The holy grail of football books! pic.twitter.com/6MYSjjEmjH— Rob Fielder (@ademir2z) February 13, 2017 So I just managed to get a copy of this book, arguably the most important written about the early years of football. I thought I would share some bits and pieces in here and maybe some photos if anyone was interested. Starting off the book is from 1906 from Gibson and Pickford and comes in 4 volumes, each roughly 200 pages in length. One of the most interesting aspects of the book to me are the men chosen as "Giants of the Game", each receiving a special profile from the authors. Those chosen are: Volume 1: Steve Bloomer John Goodall Ernest Needham Nick Ross Alex Smith G.O. Smith Herbert Smith Hugh Wilson Walter Arnott Billy Bassett John Devey James Cowan Harry Hampton Alexander Tait Bob Templeton Vivian Woodward Volume 2: Howard Spencer S.S. Harris W.J. Oakley Alec Leake John Glover W.N. Cobbold Walter Bull Bert Lipsham Tom Crawshaw Bob Crompton Archie Hunter J. Sharp Alex Raisbeck Frank Forman William Mosforth A.M. and P.M. Walters Volume 4 Albert Buick Kelly Houlker Robert Walker Harry Wood Charlie Roberts James Howie Andrew McCombie Arthur Bridgett
Thanks for sharing. Some interesting choices. Of the men we have not included in the Top 5s, Leake and Bridgett should be in. I have placed them in 1904 and 1906 respectively. Of the others, Herbert Smith, Sandy Tait, John Glover and Walter Bull never played international football. Smith played only four league matches for Stoke and Derby and has presumably been included for featuring at the 1908 Olympics. Tait appeared mainly in the Southern League but did win the FA Cup once, as did Lipsham, who was awarded one cap against Wales. Houlker got a couple against Scotland. Buick was kept out of the Scottish team by Raisbeck so may have been unlucky. The book is a gold mine.
This is great, really looking forward to more insights you can give us. Very interesting list of "Giants". Seems a bit English slanted to me. Only three players that were purely Scotland based (Smith, Walker, and Arnott). More Scots who had big club careers in England (Ross, Wilson, Cowan, Templeton, Raisbeck, Howie).
So, I'll try and work through some of these giants to start with and then pick out any other particularly interesting bits that I see. So to start off with Steve Bloomer, probably one of the players in the book who is most widely known among the modern audience thanks to his remarkable goalscoring record. These are just snippets that I have picked out as being of particular notes. A few introductory comments about his unlikely prowess as a player, owing to his lack of physique, give way to some interesting bits on his style. " In his style of play he is also unlike any great forward of our time. He can play inside to either wing, and yet he does not play the orthodox insider's game. He does not, as a rule, consider it his business to "feed" his wing, nor does he think it imperative to play to his centre. Bloomer might do either, or both, or neither, just as it suits him, and yet one never hears his partner complain. Combination play is the essence of successful football and yet the great Derby County forward does not make himself subservient to the "machine". He can combine to anyone when he thinks it necessary and yet he rarely shows his great powers in this regard." "Embroidery and fancy work he leaves to the artists that like that sort of thing. He is possessed with the one grand idea - to get goals, and to get them with the least possible expenditure of time and energy. Strictly speaking he is an opportunist; he is also to a lesser degree an individualist. He rarely depends for his success upon his partner. No man can create an opportunity like Bloomer." "He is one of those players who are seen to greater advantage in big games than in small ones. The greater the occasion the better he plays." "He is second perhaps only to W.N. Cobbold as a dribbler, but second to no man as a shot at goal. Strange to say, no man can make or take a pass better than Bloomer. He knows instinctively where to place the ball and he knows equally well where to receive it. Some of his runs down the wing with Bassett and Athersmith for partner have never been excelled. When within shooting radius he is the most dangerous forward ever seen. Most of his shots are hit fast and low, but occasionally they are oblique from the wing to the corner of the net, or high and lightening-like just under the crossbar. He can use his head finely close in from a corner kick and no one can get out of difficulty with the same ease and certitude."
