John Goodall was never a sprinter, nor did his methods require exceptional speed. It was a combination of dribbling and passing - swift, short passing - that won the fame of the team that became known to fame as "Proud Preston". Exactly how much of North End's cleverness was due to the inspiration of the pale Kilmarnock boy one cannot, of course, dogmatise on, but there is little doubt that the miraculous passing of the Preston forwards was largely due to Goodall's initiative.

Goodall was the brain of every combination he played in. He alone seemed to know the exact moment to dribble, the exact moment to pass, the exact moment to shoot. He possessed the powers of drawing the defence on to himself only to make a clear opening for a comrade.

He had not the vigour of a Johnnie Campbell, he had not the dash of a John Southworth, he had not the scientific precision of a G.O. Smith, but he had something all these great players lacked - the power of getting the best out of all the other members of the team. His dribbling was as close and clever as that of W.N. Cobbold, but instead of shouldering his way to the front like the great Cantab, he "wormed" his way through the opposition with the gliding movement of a serpent.