KING JAMES AT HAMPDEN
— John Tait Robertson | 15/04/1929 —

"Now we shall see who are the football players."

This was the remark Herbert Chapman, manager of The Arsenal, made to me as we went on to the stand together.

Herbert is an old player, and he knows, as all players do, that a breeze such as we had at Hampden will discover the man who is weak in ball control and in anticipating moves.

We saw how the English players were found out. When they had their chance, in the first half, with the wind behind them, they could not keep the ball on the ground.

Brown and Wainscoat made the fatal mistake of playing nearly all to their wing partners. Dean has been criticised wing partners. Dean has been criticised severely. In my opinion, Dixie never got a chance. All he got was a stray ball, and nearly always Meiklejohn was in as good a position to get it as Dean was.

The game was to have kept playing the ball through the centre to take advantage of the wind. You could see that the English forwards were fast, but only when running for the ball — not with it.

SLOW THINKERS.

Both Bruton and Ruffel were terribly slow in making up their minds about getting in their centres. They held to the line too much, and were easily beaten in the tackle. They played exactly the game to suit Crapnell and Nibloe, and our two young backs took full advantage.

Not one of the English half-backs forced the game enough with the wind. They should have been up for a shot when they saw the forwards were unable to make much impression on Scotland's defence. They all did better against the wind, but, of course, we were playing without Jackson then, and were without a right wing.

By all the rule of chance, England should have won this match. To be beaten by a single goal, no matter how it was scored, was, in my view, a worse result for England than the one at Wembley.

I noticed that Mr. Cadman, a director of Tottenham Hotspur, was saying, lately, that Scotsmen should be excluded from English football.

SCOTS HAVE THE CRAFT.

I don't mean to say that our fellows played brilliantly, but the match showed that the ywere the better schemers, and can do more with a football; they are the superior craftsmen.

When you think of forwards like Steve Bloomer, G. O. Smith, Freddy Wheldon, Joe Bache, Edgar Chadwick, Alf Millward, and Billy Bassett, England's front line at Hampden seems poor indeed.

But there are good forwards in England, and David Jack is one, Walker of Aston Villa another. They should have been at Hampden from what I have seen of them.

WAS IT TO PLAN?

I agree with the general view that Cooper played a very fine game, but don't forget that things were nade the easier for him by the tactics which James chose to adopt. James may have been playing to plan, but, if he was, I don't think the plan was the right one.

M'Mullan seemed to want James near him, and there is no doubt the man from Preston got in the way of the English forwards often, but the effect on both Gallacher and Morton was bad.

When Gallacher got the ball, he had usually to go on and fight the battle himself. It was asking too much even of Gallacher. For Morton to have made the best use of the passes given him, he should have vad James following up to get the ball back.

Alan was left "in the air" time after time. If he got clear of Edwards, he had Cooper to face, and Cooper was the younger and stronger of the two, and had speed as well.

EDWARDS AYE THERE.

More, Edwards made certain of being right on the top of Morton. This English half-back, a gentlemanly young fellow, came away strongly in the last twenty minutes. I should have liked to see him play more to the centre and the opposite wing. It was this wing play that did a great deal to beat England.

Apart from being so often back, James must be given credit for being the finest inside footballer on the ground — I would say in Britain. His footwork reminds me of some of our old champions — Bob M'Coll compared him with Bobby Walker, Johnny Campbell, our inside left of 1900, said James recalled Sandy M'Mahon to him. James is a schemer, a craftsman — a complete football player.

And this is the boy who used to carry the Bellshill hamper, being considered too wee to play for them. Ashfield knew better so, afterwards, did Raith Rovers, and Preston North End.

JOCK'S BURDEN.

I consider Buchanan came out of thi test with the greatest credit. Keep in mind, he had to grapple with the better English wing, that he lost Jackson, and that Cheyne was not able to give him much help. Shortly before the interval Buchanan was striking up a paying game with Jackson, but when the latter was injured a tremendous burden was thrown on Jock, and he fought it in his usual determined style.

Meiklejohn was, to my mind, a great success. He was all over the place, and, in the first half, did an immense amount of useful defence. M'Mullan, for one who has been playing so long, did wonderfully well on a fast pitch. The old head was there.

I pay tribute to our two backs. Nibloe, to me, was the best back on the ground. He had to show all his qualities of resolution in the first half when Bruton and Brown were getting plenty of the ball. In tackling, he could not have been bettered, and his powerful kicking against the wing was one of the first things that made me think we would win. This young man was not troubled with nerves.

CRAPNELL A HERO.

Crapnell was a real little hero. His timing was very sound, and his headwork a treat. He showed that a little man can get the high ball if he has the judgment. Another thing I liked about him was the way he tried to turn the ball into play.

Well done, Crapnell and Nibloe! First cap and win over England — lucky boys, but no more lucky than deserving.

Harkness must have wondered what had come over the English forwards in the first half. He was in form, and could have been happy with more to do.

AN ABERDEEN VIEW.

For an International, the game was of the poorest description, was Mr. James Philip's verdict. With the strong wind and fast pitch good football was impossible. Scotland suffered by the loss of Jackson. The scoring of the goal by Cheyne, unaccustomed as he is to taking corner-kicks, was a wonderful thing. Scotland, with ten men in the second half, fully deserved their victory.

It was a great achievement of the Scottish defence to preserve a clean sheet against the wind, said Wilie Wiseman, the Queen's Park back. All the same, England should have been in front at the interval. They missed several good chances.

MR. GEORGE BLAIR.

In a game which was not of international class, Scotland worthily earned her victory, after battling against the wind and carrying on a man short, is the verdict of Mr. George Blair of the Clyde. The English backs were splendid, especially Cooper. Alec James and he were the two outstanding players on the field. Alec Jackson did not get enough of the ball, but if he had played in second half a bigger win was certain.