer would say, count well the
1:04:48
Speaker 1: cost before you do it. I have spoken to many players,
1:04:52
Speaker 1: and few would let their boys take up football as
1:04:56
Speaker 1: the serious business of life. It's easy to start. Any
1:05:00
Speaker 1: club that has paid players will give you a trial,
1:05:03
Speaker 1: and if you're capable, will sign you on at perhaps
1:05:06
Speaker 1: a few shillings up to a pound a week. The
1:05:09
Speaker 1: objections are that the career is very short and may
1:05:12
Speaker 1: be interrupted or terminated by an accident at any time,
1:05:16
Speaker 1: and then if you are not a master of a trade,
1:05:18
Speaker 1: you are practically ruined. When boys used to come to
1:05:22
Speaker 1: me and tell me of their wish to join the Spurs,
1:05:24
Speaker 1: I always tried to get them to learn some trade
1:05:27
Speaker 1: first and be master of it, so when necessary they
1:05:30
Speaker 1: could fall back upon it. This provision for the future
1:05:34
Speaker 1: is necessary because you may begin your paid career at
1:05:37
Speaker 1: seventeen or eighteen before you have learned a trade and
1:05:41
Speaker 1: play on till you are twenty eight or thirty, and
1:05:44
Speaker 1: then find you are too old to begin to do so.
1:05:47
Speaker 1: I have known a number who have made no preparation
1:05:50
Speaker 1: for the future, and in some cases they are starving.
1:05:54
Speaker 1: It is one of the painful duties of a secretary's
1:05:56
Speaker 1: life to have to hear appeals for help from veterans
1:05:59
Speaker 1: who have no neglected to acquire some trade before taking
1:06:03
Speaker 1: up football. No club ought to be allowed, for the
1:06:07
Speaker 1: credit of the game, to sign on any players until
1:06:10
Speaker 1: they have given evidence that they have a marketable knowledge
1:06:12
Speaker 1: of some trade or profession. As I have said, many
1:06:17
Speaker 1: think four pounds a week is a nice income. So
1:06:19
Speaker 1: it is, but how many get it and how many
1:06:22
Speaker 1: years does it last. It may be that in the
1:06:25
Speaker 1: near future you may get as much as you can
1:06:27
Speaker 1: out of a club, but even then only a very
1:06:30
Speaker 1: few of the thousands of paid players will get more
1:06:33
Speaker 1: than they do now. Many a youth talking of the matter,
1:06:38
Speaker 1: has been under the impression that all professionals get the
1:06:41
Speaker 1: four pounds per week. That is not so many of
1:06:45
Speaker 1: the smaller clubs cannot afford to pay it. There are
1:06:48
Speaker 1: many who never get beyond fifty shillings per week. No
1:06:52
Speaker 1: doubt the organization of school games has had a great
1:06:55
Speaker 1: deal to do with turning the attention of promising lads
1:06:57
Speaker 1: at school to football as a career. It's true that
1:07:02
Speaker 1: one out of a thousand schoolboy players may get signed on,
1:07:05
Speaker 1: but I hardly know of half a dozen. Hundreds of
1:07:09
Speaker 1: young men applied to clubs for a trial and are
1:07:12
Speaker 1: soon convinced that they have not skill enough. But those
1:07:16
Speaker 1: few who are lucky should weigh the matter seriously. I
1:07:20
Speaker 1: know there are many who may argue that they can,
1:07:23
Speaker 1: and after their playing days are over, get a position
1:07:26
Speaker 1: as a trainer or manager to some club, such a
1:07:29
Speaker 1: place as I had, for instance, for many years. But
1:07:32
Speaker 1: like everything else nowadays, there are only a very limited
1:07:35
Speaker 1: number of these positions. While there are scores of applicants
1:07:39
Speaker 1: for them, and for every vacancy to be filled, there
1:07:42
Speaker 1: are generally one or two who have very strong backing,
1:07:45
Speaker 1: and there is little chance for the outsider. Others have
1:07:49
Speaker 1: often pointed out to me that after a certain number
1:07:51
Speaker 1: of years they will be entitled to a benefit. This
1:07:55
Speaker 1: is quite correct, but even if the benefit comes off,
1:07:58
Speaker 1: how much does it bring in? I should fancy that
1:08:01
Speaker 1: an average benefit does not give more than three hundred
1:08:03
Speaker 1: or four hundred pounds. Indeed, a footballer is considered very
1:08:07
Speaker 1: lucky if the match that he has chosen brings him
1:08:09
Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty pounds. I have known a great
1:08:12
Speaker 1: many that have brought in less. Mister J. J. Bentley,
1:08:16
Speaker 1: who is now the President of the Football League, once
1:08:19
Speaker 1: wrote an article on football finance in which he stated
1:08:22
Speaker 1: that not more than six professional clubs were solvent, and
1:08:27
Speaker 1: he asked the pertinent question, if only six of the
1:08:30
Speaker 1: leading clubs can make it pay on a really lucrative scale,
1:08:34
Speaker 1: what is to become of the game? By the game,
1:08:38
Speaker 1: He doubtless means the professional part of it. The fourteen
1:08:41
Speaker 1: years have passed away, but I very much doubt if
1:08:44
Speaker 1: the situation is altered now A few clubs, a very few,
1:08:49
Speaker 1: make a profit on their years working. The majority show
1:08:53
Speaker 1: a deficit which annually becomes larger. For a time, collapse
1:08:57
Speaker 1: is avoided by the bazaar or by turning the club
1:09:00
Speaker 1: into a limited liability company. But these are only temporary reliefs,
1:09:05
Speaker 1: and the fact remains that in most clubs, either the
1:09:09
Speaker 1: expenses of management or the salaries of the players are
1:09:12
Speaker 1: larger than the receipts permit, and sometimes the clubs go under.
1:09:17
Speaker 1: Another important point for the would be pro is the
1:09:20
Speaker 1: question of temperament. You must have exceptional qualities of a
1:09:25
Speaker 1: personal character. If you cannot take hard knocks as well
1:09:28
Speaker 1: as give them, and if you cannot control your temper
1:09:32
Speaker 1: you're not likely to be successful. The day of the
1:09:35
Speaker 1: blackguardly dirty player is over, and the man with brain
1:09:39
Speaker 1: as well as braun is needed for this work. Education
1:09:43
Speaker 1: makes all the difference, and the incoming professionals will have
1:09:47
Speaker 1: to be men of considerable culture. Neither is there any
1:09:51
Speaker 1: chance for the fellow who cannot control his appetite in
1:09:54
Speaker 1: the matter of strong drink. There arise before us, sad
1:09:59
Speaker 1: and mourn pictures of men whose names have been familiar
1:10:03
Speaker 1: as a household word, but whose son has set years
1:10:06
Speaker 1: before it should have done, owing to the fact that
1:10:09
Speaker 1: they soaked in beer. Some I have seen at the
1:10:13
Speaker 1: Palace in the cup final, the heroes of the day.
1:10:16
Speaker 1: Apparently the world was at their feet. The next time
1:10:21
Speaker 1: one set eyes on them, it was difficult to recognize
1:10:24
Speaker 1: in the battered specimen of humanity that stood before you
1:10:27
Speaker 1: the sprightly player of former days. The contrast is painful,
1:10:33
Speaker 1: but often, very often has greeted my eyes. No, said
1:10:40
Speaker 1: a great Southern League captain to me. My boys shall
1:10:44
Speaker 1: never be paid footballers, but they must learn a trade.
1:10:47
Speaker 1: The prospects are not pleasing enough. No, it is far
1:10:51
Speaker 1: better unless you have superlative talents to take to some
1:10:55
Speaker 1: other calling. It's only a small proportion who make their
1:10:58
Speaker 1: mark in professional football. Some may make a better thing
1:11:04
Speaker 1: out of it if they are paid cricketers, for they
1:11:06
Speaker 1: will have wages for both games. But here again the
1:11:10
Speaker 1: area is limited. Though the pay is good, it's not
1:11:14
Speaker 1: necessary to be a professional player to gain the highest honors.
1:11:17
Speaker 1: Take England's captain VJ. Woodward. He is an architect, but
1:11:22
Speaker 1: from the first day I saw him there was great
1:11:24
Speaker 1: ability and it was bound to come out. So with
1:11:27
Speaker 1: many other amateurs who have come to the front. They
1:11:30
Speaker 1: have succeeded because they had skill, but also because they
1:11:34
Speaker 1: kept in good condition owing to their ordinary work, which
1:11:37
Speaker 1: was well done. To boys, I say, stick to your
1:11:40
Speaker 1: job and having worked well, go out and play your best,
1:11:45
Speaker 1: but leave professionalism out of the business. End of Section four,
1:11:58
Speaker 1: Section five of Associateation Football and How to Play It.