John Goodall "John Goodall was never a sprinter, nor did his methods require exceptional speed. It was a combination of dribbling and passing - swift, short passing - that won the fame of the team that became known to fame as "Proud Preston". Exactly how much of North End's cleverness was due to the inspiration of the pale Kilmarnock boy one cannot, of course, dogmatise on, but there is little doubt that the miraculous passing of the Preston forwards was largely due to Goodall's initiative." "Goodall was the brain of every combination he played in. He alone seemed to know the exact moment to dribble, the exact moment to pass, the exact moment to shoot. He possessed the powers of drawing the defence on to himself only to make a clear opening for a comrade." "He had not the vigour of a Johnnie Campbell, he had not the dash of a John Southworth, he had not the scientific precision of a G.O. Smith, but he had something all these great players lacked - the power of getting the best out of all the other members of the team. His dribbling was as close and clever as that of W.N. Cobbold, but instead of shouldering his way to the front like the great Cantab, he "wormed" his way through the opposition with the gliding movement of a serpent." Further comments about his good humour, honesty and sportsmanship leading him to be known as John All Good.
This is the best description of Bloomer I have seen. Detailed and balanced, without the class prejudice that sometimes creeps into contemporary reports. John Goodall coached the young Bloomer at Derby and got him to take the penalties.
Ernest Needham "There are few footballers better worth watching than the little man who for so many years has acted as captain of the Sheffield United team, and who incidentally has had so much to do with the building up of its fortunes." Talks about how he had a very strong preference for playing left-half rather than centre-half but that he learnt a lot under the tutelage of Scotsman Willy Hendry, the Blades captain before Needham. "There is one thing that has made Ernest Needham stand out of the common run of halves: he is neither a constructive nor a defensive half-back alone; he is both at once. One moment you will see him falling back to the defence of his own goal, or checking the speedy rush of his wing; the next, and almost before the possibility of a speedy change has dawned, he is up with his own forwards, feeding them to a nicety, and always making the most of every opening. Where he gets his pace from is a mystery. He never seems to be racing, yet he must be moving at racing post; he never seems to be exhausted yet in a big game he is practically doing three men's work. And therein lies another attribute which he claims for himself. It has often been urged that he is too prone to wander from his proper place. His answer to that is the number of times that he has contrived to save his goal by falling well back to the relief of his backs." "It is not easy to accurately sum up his usefulness. He is a fine shot, taking the ball in any position, always getting plenty of pace on it ... he dribbles like a forward, keeping the ball wonderfully close, and yet never at a loss for a pass when the time comes." "Will be remembered for years, in Sheffield at any events, as the finest left half-back that English football has known."
Nick Ross "If one were asked to name three of the greatest full-backs that ever graced the Association game, one would be compelled to include the late Nicholas J. Ross as one of the illustrious three. Walter Arnott of Queen's Park, Glasgow, would be my second selection and A.M. Walters, the old Charterhouse boy, the third. I don't profess to place them in order of merit. On his special days each man would be unapproachable. There are others who will go down to history as amongst the greatest of full-backs, who on certain occasions or during certain years quite equalled the prowess of my noble trio. John Forbes of the Vale of Leven and Blackburn Rovers, P.M Walters, brother of A.M. and his habitual partner in the Corinthian team, A.H. Harrison of Oxford University and the Corinthians, L.V. Lodge of Cambridge University and the Corinthians, "Nick" Smith of Glasgow Rangers and Dan Doyle of Glasgow Celtic - these men were all giants of the game, I and yet they hardly came into the category of my dauntless three." "Though Nick Ross was probably no better back than the other two, he was the man above all else who kicked the football that I would have on my side. No one, I take it, ever kicked quite so artistically as Walter Arnott; no man ever "placed" the ball so well to his forwards as the auburn-haired Scot. No one ever tackled quite so sturdily as A.M Walters; no man came off so victoriously in a strenuous challenge. Nick Ross could kick artistically - and otherwise; he could "place" the ball beautifully for his comrades; he could take care of himself in a charge; he rarely came second best out of a scrimmage, but it was not all nor any of these qualities that made him one in a million. Ross was probably the best full-back that ever lived, because he not only could do everything in perfection that a full-back ought to do, but because he had the faculty of winning matches. He possessed the indefinable something, that magic quality which, for lack of a better word, we call genius. I only know of two other footballers who have possessed the same quality in the same degree. These are Ernest Needham of Sheffield United and G.O. Smith of the Corinthians." "He seemed to see everything before it happened. He could tell if the rush of the opposing forwards spelt danger or was only a ruse. He possessed the instinct of knowing when a goal was about to be scored, and yet he was no magician! He could not tell whence came those inspired periods when he did everything right and could do no wrong. He was in the hurly-burly of the game, and whether it lasted moments or hours he was scarce tell. He owed little or nothing to superior physical gifts. He was neither very big, nor very strong, but he was very fast. As an athlete many a man surpassed him; as a footballer only a few have quite touched the same transcendent note. It was in instinct and intuition that he differed from most men."
