Association Football

FOOTBALL, ASSOCIATION. Out of the chaos existing during the '4os and '5os emerged certain clubs which considered that football was a game to be played with the feet and not with the hands, and certain other clubs which regarded carrying the ball as the salt of the game. The advocates of football for the feet were the first to take any decisive actions and in 1848 or 1849 a meeting was held at Cambridge attended by old boys from Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Rugby and Shrewsbury. A list of rules was drawn up and published as "The Cambridge Rules," but what they were, or what became of the printed rules, or whether they were ever put into action, is unknown. The next attempt of which there is any record was made in 1862 when a set of rules was drawn up and published, with no known results. In the meantime the number of clubs had increased, and Sheffield (1855), Blackheath (1857), Hallamshire (1857), Old Harrovians (1859), and the Forest F.C. (186o?), afterwards known as "The Wanderers," were among the earliest of any note. In Oct. 1863 another determined effort was made, and a code of rules was drawn up at Cambridge and published. In the same month a meeting of representatives of the chief London and other clubs was held at the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen street, and the Football Association was formed. The Blackheath club, which played the carrying game, was willing at first to join the new asso ciation, but when the rules were published on Dec. I, it protested against the omission of the permission to hack, and withdrew. Henceforth each party played in its own way.

The Laws and the Off-side Rule.

When the laws of Asso ciation football were first published in I 863 they were recognized as good work; they were expressed clearly and so easy to under stand. But there was one law which, although it was easy to understand, was difficult to carry out. This was the off-side rule, which from 1866 to 1926 read as follows: "When a player plays the ball, or throws it in from touch, any player of the same side who at such moment of playing or throwing in, is nearer to his opponents' goal-line, is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever interfere with an opponent. until the ball has been played, unless there are at such moment of playing or throwing in, at least three of his opponents nearer their own goal-line. A player is not out of play in the case of a corner kick, or when the ball is kicked off from goal, or when it has been last played by an opponent." The difficulty of applying the law is concerned with the words "at such moment of playing or throwing in." Suppose a centre for ward (A) has the ball at his feet at the half-way line, that the outside left (B ) is behind the half-way line, and that seven or eight of the opposing side are in their own half, A now kicks the ball forward and high towards the left touch line; the attention of the players and probably the referee is naturally directed to the spot where the ball will drop. But just as it is about to fall B sud denly arrives, having rushed up, and takes the ball on with him, only two of the opposing side being now between him and the goal line. B is obviously not off-side, for when the ball was kicked by A he was behind the kicker. But from the crowd would come a vociferous shout of "off-side!" and it was not unlikely the referee would blow his whistle. This difficulty of seeing exactly where each forward is placed at the moment of kicking has been the cause of endless disputes; but if there is an off-side law at all there must always be this difficulty, which may easily be exaggerated. A player could not (in 1928) be off-side in his own half of the ground, but may as before be off-side unless there are at least two opponents between him and the goal-line. But the difficulty of application has only been altered, not removed.

For a few years after the World War there was often conster nation among the forwards when the opposing side played the "one-back" game. That is to say, one of the two backs would suddenly advance and place a forward off-side. The manoeuvre was exploited with great success by McCracken, an Irishman playing for one of the Football League clubs, but it gradually died out. Many forwards learned that by passing back they could easily outwit the "one-back" method. Most of the other laws have been slightly altered as the years have gone by, and the law as to throwing in from touch has been changed several times. At one period the thrower need use but one hand, and strong men like William Gunn and George Brann could throw it in this way as far as a man could kick.

There can be no doubt that one of the chief reasons why the Association game is so popular is that although in its highest form it gives scope for an immense amount of skill, it can be played and thoroughly enjoyed by those who have hardly any skill at all. Another excellent reason is that a spectator who has hitherto never seen a game of football can in a few minutes follow the progress of the game with ease and understanding. To learn the rudiments of the game is a matter of a few minutes. With the aid of the accompanying plan a would-be spectator or player can see how the different players are standing just before the game begins. When the ball is kicked off from the centre by the centre-forward of one side, he generally pushes it gently forward in such a way that his inside left or inside right may get to it first. Whether he or one of the opposing side gets it, the game is in progress, and resolves itself into a continued struggle between the two sides for the possession of the ball. In a general way the players will keep their relative positions wherever the ball may be, so that there is not the same difficulty in following their movements as there is in the Rugby game, in which, to the uninitiated spectator, the players may in a few min utes seem hopelessly mixed up. In the Association game the attacking force, the forwards, pass the ball to each other until the defending force of the other side, the half-backs and backs, take it away from them and give their own forwards a chance to attack. But except on the rarest occasions there is no confusion, and each player should be found in his proper position. The skill shown by the forwards in passing the ball to each other, and by the half-backs and backs in taking the ball from them and pass ing to their own forwards, is a continual feast of pleasure to the spectators ; sometimes this skill is lacking when the forwards have a chance of kicking a goal.