1:12:02
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public Domain, Section five,
1:12:07
Speaker 1: Chapters ten and eleven. Chapter ten Continental Football, Its Growth
1:12:13
Speaker 1: and possible developments. Football on the continent is undoubtedly developing greatly,
1:12:20
Speaker 1: and a great deal of credit is due to the
1:12:22
Speaker 1: enterprise of the English and Scottish clubs. I have played
1:12:26
Speaker 1: in France, Germany and Austria, and the enthusiasm displayed by
1:12:31
Speaker 1: the players and spectators holds forth great hopes of the
1:12:34
Speaker 1: game becoming as popular on the other side of the
1:12:37
Speaker 1: Channel as it is here. It's a few years ago
1:12:40
Speaker 1: since I last played there, and since then great developments
1:12:44
Speaker 1: have taken place, such as international matches with English and
1:12:47
Speaker 1: foreign sides. Practically the results have always been in our favor,
1:12:52
Speaker 1: but gradually the margin in the goals is becoming less.
1:12:56
Speaker 1: It will take many years yet before we can expect
1:12:59
Speaker 1: the continentals to be able to give our English teams
1:13:02
Speaker 1: a real good game. However, the outlook is very rosy,
1:13:06
Speaker 1: as the enthusiasm is becoming greater week by week and
1:13:09
Speaker 1: year after year. The British elevens who used to visit
1:13:13
Speaker 1: the continent were inclined to look upon it as a
1:13:15
Speaker 1: holiday trip, but after seeing the good done by these visits,
1:13:19
Speaker 1: they have played more earnestly than hitherto. While playing in Austria,
1:13:24
Speaker 1: I was greatly impressed with the spirit of our opponents.
1:13:28
Speaker 1: They were keen enough to learn and wished to know
1:13:31
Speaker 1: precisely how the game was played. The captain of the
1:13:34
Speaker 1: native team, by the way he could speak English, came
1:13:38
Speaker 1: to our captain and requested him to play the game
1:13:40
Speaker 1: as it should be played and get as many goals
1:13:43
Speaker 1: as we could and not toy with them. We won
1:13:46
Speaker 1: by at least double figures, but at the finish of
1:13:49
Speaker 1: the match they called for three cheers for us, and
1:13:51
Speaker 1: of course we naturally responded. This is the spirit that
1:13:55
Speaker 1: prevails from my little knowledge of foreign football, and if
1:13:58
Speaker 1: it is continued, there can be no doubt that at
1:14:01
Speaker 1: a future date they will be able to challenge any
1:14:03
Speaker 1: English or Scottish teams and would give them a good game.
1:14:08
Speaker 1: It's rather awkward not knowing the language when playing on
1:14:11
Speaker 1: the continent, as oftentimes one would like to know exactly
1:14:14
Speaker 1: why such a decision was given. It has often had
1:14:17
Speaker 1: its ludicrous side, and I have often smiled at the
1:14:20
Speaker 1: broad scotchman trying to explain something to a German without
1:14:23
Speaker 1: any success. Refereeing is probably the point that wants more
1:14:28
Speaker 1: cultivating than even playing, and any amount of games have
1:14:32
Speaker 1: been spoiled by an official coming onto the field, not
1:14:35
Speaker 1: following the ball and giving his decisions n autocratically. He
1:14:39
Speaker 1: was generally dressed immaculately and did not dream of following
1:14:43
Speaker 1: the run of play, and in many cases he has
1:14:45
Speaker 1: spoiled what would have been a good game. It is
1:14:48
Speaker 1: to be regretted that there have been some scenes on
1:14:51
Speaker 1: the continent reminiscent of some of our outbreaks on home grounds.
1:14:55
Speaker 1: In one way this is certainly deplorable, but in another
1:14:58
Speaker 1: it shows that the game is kept on the continent,
1:15:01
Speaker 1: the players showing a better appreciation of the rules, just
1:15:04
Speaker 1: as they are able to follow the rules of the game.
1:15:07
Speaker 1: And now what is wanted is an association in every country,
1:15:11
Speaker 1: just like the FA in England. The International Games to
1:15:15
Speaker 1: be played at the stadium this year have shown the
1:15:18
Speaker 1: decided taste of other countries for all kinds of sports
1:15:21
Speaker 1: that are played here, and as the matter now stands,
1:15:23
Speaker 1: Great Britain should certainly come out first, but it is
1:15:27
Speaker 1: a matter of great speculation whether Sweden, Germany, Italy, France
1:15:32
Speaker 1: or Austria will finish second. The countries mentioned are most
1:15:38
Speaker 1: enthusiastic about it, and great credit must be given to
1:15:41
Speaker 1: the FA for the magnificent sum they have contributed towards
1:15:44
Speaker 1: the entertainments of the visitors. In South Africa, the game
1:15:48
Speaker 1: has been played longer than in any country outside the
1:15:51
Speaker 1: British Isles. The competition there is known as the Donald
1:15:55
Speaker 1: Curry Cup, and it is nothing unusual for a team
1:15:57
Speaker 1: to travel one thousand miles to take part in this competition.
1:16:02
Speaker 1: In conversation the other day with a player who has
1:16:04
Speaker 1: played a great deal there, he said the English footballer
1:16:07
Speaker 1: of to day could not do well there, for the
1:16:09
Speaker 1: traveling on the rough roads and the hard ground would
1:16:12
Speaker 1: be quite unlike anything they experienced in England. Argentina is
1:16:17
Speaker 1: a great many miles away, but the game there is
1:16:20
Speaker 1: also developing rapidly. It's only three years ago since Southampton
1:16:24
Speaker 1: undertook the long voyage and had a most enjoyable time.
1:16:28
Speaker 1: It must be said that they astonished the natives. But
1:16:31
Speaker 1: this missionary effort by one of the leading clubs of
1:16:34
Speaker 1: the country is making the game popular all over the world.
1:16:38
Speaker 1: The Corinthians too have done a great deal in this way.
1:16:41
Speaker 1: They have been to Africa and practically all over the world,
1:16:44
Speaker 1: and wherever they have been they have given an excellent
1:16:47
Speaker 1: exposition of how the game should be played. In South Africa,
1:16:51
Speaker 1: they had perhaps to play with more vigor, the ground
1:16:53
Speaker 1: being as hard as asphalt and the trying conditions affecting
1:16:57
Speaker 1: the play, but they nearly always came out on top.
1:17:01
Speaker 1: France is stronger in rugby than in association football, but
1:17:05
Speaker 1: the international matches between the two countries make the latter
1:17:08
Speaker 1: more popular with the public. The season in many countries
1:17:12
Speaker 1: on the continent is about half as long as ours,
1:17:15
Speaker 1: and this makes all the difference to them, But it
1:17:18
Speaker 1: will be a long time before any continental country will
1:17:21
Speaker 1: be able to claim supremacy. Chapter eleven Football reform. Has
1:17:30
Speaker 1: association football reached its zenith? Certainly not? Is the reply
1:17:35
Speaker 1: I invariably give to any enthusiast or cynic who asks
1:17:39
Speaker 1: me the question. Remember, there are a good many reforms
1:17:43
Speaker 1: that must be made for a game must keep up
1:17:46
Speaker 1: its position and also retain its popularity with the masses
1:17:49
Speaker 1: who are the mainstay of football. As I have already remarked,
1:17:53
Speaker 1: I have a great respect for the FA and they
1:17:56
Speaker 1: have a great deal to do with the game, which
1:17:58
Speaker 1: is recognized now as the game of the country. It
1:18:02
Speaker 1: is much easier to criticize than to legislate, and much
1:18:05
Speaker 1: of the work done by these associations does not get
1:18:08
Speaker 1: the credit it deserves. Facts are stubborn things, and when
1:18:13
Speaker 1: my ole club, Tottenham Hotspur played in the English Cup
1:18:16
Speaker 1: Final at the Crystal Palace in April before a record
1:18:19
Speaker 1: crowd of one hundred and fourteen thousand, it was said
1:18:22
Speaker 1: that these figures would never be beaten. It certainly has
1:18:25
Speaker 1: not been done in England, although it has been very
1:18:28
Speaker 1: nearly approached, but last April at Hampden Park it was
1:18:32
Speaker 1: overshadowed by twenty thousand more onlookers. Cricket has had an
1:18:38
Speaker 1: infinitely longer innings than football, but I can see no
1:18:41
Speaker 1: just reason nor impediment by football especially association should not
1:18:45
Speaker 1: go on for at least the lifetime of the present generation.