Alec Smith Alec Smith of Rangers and Scotland (b. 1876) @BeyondTLM @ScotsFootyCards pic.twitter.com/zx5l85hy2o— Rob Fielder (@ademir2z) February 19, 2017 Some initial comments about how he was a national hero of Scotland, famous to every young boy and arguably better known among adults than economist Adam Smith. "Bold, original, daring in his methods, he never forgets the supreme duty of subordinating self to combination. He plays for his team and not for Alec Smith. Much of his success has been due to this all-important element of his character. He is a player who can think on his legs, think quickly, accurately and wisely. He never confines himself to the "wing game." He remembers that there is a centre, and that there is another wing to whom the occasional long pass carried confusion to the ranks of his opponents." "Although rather under than over medium height and weighing barely eleven stone, he can take his part in the hurly-burly of the football field - no back is big enough to frighten him." "His play is so consistently good that ought to have as his telegraphic address, "Consistency, Glasgow."
G.O. Smith "A first-class centre-forward is as rare to find as a white blackbird. Yet there is almost as great a difference between a mere first-class centre and a centre of the highest calibre as there is between between a cab-horse and a race-horse. One can count the great centre-forwards of the past decade on the fingers of one hand. Since the days of Archie Hunter whom have we had? only five - J. Campbell of Sunderland, J. Goodall of Derby County and Watford, R.S. McColl now of Glasgow Rangers and G.O. Smith. The greatest of these is G.O. Smith. One day we may probably have to add the name of Vivian Woodward to the illustrious list, but for the present those men are almost in a class by themselves." "If one were asked to say in a word the strong point of G.O. Smith's play, one would have to say, "Passing." Great in all the qualities which go to make up the man who is the keystone of the arch of a team, it was in making and receiving passes that he excelled all others. And it was in making the final pass that he was most deadly. No defender, however experienced, could anticipate what he was going to do. He had an instinct for throwing the enemy off his guard, and at the same time of doing the right thing in the right way at the right moment. He was such a deadly shot that he could not be allowed to dribble too close to the goal. If one back went for him he would pass to the undefended wing with unfailing accuracy and promptitude." "Some men have been able to shoot as well - none better. A few other centres gave been more resolute in making a single-handed dash for goal but no man that ever took the field garnered as large a crop of goals, directly or indirectly, as G.O. Smith. He studied the game as few men have done. He brought a fine intellect to bear upon it in its every aspect and the fruit of his study is represented by the many victories for his club - the Corinthians - and his country." "He was beloved of all professional players with whom he came in contact and when he captained English International teams no man found the paid player try harder. By his own particular chums he was adored. I remember him as a very young man before he had made a worldwide reputation, saying that even if he was a millionaire he would still play football. The Association game has never had a greater ornament and I venture to think that so long as the game is played the name and fame of G.O. Smith will endure."
