Page:Association Football and How to Play It (1908) by John Cameron.djvu/66

64 prevails at the helm of professional football, and certainly no reform in this way is desired or required. Rumours of a National League are quite rife in the air, but on going into the matter, I hardly see any desirability for the idea bearing fruit. For one reason, if it did come off it would become very speculative, and, like the big trusts in America have done, do much damage to the smaller tradesmen. Even look at the possibility of such a great league when one comes to deal with the matter thoroughly from a geographical point of view, and I have spent many hours in endeavouring to see how such a league could become workable. Rivalry in football is one of its biggest assets, and in this way I should like to see the big Southern clubs formed into a Southern League and the Northern clubs into a Northern League, and the two top clubs of each League to fight out the question of supremacy. As I have already stated, I consider that the present governing body of Association football is admirably constituted, and it will be a sorry day for the game if the leading clubs rebel. At the same time, systems are rarely if ever perfect, so I should like to make a few suggestions upon the following points: 1. The transfer system. 2. The wage limit. 3. Neutral referees should be appointed by an independent body of the Association. Dealing firstly with the transfer system, I think it is iniquitous, and when the Players' Union was first formed this was one of the burning questions