FOOTBALL IN BRITAIN

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 January 1941, Page 8

FOOTBALL IN BRITAIN

MANY DIFFICULTIES LONDON, 'December 30. Wartime football is feeling the pinch. On two occasions visiting teams found themselves short of players, and adopted the novel procedure of sending a boy around the arena, carrying a billboard asking for volunteer players from among the spectators, who readily responded. Clapton Orient asked for two volunteers, Blackburn Rovers asked for three. These strange happenings arousfed a controversy among the clubs’ followers of the game. One group declared it was making a laughing stock of football, and asked, How can you expect patrons to roll up and pay 1/2 to see a match if they are going to be invited to participate themselves? Other enthusiasts asserted it was evidence of the clubs’ die-hard spirit in determining to carry on, despite transport difficulties. The best suggested remedy is that the home teams should provide a pool of reserve players who could be offered to the visitors in the event of the latter turning up a few men short, seeing that they cannot expect travelling teams to go to the expense of bringing reserves on the off chance of being required. Many players serving with the Forces sometimes find it impossible to obtain leave. Clubs have reached a decision to play on during air raid alerts, stopping only when the enemy is overhead.