Chapter 20. Preparing for the Future

Throughout this book the main purpose has been to deal with the game as it is. Perhaps by way of a change it will be of interest to speculate on the game as it is going to be; on the sort of football for which the boys of to-day might do well to prepare.

Where is the game going? When that question is put, my first and natural instinct is to reply: 'Goodness knows'. Experience tells us, in clear-cut language, that nobody knows, not even the officials who rule the game. These officials make a change in the laws here and there, with a particular objective in view. The change, however, has effects on the game very different from those originally visualized. Groping in the dark we find ourselves getting to the most unexpected places.

We have the quarter-century-old change in the offside rule as an outstanding example of the surprising twists and turns of history. When the offside rule was altered there was an all-round impression that the new regulations would prove a boon and a blessing to attackers. In the change, so it was agreed, the seed was sown for a rich harvest in goals, especially for centre-forwards. For a short while this proved true.

In due time, however - and not so very far ahead at that -there came a reminder that in contemplating the effect the change would have on play and on players we had entirely ignored the centre-half. The change in the offside rule affected the tactics of centre half-backs to a greater extent than it did those of any other player. The harvest of goals speedily came to an end. Instead of more goals per match than ever, the goal-scoring actually decreased.

That was an outstanding case to illustrate the point that it is very difficult to get, as the result of crystal-gazing, a clear idea of exactly where we are going when we start changing the laws of football. But speculative as the subject may be it is certainly fascinating and I feel that the lads of to-day - the players of to-morrow - will benefit by giving some thought to where the game is going and make their plans accordingly. I have hinted earlier that the present tendency is for the game to become more gentlemanly; or more gentle, if you like.

On my shelf is a book which tells about the early deliberations of the men who framed the laws of football. According to that old book one of the then legislators put the question: 'Shall we have hacking?' The reply from another legislator was: 'Yes, let's have hacking, and enjoy ourselves'. Well, the days when hacking was permitted soon passed, but the game still remained one in which sheer physical strength played an important part. What is more, the players enjoyed themselves.

Frank Barson is still doing his bit as the trainer of the Swansea Town team. He was a great centre-half, strong as a horse, who knew the game backwards. In his playing days it was not unusual for Frank to get into touch with the opposing centre-forward and to say to him, before the match started: 'Shall we have an up-and-downer?' I strongly suspect that Frank was most pleased when he got the reply: 'Yes, let's'. This 'all-in' football - within the framework of the laws, of course - had a fascination of its own.

I remember Jock Hutton, the big Scottish full-back. In one match in which we played on opposite sides, he and I were running parallel towards the ball. We both decided, at the same instant, that we should hit each other with one shoulder. We did it, and shook each other considerably. We both managed to keep our feet, however, and for the second time we each tried to hit the other for six. During the next lull in the play, Hutton came over to me, shook me by the hand as he said: 'That was lovely, wasn't it, Joe?' The spectators didn't know what he said, but they cheered us to the echo over the incident.

That sort of fun and games, so it seems to me, belongs to the past - and the past is dead. There is at least a suggestion, however, that we are still in some doubt concerning the part which physique plays in this game. One of the most talked about of our up-and-coming players is Tommy Harmer, the inside forward of Tottenham Hotspur. When he got into the Tottenham first team he was hailed as one of the outstanding finds of the day. But he didn't just spring up overnight like a mushroom. For a season or two before he had been doing his fancy tricks, turning opponents dizzy, with his amazing ball jugglery. Tommy had been kept out of the first team, however, because he was considered to be too slight of build to stand up to the hurly-burly of the first-class competitions. Various ways and means had been tried to build him up, to add weight to that boyish frame. These efforts were unsuccessful. Harmer remained little more than nine stone, but with that weight he clearly showed that he could stand up to - and stand out in - top-class football.

No good purpose would be served by debating whether reduction in the amount of direct physical contact has been good or bad for the game. The fact is that the current tendency is to reduce it more and more, and I visualize the day when it will vanish almost completely. Already we have reached the stage when it is almost considered to be an offence for the attackers even to look fierce at the opposing goalkeeper, much less touch him. There was a bit of a to-do after a recent International match between Wales and England. Some of the Welsh-born players threw their weight about a bit. Such tactics did not meet with general approval. Far from it. Indeed, it was even suggested by a prominent English authority that these International games should be an object lesson in the arts and crafts of the game; not games distinguished for energy or the downright, honest-to-goodness will to win.

I can see the game of the future becoming more and more a thing of art and craft. If this is a correct conclusion, that is something which the would-be stars of the future should bear in mind.