1:18:50
Speaker 1: The majority of sports, such as cycling, running, et cetera,
1:18:54
Speaker 1: have died through the want of proper management, and sports
1:18:58
Speaker 1: as a whole should be controlled by an ass association
1:19:00
Speaker 1: of amateurs in the proper sense of the word. Probably,
1:19:04
Speaker 1: it is not known to many of my readers that
1:19:06
Speaker 1: the FA to save the game from falling into the
1:19:09
Speaker 1: hands of a speculator, have restricted the dividends to be
1:19:13
Speaker 1: paid to any club to five percent, and by the way,
1:19:17
Speaker 1: this rule does not apply to Scotland, but before long
1:19:20
Speaker 1: I hope they will follow in the steps of their
1:19:22
Speaker 1: English brethren again to show how pure professional clubs are. Directors,
1:19:28
Speaker 1: whether they be five or fifteen, are not entitled to
1:19:32
Speaker 1: draw any money from the club, and this shows that
1:19:35
Speaker 1: the real sportsmanlike spirit prevails at the helm of professional football,
1:19:39
Speaker 1: and certainly no reform in this way is desired or required.
1:19:45
Speaker 1: Rumors of a national league are quite rife in the air,
1:19:48
Speaker 1: but on going into the matter, I hardly see any
1:19:50
Speaker 1: desirability for the idea bearing fruit for one reason. If
1:19:54
Speaker 1: it did come off, it would become very speculative, and
1:19:58
Speaker 1: like the big trusts in as America have done, do
1:20:01
Speaker 1: much damage to the smaller tradesmen. Even look at the
1:20:05
Speaker 1: possibility of such a great league when one comes to
1:20:08
Speaker 1: deal with the matter thoroughly from a geographical point of view,
1:20:11
Speaker 1: and I have spent many hours in endeavoring to see
1:20:13
Speaker 1: how such a league could become workable. Rivalry in football
1:20:17
Speaker 1: is one of its biggest assets, and in this way
1:20:20
Speaker 1: I should like to see the big Southern clubs formed
1:20:23
Speaker 1: into a Southern League and the Northern clubs into a
1:20:26
Speaker 1: Northern League, and the two top clubs of each league
1:20:29
Speaker 1: to fight out the question of supremacy. As I have
1:20:32
Speaker 1: already stated, I consider that the present governing body of
1:20:35
Speaker 1: Association Football is admirably constituted, and it will be a
1:20:39
Speaker 1: sorry day for the game if the leading clubs rebel
1:20:42
Speaker 1: at the same time. Systems are rarely, if ever perfect,
1:20:47
Speaker 1: so I should like to make a few suggestions upon
1:20:49
Speaker 1: the following points. One the transfer system, two the wage limit.
1:20:55
Speaker 1: Three neutral referees should be appointed by an independent body
1:21:00
Speaker 1: of the association. Dealing firstly with the transfer system, I
1:21:05
Speaker 1: think it is iniquitous, and when the Player's Union was
1:21:08
Speaker 1: first formed, this was one of the burning questions of
1:21:11
Speaker 1: the day. I fought the matter out strenuously because at
1:21:15
Speaker 1: that time the rules of the FFA were contrary to
1:21:17
Speaker 1: the league. As secretary, I appealed to the FA and
1:21:21
Speaker 1: expected great things. But instead of compelling the league to
1:21:24
Speaker 1: bring its laws into line, the Association altered its own
1:21:28
Speaker 1: to correspond with those of the league. Looking at this
1:21:31
Speaker 1: from a broad point of view, it's hard on the
1:21:34
Speaker 1: player who has cost his club nothing but is signed
1:21:36
Speaker 1: on for a year. At the end of that season
1:21:38
Speaker 1: he is free and his old club can put an
1:21:42
Speaker 1: astonishing large sum on his head. This is hardly in
1:21:46
Speaker 1: accordance with English love of fair play and is probably
1:21:49
Speaker 1: one of the few blots on the game. I am
1:21:52
Speaker 1: looking forward to the day when this system shall be
1:21:55
Speaker 1: abolished and the player shall be a man, not a slave.
1:21:59
Speaker 1: Of course, if a club gets a large transfer for
1:22:02
Speaker 1: a player, then in one way it should have some
1:22:05
Speaker 1: compensation if he leaves them. But in some cases a
1:22:08
Speaker 1: young fellow goes elsewhere and they get more out of
1:22:11
Speaker 1: his transfer fees than they ever paid him in wages.
1:22:15
Speaker 1: It must be admitted that things at the present day
1:22:17
Speaker 1: are infinitely better than they were some years ago. The
1:22:21
Speaker 1: player has the right of a special appeal to a
1:22:23
Speaker 1: committee of the league, and the amount asked for players
1:22:26
Speaker 1: transfers has been greatly reduced. Still, I think that his
1:22:30
Speaker 1: club should keep him until his transfer is settled. Talking
1:22:35
Speaker 1: about the old players Union, it reminds me that at
1:22:38
Speaker 1: one meeting we had a player stated that if a
1:22:40
Speaker 1: club had a horse they wanted to part with, some
1:22:43
Speaker 1: one would have to find the horse in fodder until
1:22:45
Speaker 1: the negotiations were finished. A player is during that time
1:22:49
Speaker 1: between the devil and the deep blue sea, and has
1:22:52
Speaker 1: to entirely support himself during that period, and I have
1:22:55
Speaker 1: known many excellent players give up the game for this reason.
1:23:01
Speaker 1: Turning next to the question of the limit wage of
1:23:03
Speaker 1: four pounds per week for any professional, there are a
1:23:06
Speaker 1: great many pros and cons in this case, and once
1:23:09
Speaker 1: again I think there is a certain amount of room
1:23:11
Speaker 1: for improvement. Should the abolition of the transfer system become
1:23:15
Speaker 1: law ere long, a wage limit will have to be
1:23:17
Speaker 1: most seriously considered. The clubs themselves have the power to
1:23:22
Speaker 1: alter it at any annual meeting of the FA. They
1:23:25
Speaker 1: brought it upon themselves to a certain extent. For at
1:23:28
Speaker 1: the general meeting it is the clubs that settle such
1:23:30
Speaker 1: points as these. It cannot be denied that much of
1:23:33
Speaker 1: the leveling of the clubs in recent years must be
1:23:36
Speaker 1: attributed greatly to this rule. Whether it has been for
1:23:39
Speaker 1: the good of the game is another question. But often
1:23:42
Speaker 1: a player knows that if he plays an ordinary game
1:23:44
Speaker 1: he can always secure four pounds per week. He has
1:23:47
Speaker 1: no monetary incentive to improve himself, and this is perhaps
1:23:52
Speaker 1: the reason why star artists do not come to the
1:23:55
Speaker 1: front more frequently. Last year, the FA raised the fee
1:23:59
Speaker 1: for playing in an international game form three guineas to ten,
1:24:04
Speaker 1: which to my mind was a step in the right direction,
1:24:06
Speaker 1: although the player should consider the honor of playing for
1:24:09
Speaker 1: his country above any mercenary reason. Again, if a professional
1:24:14
Speaker 1: footballer could have such a long connection with the game
1:24:17
Speaker 1: as a professional cricketer, a wage of four pounds per
1:24:20
Speaker 1: week would not be so bad, But as his career
1:24:22
Speaker 1: is a short one, no time can be depended upon.
