OTAGO REPRESENTATIVE ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL TEAM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12446, 1 September 1902, Page 2

OTAGO REPRESENTATIVE ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL TEAM.

TO THE EDITOR. ' Sin, —Kindly allow me a little space in ycur s columns to voice my feelings , and those of; a number of others on fcbe manner in, which the selectors of the above team are - doing their task. Following in the steps of last year's selectors, the ri resent selectors seem to be imbued with ideas of experimenting. To experiment with players may be all very well if there is plenty of time-r----say, four or five trial matches, —but on the eve of a representative match which will undoubtedly be one of the hardest Associa- p tion matches ever played in Dunedin,, I say " to experiment at this time shows gfpss i-n----competeney on tho part of the selectors for the position that has been entrusted to them. It is, without doubt, a very stupid'' action to alter men from tho position which they have been accustomed to play 1 in during the past season, o:tUl, in foot, positions men have beern playing in for three or four ' years. I see by this morning's paper that the'selectors have full backs playing in the position of half back, and outside 'right wing forwards playing in the position of loft wing forwards, and vice versa. The same remarks apply to tho inside men. Really, the selectors have the whole team i:n a regular jumble; in fact, one would think all the uavnes had been put in a, hat and places already assigned in a definite' order of drawing beforo the names were seen. There are any amount of men—and capablc at that—who have been playing'in the various specific positions that ate required to complete the team without taking outside right mem to fill the positions of outside left men. The same remarks apply to inside centre and half-back men. Thesooner this injustice to the players .is stopped the better it will be for Association football. Tin's shifting of players is causing a great deal of dissatisfaction among Association footballers. The representative match with Wellington takes place next Saturday—just think of it, next Saturday, 4 — and the selectors have aiot yet had the players, who will represent the province, playing together. In the face of this, how can we expect our men to give a 50od account of themselves? For an Association team to be a good combination there must be a thorough understanding between tho players, and this can only be brought about by the men playing together and getting to know one another a style. I trust that in future selections the players will receive fair and sensible treatment from the selectors, and that the Association will not have " one selector in three."—l am, etc., Dunedin, August 29. Hill. .