MAJOR MARINDIN ON THE
ASSOCIATION GAME
A reporter has had an interview with Major Marindin, the
president of the football association, who said at first he was opposed to the
introduction of professionals, but he admits the result has been most
satisfactory, for bona fide professionals it has been found do not play by any
means so rough a game as do many so called amateurs. Many of them earn as much
as £2 a week all the year round and their brilliant playing has certainly done not a little for the game as a
whole. “The great curse of Association football
at the present moment is the rough game adopted by a large number of clubs. We
are determined to put this down. Our rules
are strong enough, but our difficulty is to get umpires with sufficient moral
courage to stop rough play. In any case I
may remark that the Association is not so dangerous a game as Rugby. We get
fractures and broken limbs, but we don’t get injuries to the neck and back that
prove so fatal to the Rugby players. As
to betting at football, it is undoubtedly a great evil. It hardly exists in the
South to such an extent as one finds it in the North. There books are made on every great match, and
a large amount of money without question changes hands.” “Is it for this reason”
the Reporter asked “that such huge gates follow on great football matches?” “Hardly”
replied the Major. “Football is rapidly becoming such a popular game that it is
drawing even larger crowds than cricket. At the same time, I don’t think our
clubs are making as much money as the public think. You see they have to keep 11 or 15 players in
service all the year round, and the travelling expenses of these are very
large.
Lancashire Evening Post, 20.11.88