1:24:27
Speaker 1: This should be well weighed by the administrators who look
1:24:30
Speaker 1: after the interests of the players. I should like to
1:24:35
Speaker 1: see the control of the game as far as the
1:24:37
Speaker 1: appointment of referees and linesmen is concerned, left to an
1:24:40
Speaker 1: independent body to be appointed by the AFFE, who will
1:24:43
Speaker 1: give the appointments without favor. It may be rather a
1:24:47
Speaker 1: tall order just at present, but the suggestion is worthy
1:24:51
Speaker 1: of consideration. Should an official who wears glasses referee in
1:24:55
Speaker 1: a first class match is a question which is greatly
1:24:58
Speaker 1: discussed throughout the land. After talking the matter over with
1:25:01
Speaker 1: an old player, my opinion is that if a player
1:25:04
Speaker 1: can play the game in glasses, surely he can follow
1:25:07
Speaker 1: the ball as a referee. An old player who was
1:25:10
Speaker 1: in conversation with me the other day was exceedingly bitter
1:25:13
Speaker 1: on the question, and I should really think that if
1:25:16
Speaker 1: the matter was put strongly before the fe sanction would
1:25:19
Speaker 1: be given to an old player to follow his favorite
1:25:21
Speaker 1: game in the capacity of referee. While speaking about referees,
1:25:26
Speaker 1: I should like to see the association give him power
1:25:28
Speaker 1: to order a man off the field for a foul
1:25:30
Speaker 1: without having to report him to the parent body. The
1:25:33
Speaker 1: punishment to the club by losing him would be quite sufficient,
1:25:37
Speaker 1: and we may be sure they would not deal with
1:25:39
Speaker 1: him very lightly. End of Section five, Section six of
1:25:51
Speaker 1: Association Football and How to Play It. This LibriVox recording
1:25:55
Speaker 1: is in the public domain Section six, Chapters twelve and thirteen,
1:26:02
Speaker 1: Chapter twelve. Present day Football. There are not wanting signs
1:26:07
Speaker 1: that football has not yet finished expanding. Every season sees
1:26:11
Speaker 1: more clubs and villages as well as in towns, and
1:26:14
Speaker 1: the county associations also report a numerical increase, but whether
1:26:19
Speaker 1: or not there will be a sharper dividing line between
1:26:22
Speaker 1: amateur and professional is difficult to say. It may be
1:26:25
Speaker 1: that before long we shall have one authority for the
1:26:27
Speaker 1: amateur game, and another for the professional. It must not
1:26:31
Speaker 1: be forgotten that there are tens of thousands of the
1:26:33
Speaker 1: one class, but only a few of the other. But
1:26:37
Speaker 1: the paid player, by reason of the leisure he has,
1:26:40
Speaker 1: shows the highest skill, and in that way has inspired
1:26:43
Speaker 1: the unpaid with a higher ideal of play. And it
1:26:47
Speaker 1: is a favorite contention of many that the best game
1:26:50
Speaker 1: is that played by the professional clubs. The junior who
1:26:54
Speaker 1: goes to see Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester United or Newcastle
1:26:58
Speaker 1: is impressed by the play and makes up his mind
1:27:01
Speaker 1: to try and put into practice what he has seen.
1:27:05
Speaker 1: It is good for the boy to go and see
1:27:07
Speaker 1: the players of the highest skill, and if the ordinary
1:27:10
Speaker 1: club member would do this occasionally, the average standard of
1:27:13
Speaker 1: play would be higher. A boy who is an enthusiastic
1:27:17
Speaker 1: right back and is anxious to play in that position
1:27:20
Speaker 1: can hardly do better than go and watch Robert Crompton,
1:27:22
Speaker 1: the famous right back of the Blackburn Rovers. He is
1:27:26
Speaker 1: an example of what our elementary schools produce. As a lad,
1:27:30
Speaker 1: he took part in the game at Moss Street Board School,
1:27:32
Speaker 1: an institution that had produced a side that had carried
1:27:35
Speaker 1: off the trophy offered to the schools. When at work
1:27:38
Speaker 1: as a plumber, he played in the league team of
1:27:40
Speaker 1: a Sunday school and when engaged one day was seen
1:27:43
Speaker 1: by mister John Lewis, who got him to play for
1:27:46
Speaker 1: the Rovers. For some couple of years he remained an amateur,
1:27:49
Speaker 1: but then became a professional. He became captain in eighteen
1:27:53
Speaker 1: ninety nine and has several international caps. He uses his
1:27:58
Speaker 1: head and tries to anticipate the intentions of his opponent.
1:28:02
Speaker 1: He kicks with either foot with great power and is
1:28:05
Speaker 1: a clean player. He follows the ball rather than the man.
1:28:09
Speaker 1: He is an excellent example of the man who, taking
1:28:12
Speaker 1: to football has found it possible to stick to his
1:28:15
Speaker 1: trade as well. Another player is James Sharp, who is
1:28:20
Speaker 1: a splendid outside right. In him you have a reminder
1:28:24
Speaker 1: that skill may make up for lack of inches. He
1:28:27
Speaker 1: is only five feet seven inches, but he is one
1:28:29
Speaker 1: of the men who have worked hard to attain their
1:28:32
Speaker 1: position and also to keep it. He can dribble well, faint, pass, shoot,
1:28:38
Speaker 1: and yet keep control of the ball. He came from Hereford,
1:28:43
Speaker 1: where he was a member of the local club, and
1:28:45
Speaker 1: after two seasons went to Everton. In his every action
1:28:49
Speaker 1: you can see the man who plays for his club.
1:28:51
Speaker 1: He is determined, strong, given to making the most of
1:28:55
Speaker 1: an opportunity. It's difficult for the adversary to know what
1:28:59
Speaker 1: he is going to do. Here is the ideal all
1:29:02
Speaker 1: round sportsman. Little wonder he has succeeded so well on
1:29:06
Speaker 1: the cricket field. He is not content to excel in
1:29:09
Speaker 1: one department. Once we thought he would become a great
1:29:13
Speaker 1: fast bowler. Then he began to progress as a batsman,
1:29:17
Speaker 1: and at the moment of writing, has concluded a great
1:29:20
Speaker 1: season for his adopted county, whose fortunes have been very low.
1:29:25
Speaker 1: He too is in business, and life for him is
1:29:27
Speaker 1: truly strenuous as his play is. We could do with
1:29:31
Speaker 1: more player workers of this modest young man's type. And
1:29:36
Speaker 1: if you come to the front line, watch V. J. Woodward,
1:29:40
Speaker 1: our leading gentleman player. The son of an architect, living
1:29:43
Speaker 1: in a house that overlooks the Oval, he learned his
1:29:46
Speaker 1: game at school at Clacton and then resided at Chelmsford,
1:29:50
Speaker 1: where one day a sporting director of the Spurs, happening
1:29:53
Speaker 1: to know that a match was being played in the
1:29:54
Speaker 1: County Cup competition, thought he would have a look and
1:29:57
Speaker 1: did so. He was struck with the skill of Vivian J.
1:30:01
Speaker 1: Woodward as a center forward, and as the result of
1:30:03
Speaker 1: a chat he has got to play for Tottenham Hotspur.
1:30:06
Speaker 1: This was some six years ago. He at once made
1:30:09
Speaker 1: his mark and no man was ever so loved by professionals.
1:30:13
Speaker 1: No fairer player ever stepped onto the field. Note his clean,
1:30:18
Speaker 1: delightful runs. How unselfish he is. Indeed, it was freely
1:30:23
Speaker 1: reported that he was left out of a series of
1:30:25
Speaker 1: internationals because he showed so much consideration for his partners.
1:30:29
Speaker 1: What a glorious tribute to the sportsmanship of the man. Yes,
1:30:33
Speaker 1: for clean, clever eye, cultured forward play watch v J. Woodward,
1:30:39
Speaker 1: who can only get away on Saturdays because he earns
1:30:42
Speaker 1: his living. He is a grand wicket keeper and cricket
1:30:45
Speaker 1: captain who has not the time for county games. And
1:30:49
Speaker 1: he is a genuine amateur, no riding third class and
1:30:53
Speaker 1: charging first. He is an honorable performer who looks to
1:30:57
Speaker 1: all to play a clean game and expects the referee
1:31:00
Speaker 1: to see they do. If such amateurs are to be
1:31:03
Speaker 1: driven out of the soccer game by money making limited
1:31:06
Speaker 1: liability companies and their unending squabbles, it will be a
1:31:10
Speaker 1: bad day for sport. You can still see Needham old.
1:31:15
Speaker 1: I suppose as players go, what a strategist he is.
1:31:19
Speaker 1: His play is that of the man who loves the game.
1:31:22
Speaker 1: He can still tackle, pass, defend and shoot as finely
1:31:26
Speaker 1: as of old. Of goalkeepers one can see many Ashcroft, Sutcliffe,
1:31:33
Speaker 1: lun of Wolverhampton, Hardy of Liverpool, Masquerie of Darby County
1:31:37
Speaker 1: are all good. There are many misconceptions about the game,
1:31:43
Speaker 1: and most people think that the referee is compelled to
1:31:45
Speaker 1: use a whistle. But if you read the laws of
1:31:48
Speaker 1: the game or the directions to referees, you find that
1:31:51
Speaker 1: nowhere is he instructed to use a whistle. The word
1:31:55
Speaker 1: is signal, but it might be by a trumpet or
1:31:59
Speaker 1: a motion of the hands or arms. When the referee
1:32:03
Speaker 1: signals by whistle or otherwise at the commencement of the game,
1:32:07
Speaker 1: it means that he is ready and the players can
1:32:09
Speaker 1: start as soon as they like, but the period of
1:32:12
Speaker 1: play is counted from the actual kick. The off side
1:32:16
Speaker 1: rule is very difficult for the spectator. Talk to them
1:32:19
Speaker 1: and they will tell you confidently that no player can
1:32:22
Speaker 1: be offside if he has three of the opposition in
1:32:25
Speaker 1: front of him that is nearer to their goal. Yet,
1:32:30
Speaker 1: as mister William Pickford has pointed out, a player could
1:32:33
Speaker 1: be off side with eleven opponents in front of him.
