Football & how to play it, etc

18
FOOTBALL DESCRIBED
occurs when playing on the. defensive, to
combine also wit•.h the backs. In any special
match, where there is _ something at. stake,
the half-back can
:
always render invaluable
aid to his side by covering up the hack.
That is to say, when he sees the back drawn
out to tho wing to clieckmate a player on
the opposite: side, he should drop behind
the back
-
and be ready, if required, to cto
what his clubmate leas failed to. accomplish.
It is co-operation all round which, leads
to success. We cannot have too
,
much of
this co-operation between the halves nd
forwards. Close follo,
-
�ving-up by halves,
the passing on of the ball to the forward,
and the passing back by the forward to. the
half-back is the game that pays. " Bobbie "
Walker of the Heart of 112idlothian, John
Campbell (now of Third Lanark),and Sandy
i1'1`i�fahon, the veteran Celt, are the best
forwards I have played behind who follow
out this style of game.
The Advantages of Combination.
I would never have
,
turned out in the
League International against Englansi at
the Crystal Palace in 1900 but for the: fact'
that I was playing behind Alec Smith,
Cairpbell, and AI'Mahon. I was feeling
none too well at the time, but I liumv I
would be saved a lot of unnecessary run-
ning about by such ;skilful colleagues, and
I was none the worse for playing, while
doing :ry own share: of the work. It is as
easy again for the half-back to shine if lie
gets good men in front who
can
carry out
combination and give back a, pass, while he
keeps, shoving on the bali. 1/1
-
Mahon fives
a lovely pass—I know none better.
.Shoot for Goal.
Then a half-back should always sboot for
goal when opportunity occurs. I had 13
go.a,la from Half - buck in my first
season with Everton's first tc.arn,
and I was only six months of that tine.
in thc, senior eleven. I lead .17 i
.
roals
in one season at Soutbampton, and ever
since in the ranks, of the Rangers I have
kept up my end. The half-back gets
numerc<u:s opportunities to score, and be
ought to cultivate ac-curacy in shooting if
he wants to get cn.
Combination can be carriecl out: wit
h
the
head as well as the feet. I have seen in
the Rangers, times without number, the
ball being headed by Gibson to Neill, aiid
by Neill to ine, and in turn I lieaded it back
or to the forward in front of me—thous
carrying out conitination to its limit.
A good half
-
back should be as clever with
his head in placing as he is with his feet
in tackling or in passing. A rash-kicking
forward is of no use nowadays, when com-
bination is so well. practised. By kicking
;the Bail vvildx iu the air the player simply.
handicaps his team, for t3io kick as often
as not gives the ball toi the other side, and
loses any .advautag•e
,
his own team may
li .ve secured up to that point.
Training Hints.
A player ougdit always to attend seriously
to. his training, and to the instructions of
his trainer. If lie leads a temperate
,
life
and is physically sound, the training r xer-
cises will be a pleasure to him. Training
with some Clubs is overdone. I have seen
a tea-m enter the field on the occasion of an
important match after the men had under-
gone a spell of special training, more in
need of a :rest than having to engage in a
het worrying game foe an hour and a half.
The, result was they could not stand the
pace, and were unfit for the: task :et them.
Ther_� is a tendency in Scotland t•o make
training too exacting—and discipline too
severe. , When I was playing for Southamp-
ton and Evert-on, all th{3 training we got
was light sprinting exercises every Tuesday
and Thursday. The matches we engaged
in every weak proved sufficient to harden
the muscles, aaid the sprinting exercises we
got
Lit
the Club headquarters on the days
I monticn served the purpose of develop-
ing speed and keeping us fit.
A man does not require to turn out and
Nava football practice every day of 1.he
week. If the training is confined chiefly
to light exercises, judicious baths, and
short sprints, nothing else is necessary.
The player who has not seen a 'wail from
the one match to the other will be keener
on the ball than one
,
who has indulged in
practice games in the interval.
Not Too Much Walling.
In 1 he case of a team being taken from
home for special training on the eve of a
cup tie, thorea ought not to be too much
walking to weary the limbs. Walking is a
capital exercise for giving one stamina, Eut
the danger is in making walking spins too
fatiguing. Ten-mile walks and prolonged
spells of ball-pur-ching are sometimes over-
done. The special training should be more
of a rest, and eban(re of air than haxd work,
if the players ar;a otherwise in good health
and seasoned, with a round of Club games.
My experience of special training in Eng-
land was principally on the lines I have
indicated.
A RINT TO FOOTBALLERS.
Footballers should drink a cup of Vi-
Cocoa before playing. A well-known in-
ternational gymnast declare$,. that all
athletes, previous to engaging in any con-
test, should partake of this beverage,' and
they will £tnd it stre>agthenin
;,