PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2106, 14 June 1907, Page 2

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL.

the NORTHERN UNION’S METHODS.

In view of the probability of a New Zealand .profoasioual team proceeding to iiiugiaud to play a soriou ot ma area against tlie Nortliorn i'ooluall union, an estimation ot line playing uim nnuneiui prospects ol .the tom, lOfsether with a brief history ot Urn onion, will be 01 interest. these were obtained from one. competent to .pealc by an Auckland Star repose.tative, from a gentleman who .m somo years captained one ol the. Noi them Union teams, and who player when the Union was loinied, and who is thus well qualified speak on the question. Describing first the genesis o th | Union, he explained that the No t ern Counties of Yorkshire, Data shire, Durham, and Cumberland eh a very largo population oh miUhand coalminers, and- artisans genci. y who were very fond ot watching game of football, so that an ordma y club match would be attended y 15,000 people, paying sixpence . mission. The clubs owned then own grounds, and with something like £‘2oo a week flowing into the cofteis it became a question as to what should be done with the money , should it be handed over to the Union, or paid over to the players, Ihe laws of the English Rugby Union, under which the matches were played permitted the payment-of expenses, and these were made on a pretty liberal scale. For instance, a man who had to travel, say, ten miles to play a match would receive a payment of £lO lor expenses. Players wore induced to go from one club to another on promises of large expenses and easy jobs. The Rugby Union set up several commissions of investigations, but they were unable to prove anything, the players all sticking together, and finally they threatened to take legal proceedings. Many clubs then thought that the time had arrived when they should announce boldly that they would pay their players for broken time, time lost from work lost ia travelling from home to a match. This was, ol course, vetoed by' the English R u 8 > Union, and in 1895 many of the clubs in the districts referred to seceded and formed the Northern lootball Union, declaring that those who earned the money should have it, Ihe bulk of the Rugby Union people, would, however, have nothing to do with it at first, and some of the bigger clubs refused to join it, while numbers of players left the clubs who did join rather than join the professional union. The Rugby Union Clubs held aloof for a time, but, after a year’s operations, it' was found that the Union was flourishing. They also found their ranks depleted; as soon as a. Rugby club developed a good player the professionals came along and paid him to play for them. Before long all the principal clubs had joined the professional union, though therewere a few amateurs who played with them, the speaker being one of half-a-dozen who were playing under the rules a couple of seasons ago. A player desiring to play in a decent football team was compelled to play in the professional ranks, Rugby deteriorating until only a few clubs of junior strength were left in the whole of Yorkshire. At first only broken time was paid for, but this was soon dropped in favor of paying a. weekly salary. It war then decided that a man must work as well as play, and no man was allowed to play on Saturday unless lie had worked through the week. There were many stories told of the class of work adopted, one player’s occupation (he was a supernumerary groundsman) being described at “wheeling oats to a rabbit,” That was soon dropped, and .now a prolessional can* work or not, just as he chooses. When this was decided upon representatives were sent-.by the various clubs all over England and Wales to pick up the best, players that they could induce to turn; ‘professional,; .paving them, sav, £IOO down, and £3 or £4 per week.' A number of Welsh backs were secured, and there are many of these now playing with' the Northern Union ,including former internationals. Then the Northern Union began tampering with the rules, thinking that the game was mot- sufficiently entertaining. They dropped the line out when the ball went into touch, and permitted the side which had not sent the ball out to punt in, thus practically giving a free kick for a kick out of bounds. This was dropped in favor of a scrum ten yards from the line, and the number oi players was reduced from 15 to 13. Then another alteration was made in’ the game which constitutes the main difference between it and Rugby. The number of forwards was fixed at six, packing 2-3-1 in most clubs, in others 3-2-1. A rule was added, prohibiting the half-back from going round the scrum when the ball was hooked by his opponents, until the passing had been commenced. That, of course, does away with wing play and the “spoiling” tactics in vogue here, and gives the backs a chance to open out the game.

PRESENT POSITION OF THE UNION.

