not long in taking effect on the English players, and, indeed, it is worthy of note that, since the third half-back was introduced in 1884, though the Scotchmen have been able to claim the majority of victories in their International matches with England, the positions have been changed to such an extent, that in point of actual play the advantage has been decidedly on the side of England.
Indeed, in the twenty-three matches which were played from 1884 to 1906 inclusive, England has a bare majority of victories, having won nine times to eight. How far the quality of Association football in general has been improved by the, as many think, grandmotherly legislation of late years must be a matter of opinion. The great competition among the richer clubs to secure a strong side regardless of all expense, has been naturally a distribution of the better players over a wider area, and a consequent levelling up of the game all over the country. On the other hand, the whole trend of legislation of late years has been to whittle down any survival of the robust methods which made football a strenuous exercise, with the result certainly of no advantage to the game as a whole. The glorification of the mechanical at the expense of the physical element in individual play has had the effect of developing an ultra scientific game which, in the matter of attack at all events, is most ludicrous and certainly by comparison most ineffective. A happy mean in this as well as in other things represents the best solution.
