SOCCER

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 24 April 1925, Page 9

SOCCER

A New Zealand soccer man opens the season by giving these tips: Get fit. Keep fit. You owe it to your club and to the public. Take the field up to time. that, 100, you owe to the public. See (o your hoots. Be careful of your language. What the referee says, goes.

Writing of the failure to secure a visit from the English team the Wellington Post says:—Evidence of the dissapointment that is felt as a result of the failure of the negotiations was provided at the annual meeting of the association, delegates unanimously adopting a motion of regret.

| Where does the fault lie for the fnil- [ lire to secure a visit form the Englisli- . men ? Some have no hesitation in ’ blaming without reservation the mem- . hers of the New Zealand Council. To a certain extent the council is to blame, \ but surely it is an exaggeration to . say that "the fault is wholly their’s. I There have been a number of contributi ing effuses, and to some extent the council could not help itselt. Ihe i main difficulty appears to be that New , Zealand’s claims for consideration have not been advanced in a sufficiently active manner. Australia, probably owing to better publicity work, and the possession of officials of a more pushing description than those of New Zealand, has been very much in the limelight at Home, and Australia is benefiting. It seems strange that New Zealand should take the initial steps in regard to the tour, and then he left lamenting. It is not the first time that this has happened. New Zealand \vas first in the field with the Canadians, but Australia, in a spirit that was far from friendly, stepped in and arranged the tour before New Zealand realised what was happening. The New Zealand Council did not accept any of the blame for that, hut it must have been evident to all that had New Zealand kept a closer watch on its interests such a state of affairs could not have been brought about. Now, practically the same position has arisen regarding the Englishmen, and New Zealand has again been placed in the unfortunate position of playing second fiddle to Australia, or. rather, of being left out of the orchestra altogether. Naturally, players and enthusiasts .want to know why. and the council should take advantage of the first' opportunity of putting itself “on side.” At present it is very much offside, and members are suffering from an epidemic of free kicks. No doubt, questions will be asked at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Association, and members of the council will be faced with the task of giving a reply that will prove satisfactory. So much for the council’s responsibility. Now for a word in defence. The idea of a visit from an English team was first mooted some years ago, but every attempt to put it into effect was frustrated by the air of indifference 1 that was shown by the authorities at Home. Soccer people in Australia and New Zealand were beginning to wonder —and with some reason —whether folk on this side of the world were ever going to lie given the opportunity of seeing an English side in action. It certainly seemed a hopeless case. How. ever, when the matter was raised last year the authorities at Home were, to | the surprise of all concerned, more favourably inclined towards the pro-

posal, and preliminary arrangements were made for the tour. Everything appeared' to be running smoothly until that announcement came that a. certain sum of money—unnecessarily large, it appeared to be—would he required before the Englishmen left

home. Doubts began to arise then as to whether the required amount could be found, and these doubts were increased tenfold when Australia stepped in and informed New Zealand that the tour of the Dominion would be limited to so many playing Saturdays. This announcement certainly made the outlook not a little hopeless, as there would be scarcely sufficient games to make up the expense that was involved. ’However, the council, having the good of the game at heart, was no doubt prepared to risk a small loss on. the tour, especially in view of its great educational value. Then came the final deciding blow to the council’s hopes. Auckland and Otago, whose support were absolutelv necessary if the tour was to achieve anything like success, turned down the idea of providing guarantees. Under those circumstances there was nothing left to do hut to wit hdraw from the tour’altogether, and it may be taken for granted that the members of the council, after struggling - for years to secure a visit from an English team, did not relish the idea of reaching such, a decision.

GERMAN FOOTBALL VICTORY. A team of GermnYt workmen played an Association football match with a French workmen’s eleven recently ior the first time since 1914. The game ended in a victory for the Germans by 3 goals to nil.—Reuter.