Herbert Smith "In watching the figure of Herbert Smith on a football field one is tempted to exclaim, "There stands a man!" Aa a specimen of English manhood one might search far and wide for his equal. It may be that in these days purely physical qualities are extolled too much, but a fine man, a perfect human animal, will always command respect. To watch Smith play, to see him run, to witness the play of his muscles, makes one feel proud of one's kind. He is a type of perfectly developed manhood." "Without its gallant amateur captain, Reading has mainly been a collection of mediocrities, with Smith it is a galaxy of brilliant players. Smith is one of those great players who have the faculty of inspiring their men to play above their normal form. On one or two occasions when Smith was lame and uncle to do much himself, his mere presence on the field made the other members of the team exert themselves to do their own share of the work and his also." Talking about some of Reading's Cup ties in 1905: "One moment he would be dribbling into position for the forwards, another assisting the half-backs, and a second later coming to the rescue of his fellow back, and even heading the ball out of the mouth of the goal." "The better the game the better he plays. Put him in an International and he plays better than a Cup tie." "As a tackler he is unique. He has the power of brushing his opponents aside without making a rough charge and with his eye glued to the ball he rarely fails to get his toe to the leather. I have seen him time after time stop a rush of two, three and even four opposing forwards. Such a thing ought not to be possible where skilful forwards are concerned but Smith frequently does it." "His tackling is his strong point but he is also a powerful kick. I have seen other men place the ball better to the forwards but few men kick with such power and precision. No doubt the very sight of the man - big, bold, strenuous - is all in his favour ; but even when opposing forwards have no fear Smith's powerful personality dominates the situation."
Hugh Wilson Some introductory comments about how there is probably no better known football in Britain and that he was the greatest half-back in Sunderland's history. "While he was at Sunderland, Wilson was prodigal of his strength. He was never content with doing one man's work on the field. He always put forth a giant's strength and spent his energies regardless of the time when even the most active lag superfluous on the stage of life." "For one thing he was a big man - strong, muscular - brimming over with vitality, a strenuous worker living laborious days, and doing all he knew for the game and the team he loved. At throwing the ball in from the tough-line he could throw the ball further than any man living; and during the days when it was not compulsory to bring the ball over the head with both hands he could practically throw the ball into the goal mouth from the half-way line. A throw-in was better for his side than a free-kick and it was probably owing to the prodigious distance he could throw the ball that the rule was altered." "As a breaker up of forwards he had few equals and no superior. If an opposing forward gave him the slip once, he was not likely to do it again." "Wilson could pass as precisely as the man who had played a forward game all his life, and he could shoot for goal with all the force, accuracy and deadliness of the best forward in the land." "Wilson, Auld and Gibson formed a half-back line that has never been surpassed, and the greatest of these was Wilson. Other great combinations have been known, such as Robertson, Russell and Graham of Preston North End; Crabtree, Cowan and Groves of Aston Villa; Hendry, Needham and Howell of Sheffield United; but it is doubtful if any of those illustrious trios of half-backs were for all-round effectiveness the equal of the Sunderland trio."
Walter Arnott "When the history of Association football is read in ages to come there is at least one name that will stand out shining like a star. I refer to Walter Arnott, Scotland's greatest full-back, and perhaps the most gifted defensive player ever known to the game." Reference to a great international between England and Scotland which saw a magnificent performance from William Gunn who was exceptional, but constantly thwarted by the brilliance of Arnott. "Not only was he the best defender, but he was also the most artistic back I have ever seen. I may name Oakley, Lodge, Dunn, Harrison, the brothers Walters, Nick Ross, Forbes, Spencer, and all the best of the moderns, but none of them ever equalled Arnott in the ease and elegance of his methods." "Arnott, as I remember him, was about medium height, thick set, with a magnificent back and chest, and legs that were made to kick. For a man of his stocky "build", his pace was remarkable. He seemed to have no difficulty in keeping pace with the fastest forward, and when he made a sudden rush at an opponent, he moved like a whirlwind. He was, I believe, one of the first backs to make a habit of placing the ball accurately to his forwards. I have seen him kick with such precision with his back turned towards his objective, that he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head." "Perhaps the best point about the fame of Arnott is not his ability as a back, supreme as it undoubtedly was, but rather it was his fair and chivalrous behaviour to his opponents at all times. He was never known to do a mean action; he has on the contrary, frequently been known to let an opponent down lightly."