1:32:36
Speaker 1: It's not likely, but it could happen. If a player
1:32:39
Speaker 1: has not three opponents in front of him when the
1:32:42
Speaker 1: ball was last played by one of his own side
1:32:46
Speaker 1: who was behind him, he is offside and he remains
1:32:50
Speaker 1: so till someone else plays the ball. And if in
1:32:54
Speaker 1: the interval the rest of the team ran back on goal,
1:32:58
Speaker 1: he would still be offside again. What is an amateur
1:33:04
Speaker 1: well conscience will decide in the light of the rule
1:33:07
Speaker 1: he must not receive remuneration or consideration of any sort
1:33:11
Speaker 1: above his necessary hotel expenses and traveling expenses actually paid.
1:33:16
Speaker 1: The men who pay for their sport are getting fewer
1:33:19
Speaker 1: and fewer. It is a pity. But on these and
1:33:23
Speaker 1: many other points, you can obtain valuable booklets from the
1:33:26
Speaker 1: FA one oh four High Holborn, London, w C. They
1:33:31
Speaker 1: also publish a referees chart with the interpretation that is
1:33:34
Speaker 1: officially put upon many rules. They are minds of useful
1:33:38
Speaker 1: information for those who know but little of the game.
1:33:43
Speaker 1: It would seem as if the game is rapidly spreading
1:33:45
Speaker 1: on the continent and every country takes up the sport
1:33:48
Speaker 1: save Turkey and Russia. England is the mentor and the
1:33:52
Speaker 1: Football Association have done great work. It may be that
1:33:56
Speaker 1: the love of sport will so grow that ere many
1:33:59
Speaker 1: years are over, we shall see several European teams competing
1:34:03
Speaker 1: here year by year. In the early stages of the development,
1:34:08
Speaker 1: the game will be amateur, but later on will come
1:34:10
Speaker 1: the paid player. One writer says, no money, no first
1:34:15
Speaker 1: class football. This is rubbish. It's much to be regretted
1:34:20
Speaker 1: such a sentiment, for we can get the highest skill
1:34:23
Speaker 1: from those who play for the love of the game.
1:34:26
Speaker 1: The giants of the past who created the present demand
1:34:29
Speaker 1: were unpaid, and the future will still produce those who
1:34:32
Speaker 1: will not play for gold. Chapter thirteen. A few famous
1:34:40
Speaker 1: Cup ties. The English Cup is probably a bigger attraction
1:34:45
Speaker 1: to a footballer than any other. To a Scottish footballer,
1:34:48
Speaker 1: his international cap against England is to achieve the height
1:34:51
Speaker 1: of his ambition, but somehow in England to participate in
1:34:55
Speaker 1: the final at the Crystal Palace in April is the
1:34:57
Speaker 1: heart's desire of the average player. There is a glamour
1:35:01
Speaker 1: surrounding the English Cup competition that nothing else can compare
1:35:04
Speaker 1: with I well remember when the Scottish clubs were entitled
1:35:08
Speaker 1: to enter into the arena, and such great clubs as
1:35:11
Speaker 1: Queen's Park, Glasgow Rangers, Cowlers, Heart of mid Lothian entering
1:35:17
Speaker 1: in the lists against the best clubs that prevailed at
1:35:19
Speaker 1: the time in England. Queen's Park, still the premier amateur
1:35:23
Speaker 1: club in Scotland. Also the Heart of mid Lothian made
1:35:26
Speaker 1: history in this competition, but the first named must be
1:35:30
Speaker 1: given the laurels. There are still many old players in
1:35:33
Speaker 1: Scotland who maintained that in the first year, when they
1:35:36
Speaker 1: were beaten by Blackburn Rovers, the results should have gone
1:35:38
Speaker 1: the other way, as it was before my day. I
1:35:41
Speaker 1: cannot naturally go into the matter as thoroughly as I
1:35:44
Speaker 1: should desire, But when such players as Messrs Smellie and
1:35:48
Speaker 1: Campbell have assured me that they should have had the victory,
1:35:52
Speaker 1: I rather feel inclined to believe their statement. Queen's Park,
1:35:56
Speaker 1: as already stated, were for many years the greatest club
1:35:59
Speaker 1: in Scotland and they played the game for the love
1:36:01
Speaker 1: of it. For when in the two finals which were
1:36:04
Speaker 1: played at the Oval, most of their members had to
1:36:06
Speaker 1: travel over night to play on the following day, which
1:36:09
Speaker 1: speaks for itself. A great deal has been said as
1:36:12
Speaker 1: well as written about this matter, and it is often
1:36:15
Speaker 1: asked if the Queens deserved to win. Perhaps the finest
1:36:20
Speaker 1: Cup tie that has been seen at the Palace was
1:36:23
Speaker 1: the meeting of Everton and Aston Villa in eighteen ninety seven.
1:36:27
Speaker 1: I had thought at one time to participate in this final,
1:36:30
Speaker 1: but after playing three rounds I got knocked out and
1:36:33
Speaker 1: was unable to play. I must say that my substitute
1:36:38
Speaker 1: at center forward did exceedingly well and I could not
1:36:41
Speaker 1: grumble in any way at being left out. The ordinary
1:36:44
Speaker 1: London man will always remember this match. When the Villa
1:36:47
Speaker 1: eventually finished winners by three goals to two, I followed
1:36:51
Speaker 1: it very keenly, and in one way my sympathy went
1:36:53
Speaker 1: to the losers because there was little or nothing to
1:36:56
Speaker 1: choose between them. Coming to Southern clubs, probably Southampton have
1:37:01
Speaker 1: been the most disappointed club that has come into the list,
1:37:04
Speaker 1: especially through their great Cup tie with Knot's Forest at
1:37:07
Speaker 1: the Crystal Palace in the semi final of the Cup.
1:37:11
Speaker 1: A great amount of correspondence was entered into at the time,
1:37:14
Speaker 1: and everybody really admitted that they were most unlucky to
1:37:17
Speaker 1: be beaten at the last minute in a blinding snowstorm.
1:37:21
Speaker 1: Many people will remember how this tie was stopped in
1:37:24
Speaker 1: the middle of the game, and after resuming it with
1:37:26
Speaker 1: only a few minutes before the finish, the result was
1:37:29
Speaker 1: a draw. At almost the last moment, Nott's Forest broke
1:37:34
Speaker 1: away and scored a goal which many people considered should
1:37:36
Speaker 1: never have been allowed, simply because they did not see it.
1:37:40
Speaker 1: The snowstorm was heavier than when the referee stopped the
1:37:43
Speaker 1: game earlier on, but he allowed it to go on
1:37:46
Speaker 1: because he expected the game would result in a draw.
1:37:49
Speaker 1: Whether this is correct or not, I cannot say, but
1:37:51
Speaker 1: the fact remains that the good people of Southampton still
1:37:54
Speaker 1: maintained that they had not had their dues on that day.
1:37:58
Speaker 1: Something has been written of about a goalkeeper letting his
1:38:01
Speaker 1: side down in a final tie, but I cannot believe
1:38:04
Speaker 1: that any player, whether goalkeeper or forward, could or would
1:38:08
Speaker 1: let his side down. I do not care to enter
1:38:12
Speaker 1: into the year when my old club, Tottenham Hotspur won
1:38:15
Speaker 1: the Cup, but one of the biggest officials in the
1:38:17
Speaker 1: Football Association came along to compliment me and said that
1:38:21
Speaker 1: my side gave the best display of football since Aston
1:38:24
Speaker 1: Villa won the cup. Indeed, he implied that it was
1:38:28
Speaker 1: even better than that given by the Villa, which compliment
1:38:30
Speaker 1: I naturally appreciated. It was indeed a great day at
1:38:34
Speaker 1: the Palace, and I do not propose to dwell upon
1:38:37
Speaker 1: the goal allowed by mister Kingscott to our opponents. Our
1:38:40
Speaker 1: players were sure that the ball had not crossed the line,
1:38:43
Speaker 1: but as we won on the replay at Bolton, everything
1:38:46
Speaker 1: was forgiven and forgotten. Another great match in the early
1:38:50
Speaker 1: days was at Manchester between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Everton
1:38:55
Speaker 1: the previous Saturday had sent a reserve team to Wolverhampton.