The counties in which the northern game is now played tf.ro Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Cumberland. " It was formerly played in Durham, but the game is not now played there, several of the principal clubs dropping out, and the others following suit. The game is also on the down grade in Yorkshire, and the last mail brought news that Bradford, formerly one of the strongest clubs in the union, had dropped out, and had gone back to the Rugby code. A number of other clubs, which were formerly strong, have also been “snuffed out,” being unable to stand the competition lor players, and to pay sufficient to keep their men, Alany of the junior clubs have also been compelled to give up the game and disband. The Rugby Union have stood firm all through, and have refused to allow any player who played "for the Northern Union to play under the amateur code. For instance, a mill-owner in Yorkshire with £IO,OOO a year played with the village team? He then went South, and wished to play for Blackheath. He was not allowed to play, however, on the ground that he .was a professional The Rugby Union seems to be getting the better of the argument, for they are regaining ground within the boundaries of the Northern Union Again, Eton and Harrow have taken up the code, and there seems every prospect of a great revival in the game

OBJECT OF THE TOUR, In answer to a question as to the object of the projected- tour, the victim of the interviewer stated that it was undoubtedly to revive interest in the professional game, and perhaps give it a new lease of life, “The Northern Union,” he said, succintly, “have everything to gain and nothing to lose The players going from here have everything to lose and nothing to gain.” “Do you. think our players will lit able to drop into the other game?” “Yes; I think they will. I have received information from home ■which shows that the visitors will first, be pitted against the weaker clubs, -so that they may learn the game before tackling tho -stronger combinations.” • PLAYING PROSPECTS." “And do you think tho New Zealanders can win?”

"If they send Homo a team as strong as the All Blacks, I think they

will win almost as’easily as that team did against the, Rugby fifteens; but not „W so cosily. I Blacks in action in eight of matches, .to the, dri play the kid-glove game. f°V u " fair, you understand hut pl-ty, of power behind the rushes and the tac klins They will meet players in the Wing- in y „ _ct.lv the same North who play exactly _ • • ... vroporwl l. they will 'meet a number of Wdsh hacks, and in England we look upon the Welsh hacks as easily the best in Great; Britain. Tlie only _ All Black I saw playing wliat we look upon as the Welsh game was Hunter, who gained particular praise at Home for his work. But even w.tn this in, I think a team as strong as I i-ho All Blacks would have no difficulty in winning its engagements. ' FINANCE.

“Then as to finance.” . “Well, I should judge that about £BOOO is as much as they could expect to take in a tour of 27 matches. They have fine grounds there, which all accommodate up to 20 ,000 people, I think 10,000 would be a fair ; “«t or lino. W 1,.» the tot • mail left, the governing body was man , •ry clubs who communicating with tne muu wished to meet the New Zealanders, and from these a selection will be made The clubs selected will have "gL a guarantee. ,and, after meet, * g the clubs, the team will meet Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and , Cumberland, and then, perhaps, a combination of all the clubs. ‘ ‘Would it he possible to play mat- - , ches outside these counties, both teams being taken, say, to Londoiii “I do not think so. In the South . they know little of the Northern ■ I game and are not interested in it, so that such a match would not be ; - likely to meet with much success Taking it all round, I do not think there will be much for the m it They follow both the New Zealanders and the South Africans, and the matter is not quite so fresh, nor so attractive, as it was at first. . AFTER THE TOUR. “Some of the players expect to get positions as coaches, and so on after th “WeU,‘ most of the positions as coaches are filled, but I expect that they Will have no difficulty in being taken on as players They will get sav, £IOO each, and perhaps £4 a week salary. Then, if they want to work, positions will be found for , them at fair salaries.” .. “And when their playing days are I “The sooner they get out of it then, the bettor for them, for their Positions will be wante dfor somebody else. That is happening every weefls now: as soon as a man is no longer - a good player, out he goes, and he can look after himself. Males isM of derelict players from the Northern , Union, who have been unable to stand the strenuous game of the North. Of course, they cannot play again under, the Rugby code, and. I they are thus absolutely frozen out.