Billy Bassett "William Isiah Bassett will always be recalled as one of the dozen giants associated with the dribbling code. He was not a giant in stature, but he was a giant of the game. He brought to bear upon it every grain of intellect and brain power which he possessed and a generation hence old stagers will be speaking of him as the greatest big match player of their time. And in truth William Bassett had a special knack of shining on great occasions; and few men were privileged to take part in more notable encounters, for while Bassett was in his prime West Bromwich Albion were, although not the best, undoubtedly the most talked about team in the country. In an international Bassett was always the safest card that England held in her hand." Some talk of his famous trick of running outside the pitch in order to get round the opposing full-back and of his brilliance in a Cup semi-final replay against Forest and a Cup final against Aston Villa. "For practically a decade William Bassett was in class by himself in England as an outside right. There was no one to dispute his supremacy an he came to have a kind of prescriptive right to his cap for that position. An almost diminutive fellow (5 ft 5 and a half inches), Bassett gained no assistance from his physique. He relied for his success upon his skill." "Bassett had a smart turn of speed , although I do not know that he would have held his own with some of his contemporaries in an ordinary sprint race. What served him in such good stead was the remarkable burst of speed he had for thirty or forty yards. He was in full gallop as soon as he started and it was the suddenness with which he got into his stride that enabled him to leave the opposing half-back as though the latter were taking no part in the game. Bassett had a mystifying trick too, of stopping the ball while travelling at full speed. The half-back who was pursuing him was left to rush on while William quietly took stock of the situation and was able to part with the ball to real advantage." "No man could excel Bassett in the art of centring on the run. He used to practise this constantly; it is doubtful if any present-day players practise as assiduously as Bassett did. Rarely indeed did Bassett waste a centre." Some further comments on how he didn't like a rough game but how he always proved himself when it really mattered. Also mention of his partner Roddy Macleod who he combined brilliantly with.
John Devey Some initial comments on how he never got the honours he deserved and how playing against Scotland was effectively the pinnacle for an Englishman. "In that John Devey never played against Scotland he will not, when the history of the game comes to be written, be classed among the immortals. But the list of immortals will contain the names of a whole host of men inferior in general calibre to the leader of Aston Villa during the golden age of that illustrious club. How many of England's 1905 Eleven deserve to rank above John Devey as he was at his best - and he was at his best for a long term of years? Not more than one." Talk about his bad luck in playing during the same years as first John Goodall and then Steve Bloomer, two of the greatest inside-rights in history. However, some felt he should have been included. More talk about the many trophies he led Villa to. "John Devey was a splendid captain. He holds very strong ideas on the subject of captaincy and is of opinion that club directorates do not attach sufficient importance to the appointment of skipper. A good man, he says, will get a maximum amount of work of a team, an astute captain will artfully flatter one man and mildly bully another, cajole a third and dominate a fourth." "John Devey was a skilful individual player. At the time he was equally at home at either inside right or centre, but the former was the position which he made his own. Fast and clever, he could work the ball through the defence at a greater rate than most men and he usually made a bee-line for the goal. At his best he could dodge and dribble adroitly and he had a good idea of finding where the posts stood." Some comments about how well he combined with Athersmith, how he was expert at drawing the defence and then rolling the ball to his teammate. Also some comments about his hard work, his all-round fitness and his qualities as a cricketer and baseball player (!).
