Page:Association Football and How to Play It (1908) by John Cameron.djvu/49

 Rh have left their mark upon the game have been Howard Spencer and V. J. Woodward. Spencer was the leader of Aston Villa, and he gained his unique position by qualities that may well be imitated. He was something more than an English gentleman and sportsman. He was, perhaps, the fairest player ever known to the game. He has never been known to lose his temper, and self-restraint seemed to him perfectly natural. No player or referee has ever accused him of a wilful foul, and he has nothing except honest and straightforward play and skill. His knowledge of the game was very great, and is shown by the fact that his club won the League Championship four times, while three times in ten years he helped Aston Villa to win the English Cup. I dare say, like the rest of humanity, he had faults, but at the same time he stood out a man who was a brainy player of great ability. The other man is V. J. Woodward, who has hardly reached the zenith of his fame. He is very fair in his play, and is ever heartily welcomed by those who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. It was a mere accident that brought him to the front. A Tottenham supporter happened to see him taking part in a local game at the time when G. O. Smith was retiring, and he was invited to show his prowess in good company, with what result everybody knows. If he has been left out of a side it is perhaps because he is so unselfish that he has not been chosen on every occasion that he might have been, but nature and skill asserted themselves, and he is the unanimous choice of the selectors now. He would