1:38:58
Speaker 1: They won quite easily. I cannot say what the score was,
1:39:02
Speaker 1: but it was four or five goals to nothing. In
1:39:05
Speaker 1: the final at Manchester, Everton were eventually beaten by a
1:39:09
Speaker 1: long shot. In the early part of the game. There
1:39:12
Speaker 1: was no doubting their superior skill, but this result simply
1:39:15
Speaker 1: proved that CUPTI football is quite different from League football.
1:39:20
Speaker 1: There are two clubs in the South that have brought
1:39:23
Speaker 1: Southern football to the front, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur to
1:39:27
Speaker 1: the latter. All due credit must be given for winning
1:39:29
Speaker 1: the cup, but the Saints, as they are called, have
1:39:32
Speaker 1: done equally as good work as the Spurs. They were
1:39:35
Speaker 1: really the pioneers of professional football in the Southern League,
1:39:39
Speaker 1: and when one considers they were in the final in
1:39:41
Speaker 1: nineteen hundred and again in nineteen o two when they
1:39:43
Speaker 1: were beaten by Sheffield United after a drawn game, it
1:39:46
Speaker 1: reflects great credit upon them. They do not receive the
1:39:50
Speaker 1: credit they deserve from their own supporters, and the severance
1:39:53
Speaker 1: of two of their best local players in nineteen o
1:39:55
Speaker 1: six was a severe handicap to the team, and by
1:39:58
Speaker 1: the way, they were both born and bred in the
1:40:00
Speaker 1: district and caused a great sensation in the league. Perhaps
1:40:06
Speaker 1: one of the biggest surprises in the finals of the
1:40:08
Speaker 1: English Cup was the great victory of Bury over Darby County.
1:40:13
Speaker 1: The former won by six goals to nothing, but this
1:40:15
Speaker 1: was entirely due to Friar being far from fit to
1:40:18
Speaker 1: play and letting the first three goals go past him.
1:40:21
Speaker 1: If his knee had been all right, it would never
1:40:23
Speaker 1: have happened. My old friend Charlie Campbell often talks of
1:40:28
Speaker 1: his old Cup Tie experiences and sometimes has referred to
1:40:32
Speaker 1: the meetings of his old club, Queen's Park with Knots
1:40:35
Speaker 1: Forest and Blackburn Rovers. In my early days, mister Campbell
1:40:39
Speaker 1: was to my mind quite a hero. He would go
1:40:42
Speaker 1: out of his way to advise and encourage juniors, and
1:40:44
Speaker 1: much of my success at Queen's Park in Everton was
1:40:47
Speaker 1: due to the advice which he gave me in those days.
1:40:50
Speaker 1: Talking about Tottenham Hotspur in the year they won the Cup,
1:40:53
Speaker 1: practically the best victory was over Bury, who were the
1:40:56
Speaker 1: holders of the little pot at that time. There was
1:40:59
Speaker 1: more enthusiasm shown over that match that I consider has
1:41:02
Speaker 1: been seen during any other Cup tie that I have
1:41:04
Speaker 1: ever played in the game was fought in a proper spirit,
1:41:07
Speaker 1: and when Barry scored in the first few minutes, it
1:41:10
Speaker 1: was thought that all was over regarding Tottenham's chances. However,
1:41:14
Speaker 1: we got exceedingly well together and won by two goals
1:41:17
Speaker 1: to one amidst the greatest enthusiasm. It outshone the reception
1:41:22
Speaker 1: after the Bolton match, our victory over Reading, and all
1:41:26
Speaker 1: other great games the Spurs have distinguished themselves in. It
1:41:30
Speaker 1: is not for me to dwell upon the great receptions
1:41:32
Speaker 1: Spurs had on their return from Bolton. The only regret
1:41:35
Speaker 1: is that they have not won the Cup again, nor
1:41:38
Speaker 1: has any other Southern club had that honor. Southampton, as
1:41:41
Speaker 1: well as Spurs, have done much to uphold the prestige
1:41:44
Speaker 1: of the South in the Cup, and it now behooves
1:41:46
Speaker 1: the other clubs to gird themselves for the fray and
1:41:49
Speaker 1: demonstrate that Southern football is quite capable of holding its
1:41:53
Speaker 1: own against the North. The winning of the Cup by
1:41:56
Speaker 1: a Southern club next April would be the best possible
1:41:59
Speaker 1: proof of them. End of Section six. Section seven of
1:42:12
Speaker 1: Association Football and how to Play It. This LibriVox recording
1:42:16
Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Section seven. Laws of the game.
1:42:23
Speaker 1: Number of players, field of play, the ball one. The
1:42:28
Speaker 1: game should be played by eleven players on each side.
1:42:32
Speaker 1: The dimensions of the field of play shall be maximum
1:42:35
Speaker 1: length one hundred thirty yards, minimum length one hundred yards,
1:42:39
Speaker 1: maximum breadth one hundred yards, minimum breadth fifty yards. The
1:42:44
Speaker 1: field of play shall be marked by boundary lines. The
1:42:47
Speaker 1: lines at each end are the goal lines, and the
1:42:49
Speaker 1: lines at the side are the touch lines. The touch
1:42:52
Speaker 1: lines shall be drawn at right angles with the goal lines. Footnote.
1:42:57
Speaker 1: The touch and goal lines must not be marked by
1:43:00
Speaker 1: a V shaped rut end footnote. A flag with a
1:43:06
Speaker 1: staff not less than five feet high shall be placed
1:43:08
Speaker 1: at each corner. A halfway line shall be marked out
1:43:11
Speaker 1: across the field of play. The center of the field
1:43:14
Speaker 1: of play shall be indicated by a suitable mark, and
1:43:17
Speaker 1: a circle with ten yards radius shall be made round it.
1:43:20
Speaker 1: The goals shall be upright posts fixed on the goal lines,
1:43:24
Speaker 1: equidistant from the corner flagstaffs eight yards apart, with the
1:43:28
Speaker 1: bar across them eight feet from the ground. The maximum
1:43:32
Speaker 1: width of the goal posts and the maximum depth of
1:43:34
Speaker 1: the crossbar shall be five inches. Lines shall be marked
1:43:39
Speaker 1: six yards from each goal post at right angles to
1:43:42
Speaker 1: the goal lines, for a distance of six yards, and
1:43:45
Speaker 1: these shall be connected with each other by a line
1:43:48
Speaker 1: parallel to the goal lines. The space within these lines
1:43:51
Speaker 1: shall be the goal area. Lines shall be marked eighteen
1:43:55
Speaker 1: yards from each goal post at right angles to the
1:43:58
Speaker 1: goal line, for a distance of eighteen yards, and these
1:44:01
Speaker 1: shall be connected with each other by a line parallel
1:44:03
Speaker 1: to the goal lines. The space within these lines shall
1:44:06
Speaker 1: be the penalty area. A suitable mark shall be made
1:44:10
Speaker 1: opposite the center of each goal, twelve yards from the
1:44:13
Speaker 1: goal line, and this shall be the penalty kick mark.
1:44:17
Speaker 1: The circumference of the ball shall not be less than
1:44:19
Speaker 1: twenty seven inches nor more than twenty eight The outer
1:44:23
Speaker 1: casing must be made of leather, and no material shall
1:44:26
Speaker 1: be used in the construction of the ball which would
1:44:28
Speaker 1: constitute a danger to the players. In international matches, the
1:44:33
Speaker 1: dimensions of the field of play shall be maximum length
1:44:36
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty yards, minimum length one hundred ten yards,
1:44:40
Speaker 1: maximum breadth eighty yards, minimum breadth seventy yards, and at
1:44:45
Speaker 1: the commencement of the game, the weight of the ball
1:44:48
Speaker 1: shall be from thirteen to fifteen ounces. Duration of play,
1:44:53
Speaker 1: choice of goals, the kickoff two. The duration of the
1:44:58
Speaker 1: game shall be ninety minutes, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon.
1:45:02
Speaker 1: The winners of the toss shall have the option of
1:45:05
Speaker 1: kickoff or choice of goals. The game shall be commenced
1:45:08
Speaker 1: by a place kick from the center of the field
1:45:10
Speaker 1: of play in the direction of the opponent's goal line.