James Cowan "There have been many brilliant half-backs identified with the game of Association football, Crabtree, Needham and Frank Forman in modern times, and N. C. Bailey and J.F.M. Prinsep of old were almost perfect exponents of the particular type of play which they affected, but there has only been one James Cowan. He will always be recalled as the prince of centre half-backs" "There is not in either country (England or Scotland) a centre-half fit to challenge comparison with the great stalwart who stood out as the most valuable man Aston Villa had on their side during the term of years when they were bursting with football talent." "Every club that met the Villa began to talk about the remorseless tackling of James Cowan. Time after time did he play ducks and drakes with the reputations of the cleverest inside men in the country. And that is what I mean by saying that Cowan was the greatest player in the Villa eleven. He had it in his power to shatter the combination of a team to fragments, and as often as not he did it. I shall always regard James Cowan as the most expert tackler I have watched. The ball seems to have a fascination for him.Wherever Cowan was, there was the ball." Some talk about how good he was at passing. "There was only one thing Cowan could not do. He was a poor shot at goal. He often put good shots in it is true, but oftener than not he would send the ball flying high over the bar." Comments about his commitment, desire and "doggedness" to play the game as best he could. More about how he didn't get as many caps for Scotland as he should because of their policy not to pick players based in England and then once he had become an international he got dropped after Scotland lost 3-1 to Scotland despite him being one of their best players.
Harry Hampton Some initial comments on Aston Villa's long search for a centre-forward and the way that Hampton had, at long last, filled the void. "Hampton is a slim little fellow of twenty, standing 5 feet 8 and a quarter inches, and weighing under 11 stone. There is nothing in his physique, therefore, to strike terror in the hearts of the big burly backs or strapping goal-keepers, but there are many men of greater bulk that defenders would more gladly face. Hampton is one of the most dashing forwards I have seen. He is not so clever with the ball as he might be, and indeed probably will be, for there is plenty of time for him to develop his football yet. He does not make sensational dribbles, but he is always lying in wait (and he usually keeps onside), ready for the ball to come into the centre, and then he usually takes it on the run, and goes straight for goal with it." "At present he ranks as the most dashing and dauntless centre we have, and may he long remain what he is."
Alexander Tait Initial comments about how he learnt the game in Ayr before moving South with Preston and then Spurs, helping them to win the FA Cup. Another player who doesn't look like he should be as good as he is. "He is one of those players who improve with age and he has never played better football than he did in 1905. In the series of Cup ties that season, especially against Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, he was invariably the best back on the field and did the work of any two men. The "terrible Tait" as he has frequently been called, is never so formidable as in a Cup tie match. He rushes in where others than Angels would fear to tread, and he usually emerges with the ball at his toe." "Tait possesses a power that is far above mere physical explanation. That power is mental, and while it assists him to anticipate the movements of his opponents, it also operates on the mind of the enemy to the extent of paralysing their efforts." "He also possesses what one may call the sense of ubiquity. Wherever the battle is fiercest there is Tait, guiding, controlling, dominating the situation. The power of being in two places, according to Sir Richard Rowle, is only given to birds. It is evident that Sir Richard never saw Sandy in a big match." "In his day Tait has played games which men like Nick Ross and Walter Arnott. His "day" is practically every day, and the bad games he has played are not worth mentioning." "His resource and powers of recovery are marvellous. He does not know when he is beaten, for the simple reason that his experience in this direction has been strictly limited. No man playing the game is better at covering the work of a comrade who is in trouble. Like a hawk darting on its prey he swoops down upon an opposing forward and robs him of the ball. He does not believe in half measures. His motto is: "The ball, if possible, but the man in any case.""
Robert Templeton "This wonderful Association forward has been at once the delight and despair of countless thousands. To watch Templeton at his best is a sight for the gods; to watch him at his worst is to see at a glance the frailty of things human. Templeton has two styles; but happily one of them - the best - is generally uppermost. He is like the boy of whom the nurse said. "When he is good, he is very, very good and when he is bad, he is horrid." " "There is nothing of the steam-roller about his methods . He is more like "a fawn playing with the shadows." He dances airily out and in amongst his opponents, threading his way by devious steps, which no one can stop. Tall, thin, gracefully built, he has the easy action of the accomplished dancing-master, and all the slimness of a Sherlock Holmes." "He is irresistible, not because he bores his way through the opposition, but because he evades it. He will never attempt to go through a man if there is a way around him. He does not overcome obstacles so much as he ignores them. If there is a stumbling block in his path he will contrive to make stumbling blocks look foolish. A sort of human eel, he twists and twines his way through all opposition without so much as touching it. With easy prancing step he waltzes hither and thither, while the discomfited enemy gazes in silent rage and admiration. No forward ever such a power of making an opponent look foolish." Notes about his temperamental nature but an ability to show up in big games. "The complaint is frequently made that he is too individual - too selfish some say, for the needs of modern football. There is some truth in the criticism, but one might with justice retort that Templeton with all his faults is frequently of more service than painstaking mediocrity. On the other hand, to find Templeton in one of his inspired moods, when he flashes forth on his conquering career, is to find one of the most fascinating forwards ever seen on a football field." Comment about his crossing abilty from his position as an outside-left.
