Page:Football, The Association Game.djvu/88

 CHAPTER XI.

endeavoured to represent, as concisely as possible, the essentials for the acquirement of any great degree of excellence in any of the positions which constitute the formation of a football team. There are, however, some general rules which must be carried out strictly if the game is to be conducted in a spirit of true sport They are so obvious that it might appear superfluous in a work of this character to give them any prominence. Yet they are in the case of even experienced players, who ought to set a better example, very often overlooked, or, in the excitement of the moment, forgotten.

The power of a captain, as I have said in an earlier chapter, must be absolute. It is he who should make any ' appeals that may be required, and, though this is not always an infallible test, his capacity to command in the ordinary way may be gauged by the discipline of the team. A good captain will do his spiriting gently. His control of his men is as often as possible the result of the force of his own example, and, like Harry Coverdale, a capable captain has generally a quiet way of settling things, which is effective by the very reason of it.

Football must always, in a measure, be attended with a certain amount of risks. It is this spice of danger which makes it so essentially English, and gives it a high place among our national sports. For this very reason, though, it should be the aim of every player to discountenance, and earnestly, anything like intentional roughness. Charging is