THE IDEAL TEAM
— Unknown | 01/03/1935 —

A kind of question which I do not care a great deal for — which eleven do I think is the finest, composed of players of all nationalities. It gets one nowhere, and serves little purpose (states a northern sports expert)

But for what it is worth, my ideal team would be: Traine; Crompton, N. Ross; G. Howarth, McCall, Needham; Simpson, Bloomer, Woodward, James, and Spiksley.

A second which would run it very close, however, would be: Sutcliffe; Arnott, Crabtree; Gibson, Raisbeck, Forrest; Bassett, Walker, G. O. Smith, Chadwick (or Morris), and Townley.

Probably other elevens will suggest themselves to other minds which have had experience of more than one generation of footballers, and necessarily many outstanding players are not included because they have more challengers for their positions.

The striking thing about this species of examination is that James is the only man of the present age whose claim to virtuosity is really acclaimed.

But that, after all, may be, probably is, due to the point I have been stressing of late — that the approved football of the moment does not make specialists and "stars."

That is why the race of giants, in an international valuation, appears to have petered out, and why so few of the players of to-day leave the deep impression on the mind that their predecessors did.

The game is so different, both in style and texture, indeed it is hardly recognisable as the same game, and I am quite prepared to admit that some of the big men of old might not to-day measure up to their standard, at least, in the same way.