The great G. O. Smith, in one of his explendid quotes, commented about the centre-forward's role and some of his play style aspects. It is good to remeber that back in the day the centre-forward had a more creative, in general, role than today — 2021. Smith had this to say about the centre-forward's game:


G. O. Smith


The centre-forward has a difficult and responsible position. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, he has many duties to fulfill. He has to keep his forwards together, feed his wings with balls and give his inside forwards the opportunity to shoot at goal, but at the same time always be ready to take advantage of any weaknesses that arise, he should be a good scorer, but above all a sure passer, he should further confuse the opposing defense with sharp short passes, and always be on the go to pass a ball to his wings when he sees that they are free to take a quick run along the sideline. The post of centre-forward offers plenty of opportunity to shine in person. He has to control his body so that it can turn immediately in all directions, but at the same time hide his intentions from the opponents. He can often, if he runs to the side, lure the defense to that side and then by suddenly turning the ball to the free-standing wing before the enemy defenders have understood his tactics. But the centre-forward must not dribble too much, he can only fill his position properly if he has a good shot on goal; it is often worthwhile for him to stay a little behind the other forwards in front of the goal, the inside forwards then attract the attention of the defenders, can pass the ball sharply backwards and give him a free shot at the goal.