Passing over the fact that rule changes are leading in that direction, there is a style of team-play which is also taking the game along the same lines. Tottenham Hotspur have won championships; Preston North End have climbed back to the First Division with football which, to summarize it in one short phrase, has made the game easy. In this up-to-date game it is no part of the business of any player to hang on to the ball until he is challenged. As he receives it, some colleague - or more than one - runs into position to receive the ball. This type of football looks fast. It is fast, too, in the speed at which movements are developed, but it is not really necessary to have fast runners to play it successfully. Making the ball do the work is its essence. By the time the opponent reaches the player in possession the ball isn't there, and the physical contact has been, to a large extent, eliminated.

Reading between the lines of the new football, it will be realized that as it is played there is little room in modern football for the artful dribbler. By all means learn the tricky stuff. It will come in useful. But remember that, as the game is going, position play, finding and slipping into the vacant places, is an art which needs to be developed. Already indications are not wanting of counter-moves by defenders to this new-style, quick attacking play. If the clamour for an increase in goals continues, other changes may follow in due course - possibly involving alterations in the laws. Have you ever thought of what would be the general effect on play if the offside law was completely cut out of the rules? Of course you have!

Maybe, like most other people, you have thought mainly of the dreadful things which would happen to the play if there was no such thing as offside. It is possible to imagine an end to many of the delightful combined movements which we see in these days. I rather feel, however, that in this connection we are apt to let our imagination run away with itself. Should we see the centre-forwards standing like lamp-posts by the side of the opposing goalkeeper, waiting for the ball to be kicked to them? Of course we shouldn't.

I believe I may live to see the day - and modern schoolboys certainly will - when offside is completely abolished. When that day comes, it is likely that there will be a chorus from footballers, controlling officials, and even the watchers of the game: 'For this relief much thanks'. Meanwhile, however, the young players of to-day can't frame their tactics on the assumption that there isn't an offside law. The attackers, running into position in the manner which I have tried to describe, must not, in their anxiety to find the open space, overlook their position in relation to the offside law.

What of the future in other directions - for example, in the matter of International matches. There isn't the slightest doubt, in my mind, that we are heading rapidly for a time when a party of footballers will be picked out and gathered together to spend all their time preparing for and playing International matches. What a prospect! What an incentive to the rising generation of footballers.

The straws certainly show that the wind is blowing in this direction. The men who have played for England in recent times have disappointed by the exhibitions of team-play. The selectors have turned this way and that, chopped and changed, but still there has been something lacking. And the lack has mainly been in mutual understanding, so much so that many thinking people are of the opinion that a really good club side would beat a side of stars chosen from different clubs.

What these stars from many clubs need is additional experience as a team. It would help, of course, if the players selected for an International game were in close companionship for a longer time before the match for which they have been picked.

That, however, is merely tinkering with the problem. There is only one place where tactical ideas can be tried out thoroughly - on the field of play. Even then the question of whether those ideas are good, bad or indifferent can only be put to the test in real matches in which the players of one side are nearly, if not quite, as good as their opponents.

More and more of these International matches are getting on to the regular fixture list. The way to make the most of a team of stars is to get them together and to let them play together regularly. A team of stars not attached to any club. I suggest that is where we are going.

Such is the logical development of current tendencies. There is now in existence - recently formed - what is called the Intermediate International Selection Committee. Its special duty is not to find International players of to-day, but potential International players of the future. This new Committee is looking round and taking a note of the most promising of the younger players. In due course they should be able to put their hands on a whole team of them, as well as suitable reserves. Is it straining the imagination to suggest that, when the sifting has been done, the players picked at a comparatively early age will be welded into a lasting team for International purposes? I can see such a side, properly built up, properly trained, and properly developed, setting up new standards of play. And a team which sets a higher standard in this branch of the game will raise the standard of play in the general sense. If this dream comes true, the football of the future will be better than the football of the past. I don't believe that the last word in efficiency on the football field has been said. The boys of to-day can be better footballers than their fathers were.

Connected with this vision of a super-team is the question of the financial recompense for the players who reach the heights. The fitting reward should be automatic, however, and need not be stressed here. This question of pay was very hurriedly broached after the birth of football by floodlight.

That was a pity, for that there is a future for football 'in the dark' is as clear as the brightest daylight. In due time there will be regular competition games played when the daylight has faded, a new League competition for the big clubs, and maybe a Cup competition in artificial light.

The young players of to-day will be affected by this development. The big clubs will need bigger staffs with which to carry through the additional fixtures. They will be able to afford bigger playing staffs, too. If that statement produces a smile, or a retort that at the present time the demand for good footballers is greater than the supply, the answer is that there is no necessity to be unduly worried. The players of to-morrow are growing up to-day. They will be forthcoming in sufficient quantities if they know full well that the game is worth the candle. To throw in another metaphor, there are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.

Are all the current efforts to produce more and better footballers just so much waste of time, money and effort? Of course not. Extra players will be wanted when this football of the future takes shape. They will be there.