Page:Association Football and How to Play It (1908) by John Cameron.djvu/65

Rh remarked, I have a great respect for the F.A., and they have a great deal to do with the game which is recognised now as the game of the country. It is much easier to criticise than to legislate, and much of the work done by these associations does not get the credit it deserves. Facts are stubborn things, and when my old club, Tottenham Hotspur, played in the English Cup Final, at the Crystal Palace, in April, before a record crowd of 114,000, it was said that these figures would never be beaten. It certainly has not been done in England, although it has been very nearly approached, but last April, at Hampden Park, it was overshadowed by 20,000 more onlookers. Cricket has had an infinitely longer innings than football, but I can see no just reason nor impediment why football, especially Association, should not go on for at least the lifetime of the present generation. The majority of sports, such as cycling, running, etc., have died through the want of proper management, and sports as a whole should be controlled by an Association of Amateurs in the proper sense of the word. Probably it is not known to many of my readers that the F.A., to save the game from falling into the hands of a speculator, have restricted the dividends to be paid to any club to 5 per cent. By the way, this rule does not apply to Scotland, but before long I hope they will follow in the steps of their English brethren. Again, to show how pure professional clubs are, directors, whether they be five or fifteen, are not entitled to draw any money from the club, and this shows that the real sportsmanlike spirit