1:45:13
Speaker 1: The opponents shall not approach within ten yards of the
1:45:16
Speaker 1: ball until it is kicked off, nor shall any player
1:45:18
Speaker 1: on either side pass the center of the ground in
1:45:21
Speaker 1: the direction of his opponent's goal until the ball is
1:45:23
Speaker 1: kicked off. If this law is not complied with, the
1:45:27
Speaker 1: kickoff must be taken over again, changing ends the interval.
1:45:32
Speaker 1: The restart three ends shall only be changed at halftime.
1:45:38
Speaker 1: The interval at half times shall not exceed five minutes,
1:45:41
Speaker 1: except by consent of the referee. After the goal is scored,
1:45:45
Speaker 1: the losing side shall kick off, and after the change
1:45:48
Speaker 1: of ends at halftime, the ball shall be kicked by
1:45:50
Speaker 1: the opposite side from that which originally did so, and
1:45:54
Speaker 1: always as provided in law too. How a goal is
1:45:59
Speaker 1: scored if the bar is displaced, if ball rebounds or
1:46:02
Speaker 1: goes out of play. Four, Except as otherwise provided by
1:46:07
Speaker 1: these laws, a goal shall be scored when the ball
1:46:09
Speaker 1: has passed between the goal posts under the bar, not
1:46:14
Speaker 1: being thrown, knocked on, nor carried by any player of
1:46:17
Speaker 1: the attacking side. If from any cause during the progress
1:46:21
Speaker 1: of the game, the bar is displaced, the referee shall
1:46:24
Speaker 1: have the power to award a goal if, in his opinion,
1:46:27
Speaker 1: the ball would have passed under the bar if it
1:46:30
Speaker 1: had not been displaced. The ball is in play if
1:46:33
Speaker 1: it rebounds from a goalpost, crossbar, or corner flagstaff into
1:46:37
Speaker 1: the field of play. The ball is in play if
1:46:40
Speaker 1: it touches the referee or alignsman when in the field
1:46:42
Speaker 1: of play. The ball is out of play when it
1:46:45
Speaker 1: has crossed the goal line or touch line, either on
1:46:49
Speaker 1: the ground or in the air. The hole of the
1:46:52
Speaker 1: ball must have passed over the goal line or touch
1:46:55
Speaker 1: line before it is out of play the throw in. Five.
1:47:02
Speaker 1: When the ball is in touch, a player of the
1:47:04
Speaker 1: opposite side to that which played it out shall throw
1:47:07
Speaker 1: it in from the point on the touch line where
1:47:09
Speaker 1: it left the field of play. The player throwing the
1:47:12
Speaker 1: ball must stand on the touch line facing the field
1:47:16
Speaker 1: of play, and shall throw the ball in over his
1:47:19
Speaker 1: head with both hands in any direction, and it shall
1:47:23
Speaker 1: be in play when thrown in. A goal shall not
1:47:26
Speaker 1: be scored from a throw in, and the thrower shall
1:47:30
Speaker 1: not again play it until the ball has been played
1:47:33
Speaker 1: by another player. This law is complied with if the
1:47:36
Speaker 1: player has any part of both feet on the line
1:47:39
Speaker 1: when he throws the ball in. Offside six. When the
1:47:45
Speaker 1: player plays the ball or throws it in from touch,
1:47:47
Speaker 1: any player of the same side who, at such moment
1:47:50
Speaker 1: of playing or throwing in is nearer to his opponent's
1:47:53
Speaker 1: goal line is out of play and may not touch
1:47:56
Speaker 1: the ball himself, nor in any way whatever interfere with
1:47:59
Speaker 1: the opponent or with the play, until the ball has
1:48:02
Speaker 1: been again played unless there are at such moment of
1:48:06
Speaker 1: playing or throwing in at least three of his opponents
1:48:10
Speaker 1: nearer their own goal line. A player is not out
1:48:13
Speaker 1: of play in the case of a corner kick, or
1:48:16
Speaker 1: when the ball is kicked off from the goal, or
1:48:18
Speaker 1: when it has been last played by an opponent. A
1:48:22
Speaker 1: player cannot be out of play in his own half
1:48:25
Speaker 1: of the ground. Seven. When the ball is played behind
1:48:29
Speaker 1: the goal line by a player of the opposite side,
1:48:32
Speaker 1: it shall be kicked off by any one of the
1:48:34
Speaker 1: players behind whose goal line it went within that half
1:48:37
Speaker 1: of the goal area nearest the point where the ball
1:48:39
Speaker 1: left the field of play. But if played behind by
1:48:43
Speaker 1: any one of the side whose goal line it is,
1:48:45
Speaker 1: a player of the opposite side shall kick it within
1:48:48
Speaker 1: one yard of the nearest corner flag staff footnote. The
1:48:53
Speaker 1: corner flag must not be removed when a corner kick
1:48:57
Speaker 1: is taken end a footnote. In either case, an opponent
1:49:02
Speaker 1: shall not be allowed within six yards of the ball
1:49:05
Speaker 1: until it is kicked off. Eight. The goalkeeper may, within
1:49:11
Speaker 1: his own half of the field of play use his hands,
1:49:14
Speaker 1: but shall not carry the ball. The goalkeeper shall not
1:49:17
Speaker 1: be charged except when he is holding the ball or
1:49:21
Speaker 1: obstructing an opponent, or when he has passed outside the
1:49:24
Speaker 1: goal area. The goalkeeper may be changed during the game,
1:49:29
Speaker 1: but notice of such change must first be given to
1:49:31
Speaker 1: the referee. If the goalkeeper has been changed without the
1:49:35
Speaker 1: referee being notified, and the new goalkeeper shall handle the
1:49:39
Speaker 1: ball within the penalty area, a penalty kick must be awarded. Nine.
1:49:46
Speaker 1: Neither tripping, kicking, nor jumping at a player shall be allowed.
1:49:50
Speaker 1: A player the goalkeeper accepted, shall not intentionally handle the
1:49:54
Speaker 1: ball under any pretense whatsoever. A player shall not use
1:49:58
Speaker 1: his hands to hold or push opponent. Charging is permissible,
1:50:02
Speaker 1: but it must not be violent or dangerous. A player
1:50:06
Speaker 1: shall not be charged from behind unless he is obstructing
1:50:09
Speaker 1: an opponent. Ten. When a free kick has been awarded,
1:50:14
Speaker 1: the kicker's opponents shall not approach within six yards of
1:50:17
Speaker 1: the ball unless they are standing on their own goal line.
1:50:21
Speaker 1: The ball must at least be rolled over before it
1:50:24
Speaker 1: shall be considered played, i e. It must make a
1:50:27
Speaker 1: complete circuit or travel the distance of its circumference. The
1:50:32
Speaker 1: kicker shall not play the ball a second time until
1:50:35
Speaker 1: it has been played by another player. The kickoff, except
1:50:39
Speaker 1: as provided by law two. Corner kick and goalkick shall
1:50:44
Speaker 1: be free kicks within the meaning of the law. Eleven.
1:50:49
Speaker 1: A goal may be scored from a free kick which
1:50:51
Speaker 1: is awarded because of any infringement of law nine, but
1:50:55
Speaker 1: not from any other free kick. Twelve. Player shall not
1:51:00
Speaker 1: wear any nails, except such as have their heads driven
1:51:03
Speaker 1: in flush with the leather or metal plates or projections
1:51:08
Speaker 1: or gutta percha on his boots or on his shin guards.
1:51:11
Speaker 1: If bars or studs on the soles or heels of
1:51:14
Speaker 1: the boot are used, they shall not project more than
1:51:17
Speaker 1: half an inch, and shall have all their fastenings driven
1:51:20
Speaker 1: in flush with the leather. Bars shall be transverse and flat,
1:51:25
Speaker 1: not less than half an inch in width, and shall
1:51:27
Speaker 1: extend from side to side of the boot. Studs shall
1:51:31
Speaker 1: be round in plan, not less than half an inch
1:51:33
Speaker 1: in diameter, and in no case conical or pointed. Footnote.
1:51:39
Speaker 1: Wearing soft India rubber on the soles of boots is
1:51:42
Speaker 1: not a violation of this law. End footnote. Any player
1:51:47
Speaker 1: discovered infringing this law shall be prohibited from taking further
1:51:50
Speaker 1: part in the match. The referee shall, if required, examine
1:51:54
Speaker 1: the player's boots before the commencement of a match. Thirteen.
