SOCCER SIDELIGHTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 970, 13 May 1930, Page 14

SOCCER SIDELIGHTS

PASSING NOTES

(By

PERSEUS.)

An Open Championship.— The results of the third series of games in the senior championship last Saturday confirm the opinion that there has been an all-round levelling-up (or down) of the senior teams this season and that it should be well on in the final round before the clubs begin to sort themselves out on the ladder. So far the Y.M. is the only club to escape defeat, but it has some tough propositions ahead in Thistle, Ponsonby and Trams. Manurewa has made a bad start with three losses running, but may show a recovery any day and upset calculations with a surprise win. <■> * =s Lack of Team Work.—There are two marked features about the games so far as the competitions have progressed. One is the early fitness of the players and the manner in which they stay the full distance in hardfought matches. That shows keenness and solid training which are healthy signs. But the other aspect is the want of combination and cohesion in the teams. There has, of course, been a lot of reshuffling of the players and some with marked idiosyncracies take a while to settle down with strange partners. In some cases a judicial separation order would appear indicated to promote better combination, and in addition to individual players training hard the value of chalk talks on a blackboard, or draught board demonstrations cannot be over estimated. Planning and Plotting.—More games are won by strategy and tactics than by brilliant solo efforts, and a_ club which relies on on© or two distinguished soloists often finds itself in a bad way if the stars are temporarily eclipsed by shadowing or haunting tactics. A medium team with perfect understanding and combination between the players will more often than not beat a team of eleven brilliant individualists. The matches staged so far have been good and hard, with exciting rallies and close finishes, the odd goal in three being the finish of half the matches so far played at Blandford Park. But there has been too much aimless play and wild blazing away by. both backs and forwards. The ball is too much in the air, although tho surface has been ideal for clean ground work and pattern weaving; club coaches should get to work now to build up combined play and co-oper-ative tactics. $ * * Some Bad Failings.—Prominent among the faults noticed from the line is the want of direction by the fullbacks and halves in getting rid of the ball. By skilful placing an attack by opponents can usually be countered with a speedy reprisal if the fullback can only find his own wing forward with a well-direcl>jd placement, or midfield play can be made a swift attack by a pass through to the centreforward. But wild ballooning or kicking to the opposing backs will lose many chances. The halfbacks have also faulted badly in failing to take their share in the aggressive work. The intermediate line has both defensive and offensive functions and when the opponents are checked a thinking half at once looks for an opening to counter and should always be on the qui vive for a back pass from his forwards to draw the defence and give them a clearer passage. ** * * The Combined Thrust.—But nowhere is combination and understanding more needed than in the forward line, where nine out of ten goals come from, and the lack of cohesion here has been very marked so far. The wing men seem satisfied to gallop as hard as they can along the line and then swing for the goal-mouth with a devout wish that it may find the target or strike a 6lubmate’s head or toe. The inside men do not seem sure whether they should play well back as feeders ,in a deep W formation, or keep up to snap any crosses from the opposite wing man. Centreforwards are seen much too far back scouting for the ball, instead of lying well up waiting for golden opportunities to come their way. These are all cases where the finer touches are needed which distinguish real and scientific Soccer from a dog fight.

The One-team Club Danger: The question of meeting the one-team club peril is again being considered by the authorities, and its menace to the future of the code has to be met before too much injury is done. It is not an easy problem to cope with, as it is hard to prevent a dozen enthusiasts forming a new club with one team, calling themselves by some name, and entering for one of the competitions. The cost to the players is but trifling, and fortune may so far favour them that they find themselees full-blown seniors in a couple of seasons, perhaps at the expense of a club which has been in the game for nearly half a century, and taught the code to thousands of youngsters from the primary schools to representative honours. The Nursery Work: Contrast ‘the difference between the responsibility of the one-team club members, with no one but themselves to worry about, and cheap football with a minimum of executive work, and the lot of those in a big club with from six to eight teams every Saturday, and perhaps two or three primary schools to keep a paternal eye on. It is easy to see that the spread of the one-team clubs will extend at the expense of the young players unless some move is made to check it. There are, of course, isolated cases such as Tramways, where the nature of the club prevents its name running down the grades, but therei s no reason why clubs of this kind should not “adopt” some junior club with minor division teams, and play the part of big brother to the youngsters. Such co-opting is not uncommon in Britain, and is all for the good of the game. The youngsters become enthusiastic boosters and barrackers for their big brother clubs, and the senior club is creating a reserve which it can draw on for its future players. The Senior B Contests: The senior B clubs have a strenuous season before them, with ten teams engaged, but of the hundred-odd players in it there are many who have a good way to go before reaching senior standard, and the existence of this grade is having a bad effect on the junior competitions. So far, the Shore and Philomel clubs are the only ones to secure full points in the matches played, and the prospects of Shore returning to full seniority are considered very bright. Wright, who made hia debut last week, is spoken of as the most deadly shot seen on the Shore ground for a long while, and he bagged four goals out of the six scored against Newmarket on Saturday, tin * & Too Many Penalties: The new law governing the penalty kick, which came into operation this season, and has been explained in full here, makes the awarding of a penalty kick a much more drastic punishment than formerly, but in spite of this the crop of penalty goals this season threatens to be greater than ever. The Referees’ Association should thrash the matter out thoroughly, and give its members a clear idea when penalties should be awarded, and when not. “Accidental” hands is too often made a capital offence, even when the ball hits the player instead of vice versa, as intended by the law, and such decisions make players grouchy and the crowd cantankerous. At the present time it is safe to say that two out of three penalties given should not have been awarded, and they often mean the difference between a win and a draw, or even an actual loss. SENIOR B GRADE Goals. P. W. L. D. F. A. Pts North Shore 3 3 Philomel ..3 3 Belmont ... 3 2 1 8 2 5 New Lynn - Bon Accord . . 3 2 1 7 4 5 Rangers ... 3 2 1 Metro - College 3 12 Tamaki ...3 —2 1 3 71 NorthcoteBirkenhead 3 —2 1 2 S 1 Newmarket .3 Tech. Old Boys 3