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Date: 16th October 2024
In his introduction to his 156 page softback book, Cammy Murray says that 40 years ago, he wanted to try to find out how footballers in the past learned how to play football, and compare the findings with the approach of today.
“If you speak to most football fans in Scotland, they will say that most games today are boring, with few players ever showing any exceptional skills or flair, resulting in games which lack any real excitement. “Keep possession; don’t give the ball away,” are the most common instructions from managers and coaches.
“Matt Busby used to tell his players before games that, “the fans have been down the pits all week or in factories, and so it’s up to you to entertain them”. Although working conditions have changed considerably, the same concept should apply today.”
In the early 1980s Cammy devised a questionnaire and distributed it amongst Under 18 internationalists at the time, full Scotland internationalists past and present, and managers and coaches. Most of the book is devoted to answers drawn from the respondents, and how they may be applied to modern-day football. He concludes that “the situation with the development of today’s youngsters is a cause for concern. I wonder if they really share the same love of football which players of yesteryear had. The question deserves to be asked: Are today’s youngsters being given the opportunity to find and develop the talent which was so synonymous with Scottish football at one time?
“Only time will tell if it is possible for the halcyon days of football to return, considering the huge changes in the way youngsters spend their recreational time now, compared with those of yesteryear. It deserves a try. Only then will the words of the legendary Ferenc Puskas again come true – ‘Let the game be a romance, and childhood the years of courtship.”
The book costs £12.95 which includes p&p, and all profits go to Cancer Research charities. Details of how to obtain it can be obtained by contacting the Motherwell FC historian Stuart Graham by emailing him at swg57@sky.com
Review originally published in the Scottish Football Historian. SFH, published quarterly since 1982, is a 32 page magazine available by post for £3.40, or as a PDF for £2.50, via eBay or www.scotlandsfootballers.com
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