Vivian Woodward "Is there any essentially different between the style of a professional forward and an amateur forward? One is inclined to believe there is. The professional is as a rule more mechanical and less individual in his methods. He has learned his football in a school where experiments are frowned upon. The paid player, as a class, has learned that certain methods are regarded with favour, and that these methods frequently meet with success. He therefore cultivates this manner until he arrives at a state of mechanical perfection. In theory, at least, he is master of the conventional style. It is obviously the business of his opponents to upset his theories, and the forward who has no native ingenuity - no resource of his own - is a pitiable subject. An amateur forward of the highest class has usually all the knowledge of the orthodox game and also the ability to play it; but if he be a football genius he also possesses a style of his own, with brains enough to improvise on the moment a new mode of attack or original method of defence." "G.O. Smith used what I have called the professional methods very largely, and no one put them to better use. But these methods by no means exhausted the repertoire of the greatest forward of modern times. His mechanical passing was perfection in its accuracy. No professional could have bettered it, but Smith had always something else up his sleeve. If he and his men were checkmated by the opposition, he had always an alternative plan." "W.N. Cobbold did not adopt the modern mechanical methods, partly because in his day they had not been sufficiently developed and partly because he was himself a man of infinite resource. He was a powerful dribbler with a pair of shoulders like an ox and a deadly intensity near goal that few defences knew how to cope with. How Cobbold would have fared with a modern defence one cannot say with any certainty, but the chances are that against three of our strongest half-backs he would have had to considerably modify his methods." "Vivian Woodward, England's most modern centre-forward, is a happy blend of G.O. Smith and W.N. Cobbold. Without possessing all the genius of the one or the other he knows the modern passing game well enough to utilise the best services of his professional comrades, while he is sufficiently individual in style to make the final single-handed dash on goal with a big chance of success. He is not quite heavy enough to "shoulder off" his opponents in the style of Cobbold, but what he lacks in respect of weight he can make up for in sheer skill. The ease and fluency with which he escapes the attentions of opposing forwards is hardly less marked than his strong single-handed run which frequently carries the ball half the length of the field. Woodward is essentially a brainy player. He has no set style. An opponent watching Woodward can never argue that because he has once done a certain thing that he will repeat it when the same set of circumstances occur."
The first paragraph in particular shows the prejudice with which professional footballers had to contend as late as 1906. Reading this one would not have realised that the amateur had by now virtually disappeared from the game. Elsewhere the book is very fair to professionals, but phrases such as "The paid player as a class" and "a pitiable subject" are part of the clear inference that professionals were incapable of thinking for themselves, which apparently now applied to well over 90% of top-level footballers. Cobbold, long retired, was a completely different kind of player from Woodward, and there is no point comparing them, apart from the fact that both were amateurs. It would have been of more footballing interest to compare Woodward with Bloomer, and indirectly this is probably what is being done, to Bloomer's disadvantage. Woodward's main strength was his heading, which was later compared to Dixie Dean's. But this is not mentioned here as the practice was frowned upon in amateur circles, who preached that the ball should be kept on the ground. Bloomer's heading came up in his own summary and it was nothing like as good as Woodward's. GO Smith never headed a ball in principle, and neither did Cobbold.
Just worth noting that the comments I post are only some edited highlights of what grabs my attention, so they aren't always comprehensive. I did just check back though and there was no mention of Woodward's heading. I did find that a particularly interesting profile, given the comments around amateurs and professionals.
It almost certainly is, but from a selfish perspective I find it quite useful in that it forces me to try and digest the information in a way I probably wouldn't if I just scanned them.