The Dribbling Period.

In the years which immediately followed the formation of the Football Association, the for wards, as an attacking force, concerned themselves very little with passing ; they made progress chiefly by keeping the ball close to their feet and dribbling it, often at a great pace, round one defender after another, until it was taken away from them. It might seem to-day that the backs and half-backs would have a very easy time if dribbling were the only means of progression; but some of the old dribblers were so quick in their movements, so clever and so elusive, that the task of stopping them was any thing but easy.

In estimating the position held in the football world by a player who is gone, it must be remembered that whereas a cricketer leaves behind him invaluable records in the way of scores or analyses, a footballer leaves nothing but his memory. He can only be judged by the men of his own time, and their opinions often differ widely. Hence in attempting to give the names of the greatest players of their time it is only possible to pick out men who were generally regarded by their contemporaries as being in the very first rank—there can be no finality and no unanimity. The Association game, moreover, by its very nature does not give the same scope as Rugby for a player to force him self clear above all his contemporaries, but it produces many great players of about equal ability.

The Years of Passing and Dribbling—First Period.— Many people think that the years between 1880 and 1896 were the palmy days of Association football.

The forward play was very good, and by its very excellence produced good defenders. The old dribbling forwards still playing had become experts in passing, but at that time men passed only when they thought a comrade was in a better position to take the ball, or had a better chance of scoring: they did not neglect the art of dribbling. Old players can still feel a thrill when they remember the glad shout of the spectators, "He's off," when William Gunn (Notts.), George Brann (Ardingly and Swifts and the Sussex cricketer) or W. I. Bassett (West Bromwich Albion) on the right wing, or W. J. Townley (Blackburn Rovers) on the left wing, received the ball near his own goal and sprinted up the line, apparently with quite a straight run, but in reality dodging with the greatest cleverness. The defenders never knew what they might do with the ball, for they might pass it when half way up the ground, or go straight to the corner and then centre just in front of the goal. Nor will old players ever forget the long, elusive runs and deft passes of W. N. Cobbold (Charterhouse and Cambridge), whose contemporaries are agreed that he was the very best forward the game had so far produced. At inside left he was magnificent as a dribbler, being very elusive and very fast, getting into his pace at once. Above all, he had the instinct of knowing when to shoot at goal, and the ability to turn th'; instinct to good account.

The Second Period.

At the beginning of the '9os, passing had become something like an exact science, and dribbling was not so frequently practised. The consequence was that there were fewer opportunities for special distinction, and outstanding players became less numerous.

But this was a period of great levelling up from below and levelling down from above, and although there were many very fine forwards most of them just missed greatness.

The Age of Levelling.

In the next 20 years before the World War there was more levelling up and levelling down; the first-class game had become so scientific that there were fewer and fewer opportunities for special distinction. To mention the names of the greatest players of this period would practically be to give a list of half the men in the teams of the Corinthians and the chief leagues. Already passing was becoming a fetish, and many forwards, finding themselves in such a position that they had the glorious opportunity to shoot, were afraid to take the responsibility, and passed to a comrade simply because they were anxious to get rid of the ball. But there were still men who, by reason of their personality or special skill, were able to stand out among their fellows.

After the World War.

During the World War men played football in the army in their intervals of rest, but naturally, not being able to get first-class practice, they fell off in skill, just as men did in cricket and all other games. Ever since then, all the great leagues have been straining every nerve, and spending large sums of money in trying to find satisfactory centre-f or wards ; but although every now and then the right man seemed to have been discovered, he usually fell off in his play after a few matches. It was the same with men in other positions; they some times did so well for a time that the greatest hopes were raised, but in a short time the hopes were disappointed ; either they were injured or their great skill seemed to leave them. A tendency developed for every player, whether he was a back or half-back or a forward, to part with the ball at once, even if he was in a much better position than any of his comrades to go on with it himself. This resulted in much fascinating play in mid-field, but when the ball was near the goal these tactics were fated not to succeed. Heading the ball, which in the early days of the game was seldom practised, has become so general and produces so little good result, that many footballers are beginning to think that it might be abolished. Even if a man has a hard skull it cannot be good for him constantly to meet a ball with his head, however hard it may be kicked or however heavy through wet. Nor can a man possibly know, when he heads a ball, exactly where it will go; and as likely as not it goes to an opponent.

A glance at the list of internationals will always show how a game stands at any period in regard to outstanding players. If the names of several men appear time after time it does not follow that they are great players, or even the best ; but it does follow that they were outstanding players of their time. If, as in the case of Association football since the World War, the names of players are constantly changing, it is a certain sign of the absence of outstanding players. Everything since the war has tended to merge the individual in the team, and a list of the greatest players of the day would be a list of the men in the chief leagues in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. To differenti ate between them is a task which even selection committees seem to find nearly hopeless.