1:51:59
Speaker 1: A referee. He shall be appointed, whose duties shall be
1:52:01
Speaker 1: to enforce the laws and decide all disputed points, and
1:52:05
Speaker 1: his decision on points of fact connected with the games
1:52:07
Speaker 1: shall be final. He shall also keep a record of
1:52:10
Speaker 1: the game and act as time keeper. In the event
1:52:14
Speaker 1: of any ungentlemanly play on the part of the players,
1:52:16
Speaker 1: the offender or offenders shall be cautioned, and if further
1:52:20
Speaker 1: offense is committed, or in case of violent conduct, without
1:52:23
Speaker 1: any previous caution, the referee shall have the power to
1:52:26
Speaker 1: order the offending player off the field of play, and
1:52:28
Speaker 1: shall transmit the name or names of such player or
1:52:31
Speaker 1: players to his or their national association, who shall deal
1:52:35
Speaker 1: with the matter. The referee shall have power to allow
1:52:39
Speaker 1: for time wasted, to suspend the game when he thinks fit,
1:52:42
Speaker 1: and to terminate the game whenever by reason of darkness,
1:52:46
Speaker 1: interferenced by spectators, or other cause he may deem necessary.
1:52:50
Speaker 1: But in all cases in which a game is terminated,
1:52:53
Speaker 1: he shall report the same to the association under whose
1:52:56
Speaker 1: jurisdiction the game was played, who shall have full power
1:52:58
Speaker 1: to deal with the matter. The referee shall have power
1:53:02
Speaker 1: to award a free kick in any case in which
1:53:04
Speaker 1: he thinks the conduct of a player dangerous, but not
1:53:07
Speaker 1: sufficiently so as to justify him in putting in force
1:53:09
Speaker 1: the greater powers vested in him. The power of the
1:53:12
Speaker 1: referee extends to offenses committed when the play has been
1:53:15
Speaker 1: temporarily suspended and when the ball is out of play.
1:53:20
Speaker 1: Persistent infringement of any of the laws of the game
1:53:22
Speaker 1: is ungentlemanly conduct. Within the meaning of this law, all
1:53:26
Speaker 1: reports by referees to be made within three days after
1:53:29
Speaker 1: the occurrence. Sundays not included, and reports will be deemed
1:53:33
Speaker 1: to be made when received in the ordinary course of
1:53:36
Speaker 1: post fourteen. Two linesmen shall be appointed, whose duty, subject
1:53:43
Speaker 1: to the decision of the referee, shall be to decide
1:53:46
Speaker 1: when the ball is out of play and which side
1:53:49
Speaker 1: is entitled to the corner cack, goal cack or throw in,
1:53:52
Speaker 1: and to assist the referee in carrying out the game
1:53:55
Speaker 1: in accordance with the laws. Footnote. Linesmen, where neutral, should
1:54:00
Speaker 1: call the attention of the referee to rough or ungentlemanly conduct,
1:54:03
Speaker 1: and generally assist him to carry out the game in
1:54:06
Speaker 1: a proper manner and a footnote. In the event of
1:54:10
Speaker 1: any undue interference or improper conduct by a linesman. The
1:54:14
Speaker 1: referee shall have the power to order him off the
1:54:16
Speaker 1: field of play and appoint a substitute, and report the
1:54:19
Speaker 1: circumstance to the national association having jurisdiction over him, who
1:54:23
Speaker 1: shall deal with the matter. Fifteen. In the event of
1:54:28
Speaker 1: a supposed infringement of the law, the ball shall be
1:54:31
Speaker 1: in play until the decision has been given. Sixteen. In
1:54:37
Speaker 1: the event of any temporary suspension of play from any cause,
1:54:40
Speaker 1: the ball not having gone into touch or behind the
1:54:42
Speaker 1: goal line, the referee shall throw it down where it
1:54:45
Speaker 1: was when play was suspended, and the ball shall be
1:54:47
Speaker 1: in play when it has touched the ground. If the
1:54:50
Speaker 1: ball goes into touch or behind the goal line before
1:54:53
Speaker 1: it is played by a player, the referee shall again
1:54:55
Speaker 1: throw it down. The players on either side shall not
1:54:58
Speaker 1: play the ball until it has touched the ground. Seventeen.
1:55:04
Speaker 1: In the event of any infringement of Laws five, six, eight,
1:55:07
Speaker 1: ten or sixteen, or of a player being sent off
1:55:11
Speaker 1: the field under Law thirteen, a free kick shall be
1:55:14
Speaker 1: awarded to the opposite side from the place where the
1:55:16
Speaker 1: infringement occurred. In the event of any intentional infringement of
1:55:20
Speaker 1: Law nine outside the penalty area or by the attacking
1:55:23
Speaker 1: side within the penalty area, a free kick shall be
1:55:26
Speaker 1: awarded to the opposite side from the place where the
1:55:29
Speaker 1: infringement occurred. In the event of any intentional infringement of
1:55:33
Speaker 1: Law nine by the defending side within the penalty area,
1:55:36
Speaker 1: the referee shall award the opponents a penalty kick footnote.
1:55:40
Speaker 1: A penalty kick can be awarded irrespective of the position
1:55:43
Speaker 1: of the ball at the time the infringement is committed.
1:55:46
Speaker 1: In the event of the ball touching the goalkeeper before
1:55:48
Speaker 1: passing between the posts. When a penalty kick is being
1:55:51
Speaker 1: taken at the expiry of time, a goal is scored
1:55:54
Speaker 1: and a footnote which shall be taken from the penalty
1:55:58
Speaker 1: kick mark. Under the following conditions, all players, with the
1:56:03
Speaker 1: exception of the player taking the penalty kick and the
1:56:05
Speaker 1: opponent's goalkeeper shall be outside the penalty area. The opponent's
1:56:09
Speaker 1: goalkeeper shall not advance beyond his goal line. The ball
1:56:13
Speaker 1: must be kicked forward. The ball shall be in play
1:56:15
Speaker 1: when the kick is taken, and a goal may be
1:56:17
Speaker 1: scored from a penalty kick, but the ball shall not
1:56:20
Speaker 1: be again played by the kicker until it has been
1:56:22
Speaker 1: played by another player. If necessary, time of play shall
1:56:26
Speaker 1: be extended to admit of the penalty kick being taken.
1:56:30
Speaker 1: A free kick also shall be awarded to the opposite
1:56:34
Speaker 1: side if the ball is not kicked forward or is
1:56:37
Speaker 1: played a second time by the player who takes the
1:56:39
Speaker 1: penalty kick until it has been played by another player.
1:56:43
Speaker 1: The referee may refrain from putting the provisions of this
1:56:46
Speaker 1: law into effect in cases where he is satisfied that
1:56:49
Speaker 1: by enforcing them he would be giving an advantage to
1:56:51
Speaker 1: the offending side. If when a penalty kick is being taken,
1:56:56
Speaker 1: the ball passes between the goal posts under the bar
1:56:59
Speaker 1: a goal, it shall not be nullified by reason of
1:57:01
Speaker 1: any infringement by the defending side. Definition of terms, A
1:57:09
Speaker 1: place kick is a kick at the ball while it
1:57:12
Speaker 1: is on the ground in the field of play. A
1:57:16
Speaker 1: free kick is a kick at the ball in any
1:57:18
Speaker 1: direction the player pleases when it is lying on the ground.
1:57:23
Speaker 1: A place kick, a free kick, or a penalty kick
1:57:27
Speaker 1: must not be taken until the referee has given a
1:57:30
Speaker 1: signal for the same. Carrying by the goalkeeper is taking
1:57:35
Speaker 1: more than two steps while holding the ball or bouncing
1:57:38
Speaker 1: it on the hand. Knocking on is when a player
1:57:42
Speaker 1: strikes or propels the ball with his hands or arms,
1:57:47
Speaker 1: handling and tripping. Handling is intentionally playing the ball with
1:57:52
Speaker 1: the hand or the arm, and tripping is intentionally throwing
1:57:56
Speaker 1: or attempting to throw an opponent by the use of
1:57:59
Speaker 1: the legs or by stooping in front of or behind him.
1:58:04
Speaker 1: Holding includes the obstruction of a player by the hand
1:58:07
Speaker 1: or any part of the arm extending from the body.
1:58:11
Speaker 1: Touch is that part of the ground on either side
1:58:15
Speaker 1: of the field of play. End of Section seven and
1:58:21
Speaker 1: end of Association Football and How to Play It by
1:58:24
Speaker 1: John Cameron. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
1:58:31
Speaker 1: Recording by Ben Adams