SOME GREAT HALF-BACKS
— William McGregor | 08/12/1906 —

Strong half-backs are the backbone of every side which aspires to be considered great. I have never watched a really effective eleven which had not half-backs possessing more than a touch of genius. The half-backs are the connecting link of the team; if they are below par both the defence and the attack suffer. You cannot expect a front rank to do well unless they are fed and nursed by the men at the rear. A strong intermediate line will tear to pieces the combination of the other side, whereas if the half-back work is lacking, the backs on their side, must necessarily have a sorry time, as the opposing forwards are on them unexpectedly. You cannot have a more solid foundation for the construction of an effective eleven than a good trio of halves.

There have been many notable trios in club and International football. Renton had an excellent trio long ago, when James Kelly, Kelso, and McKechnie were doing duty for them. Then Graham, Russell, and Robertson, of Preston North End, force themselves upon your notice, and so do Reynolds, Perry, and Groves, of West Bromwich Albion. Equally great were Reynolds, Cowan and Groves, and later Reynolds, Cowan, and Crabtree, of Aston Villa. Sunderland had a good line when Hugh Wilson, Auld, and Gibson were wearing their colours. Blackburn Rovers had a glorious trio in the days if George Haworth, Hugh McIntyre, and James Forrest. Then Sheffield United's little trio, Needham, Morren, and Rab Howell were as good as they were small, and Everton and Blackburn Rovers have alos been well-blessed with half-back lines a various time. Only last season Bradley, Raisbeck, and Parry were largely responsible for Liverpool's triumph in the League championship.

"HOW CASBY SHOT THE GOAL."

England were happy once in the possession of Crabtree, Frank Forman, and Needham. Scotland had an excellent half-back line when Gibson, Aitken, and Robertson were representing them. I doubt if any English trio have ever done better tackling han Needham, Crabtree, and Forman. We cannot put three halves of their ability into the field at the present time. Old Scottish footballers will never forget the match at Kennington Oval in 1889 when Scotland won by three goals to two, the winning goal being kicked by James McLaren of the Celtic. In later years I understand that McLaren used to appear in some kind of a show in Scotland, and his duty was to test how the goal was scored. The Scottish half-backs that day were very fine, consisting of James Kelly, of the Celtic, George Dewar, of Dumbarton, who afterwards joined Blackburn Rovers, and McLaren. I also remember a very good line in 1890, at Glasgow, when George Haworth, of Accrington, Harry Allen, of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Alfred Shelton, of Notts County, did duty for England.

GEMS OF PUREST RAY.

George Haworth was one of the most polished half-backs that ever played the game. he was revered by Accrington and followers of football in East Lancashire generally, and great was the joy in Blackburn when he consented to join Hugh McIntyre and James Forrest, and so complete the Rover's intermediate line. The English half-back play at Blackburn, 1897, when Scotland won by thre goals to two, was brilliant. N. C. Bailey made the last of ten consecutive appearances for England in that game, and he had as his partners Forrest and Haworth. Scotland, however, were equally strong at that time, for J. R. Auld, of the Third Lanark, who later joinedSunderland, R. Kelso, of Celtic, and Leitch Keir, of Dumbarton,  were at the top of their form, and for some years they were troubling the English forwards.

James Forrest was one of the neatest little halves the game has produced. He is the only man except Lord Kinnaird who possesses five English Cup Final medals, and he was a great ornament to football. It would be difficult to point ot nay man who maintaned a higher standard of efficiency. He was a born tackler, and, indeed, he was a masterly players in every respoect. It is possible that the form of Haworth, McIntyre, and Forrest has been equalled once or twice since, if it has been surpassed at all it has only been syrpassed by Graham, Russell, and Robertson at the time when Preston North End were at the zenith of their fame.

Four old halves always come to my mind when I am writing of this department of football. By far the best half-backs of the early period of football were N. C. Bailey, of Clapham Rovers, and later of Old Westminsters, and J. F. M. Prinsep, of the Old Carthusians. Then another two ere Jack Hunter, of Sheffield, and B. G. Jarrett, of Cambridge University. Jarrett was a clever natural half-back. A hard and keen worker was Jack Hunter, who was more than once Bailey's colleague in the English team at the time when only two half-backs were played. Another old-timer, going even farther back, was W. E. Clegg, a brother of the Chairman of the Council of the Football Association.

A SCHOOL OF HALF-BACKS.

Then who will forget Charlie Campbell and J. J. Gow, of Queen's Park? Charlie Campbell equalled the record of N. C. Bailey and Walter Arnott by playing ten time against England. No man ever headed a football better than the Queen's Park captain.

There seemed to be a very talented school of half-backs in the nineties, when Hugh Wilson was playing for Sunderland, and Groves, Charles Perry, and Reynols were the mainstay of West Bromwich Albion. Charles Perry was a very clever player, and few men have shown the form the consistently manifested without being rewarded with their Scottish cap. By general consent he was one of the most consientious and talented workers League football has seen. Johnny Holt, of Everton, was without a rival for some years in the same position. He was a little fellow, but he was full of tricks, and some of them were very amusing ones. I scarcely think they would pass muster as well to-day as they did then. Johnny thought nothing of lifting himself to a height, which his lack of inches made it difficult for him to attain in a legitimate way, by puttinghis hands on the shoulders of his opponents and springing up in time to head the ball out of danger. The cool effrontery with which he did this has raised many a laugh. J. Keenan, of Burnley, was also a useful half. Crabtree says he was one of the best he ever played with.

MORE RECENT YEARS.

Aston Villa had the greatest exponent of the centre half-back play ever known in the person of James Cowan. Cowan occasionally simply shattered the opposing combination. As a tackler he stood pre-eminent. Tom Crawshaw, of Sheffield Wednesday, is a man of enduring fame. He has had a long and honourable career. His strength and pace allied make him a dreaded opponent. A very clever half who has not been a favourite of fortune is Tom Booth, of Blackburn Rovers and Everton. He has had his chance in big matches, but never seemed to do himself justice, and yet everyone knew that at the time that he was selected for these games he had no superior. The game lost a shining light when Frank Forman retired. He was indeed a polished half. Among the select few who call for special attention was Crabtree, who was equally great at half and full back, and Needham, who has never been excelled as a left half. In more recent years Houlker has justly won fame, and J. T. Robertson has done brilliant service for many clubs. To-day we have one half-back of supreme ability, although I doubt if he would have stood out from the half-backs of other times. In Raisbeck, Liverpool and Scotland possess a player whose value to his side it is difficult to assess.

The English halves, however, were fairly useful last season. Ben Warren, of Derby County, was a consistent performer, and ranks as a persistent tackler, and a good feeder of the men in front of him. Colin Veitch, of Newcastle, was accepted as the best centre half of the day, and it is never a disadvantage to a half-back to possess the power of playing forward.