SOCCER

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 1 October 1927, Page 8

SOCCER

(By

"Centre Half”)

END OF THE SEASON, THE WAIROA GAME. The 1927 season closed down last Saturday with a game at Wairoa where Hastings United were the visitors. The Wairoa team are a very capable bunch and with regular games and training would, 1 am assured, prove a match for any club tea nieither in this district or Gisborne. » • • In Payne they have a really good back. Last Saturday he played a very fine game indeed, and was ably supported by his colleague Hanna. . « » • The halves were also great workers but need to pay more attention to supporting their forwards. With regular games and practice this will come with experience.

Ogilvie and Archibald proved two useful wingers. Esplin is a clever player and both G Dunnacliie and Thomas showed to advantage.

The players as a whole showed dash and determination but lacked just that little touch of cohesion and team work that will come by constantly playing together.

By the keen enthusiasm shown the Soccer code has a great chance in the Northern Hawke’s Bay township and doubtless every endeavour and encouragement both from this end and Gisborne will be given the Soecerites of Wairoa.

The Hastings team and party at 16 (including McAleese of the local Y.M. Club) had a good trip and the exhibition of the code, the game ano behaviour of both teams should go a long way to stimulate interest in Soccer in Wairoa.

Stenson had little to do in goal compared with the home custodian. Alf Clark and Will Penman proved safe, sound backs, but the outstanding feature of the game was the great exhibition of the half-back game given by Conroy, Farnell and Gillon. Both in defending and supporting their forwards their work was well nigh perfect and their skill and footwork exceedingly clever. This is not belittling the Wairoa vanguard who took a lot of stopping and always played a strong, forceful game.

The visiting forwards also showed a great understanding and combination. An absence of dribbling was a marked feature of the game on both sides, the short passing style being adopted.

The season has now closed down and Soccerites can only look forward and hope for a more successful time next year. » » •

An interchange of visits with outside clubs should be encouraged as much as possible as they draw the the various club members into closer touch with each other and are an added interest to all Soccer supporters-

Extracts from an article published at Home at the end of July last should prove interesting and illuminating to Soccerites here, especially those acting in an official capacity with Associations and Clubs.

The article deals with the professional side but the principles can safely be applied to all amateur organisations. Inter alia: “Too often men of means are elected without knowledge of whether the candidate is a real sportsman and has experience of players or is a mere commeroialiser. The commercialiser electto to the management at once sets about introducing his private business code of rules, regulations and orders. Not being a sportsman he is innocent of the difference between his cast-iron - - business workings and a sporting organisation. He would deal with footballers as he would with his workmen. His autocratii methods cannot and never will get the best out of a player. TO BE IN THE LIMELIGHT. A certain type of official is r an iluusion if he believes it is a necessity for him to travel. The m. would play just as well and in • ticular instances better if no such official were present. The average commercialiser is there for selfadvertisement and to be in the limelight—nothing else. His value to the club or organisation is pnu-.i.:-nil and it is well for the majority of clubs that they have enough sportsmen on the board to keep these masqueraders m their place. * » These limelighters are the bugbear, nuisance and danger that lie in the way of a club or organisation. They are generally void of consideration or courtesy for those who have the fundamental idea of the game- Where there is a majority of commercialisers they are all managers. a » • Such a sterile management pursued to its logical conclusion means loss of place and prestige and very often total extinction. Occasionally the situation is or has been saved by a split and the formation of another club or organisation. * * • Emphatically no organisation can ever hope to reach the stage of importance let alone rise to the heights of fame so long as it is governed by other than sportsmen coupled until a manager or chairman who knows his business. Clubs and associations should weigh most carefully the capabilities and let me say the natures of candidates for boards of management. Iconoclasts and limelighters if already on a board should be removed at the earliest opportunity.”

All Soccer enthusiasts in this district would be well advised to study the above extracts and give careful consideration and thought to the question and endeavour to set their houses in order at the annual meetinfs next year. The right men in the right place with the real sporting instinct to set the game on the footing it should have and maintain the best traditions of the code and foster it.