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The origins of the passing game
Due to the bad form from Scottish teams in European competition in recent seasons, I thought I’d write about something, we as a nation can be proud of introducing to the game.
Namely the ‘passing game’.
What you thought Barcelona, Ajax, Madrid were the pioneers of the passing game?
Well think again, it was an amateur team from Glasgow, Queen’s Park F.C. who were at the forefront of passing play back in the 1870s.
Queen’s Park are Scotland’s oldest football club, they play in the Scottish football league division 3, they also play at the national stadium, Hampden Park. Queen’s Park are still an amateur team having never capitulated to the professional game. Nowadays they have a good record for bringing through young players. Back in the 1870s they were pioneers.
The club represented Scotland in the first official international match against England on 30th November 1872. The game finished 0-0 in front of a crowd of 4000 in Partick, Glasgow. It would appear that Queen’s were already playing with a passing style by this time as reports of an FA cup game of that year against English club Wanderers mention their ‘combination’ play. At this time the game was usually played by trying to dribble past your opponent, there was rudimentary passing play played before 1872, which Queen’s Park played but this combination style they were playing by this period would go on to change Association football across Britain.
In reports of the FA cup match against Wanderers, the Field magazine notes that, “They dribble little and usually convey the ball by a series of long kicks, combined with a judicious plan of passing on.” In reports of the first international, the Graphic, a London based weekly paper states, “Individual skill was generally on England’s side, the dribbling of Kirke Smith, Brockbank, and Ottaway being very fine, while Welch, half-back, showed himself a safe and good kick. The Southrons, however, did not play to each other so well as their opponents, who seem to be adepts in passing the ball.” The Glasgow Herald newspaper goes on to say “The Englishmen had all the advantage of weight, their average being about two stones heavier than the Scotchmen and they had also the advantage in pace. The strong point of the home club was that they played excellently well together.” In 1875 a match again played against Wanderers which resulted in a 5-0 win for Queen’s Park has the following report:
“After a “hand” within thirty yards of the Wanderers’ lines, Weir got possession, and, successfully charging the English forwards, passed it on to Herriot, who in turn placed it to Campbell, who by a well judged kick dropped the ball just below the bar, thus securing another goal for the Scotsmen in sixteen minutes. No sooner had the English captain started the ball than Herriot, Weir and Lawrie, by neat passing sent it back, and after the backs and half backs had shown good play, the two M’Neills brought it along the left side, and passing it to Lawrie, the latter made a shot for goal, but the ball passed just outside the goal post. The play was now in the centre, the Queen’s Park men dribbling and passing, while their opponents indulged chiefly in heavy kicking. In 33 minutes from the commencement of operations H. M’Neill, obtaining possession, kicked the ball to Herriot, who unselfishly serving it to Lawrie, the latter again made a shot for goal, this time with more success, as the ball, passing above the goalkeeper’s head, went clean through thus obtaining the third goal.”
Playing this style of combinational play, Queen’s Park reached two FA cup finals, losing twice to Blackburn Rovers in 1884 and again in 1885. They became founder members of the Scottish Cup and the Scottish Football Association. Queen’s Park won ten Scottish Cups in those early years, their last win came in 1893. The games they played against English opposition and the influx of Scottish players to the newly formed English league who all played the passing game eventually brought about professionalism in England, Scotland and led to football around the world being played in it’s present state.
Not bad for an amateur team from the southside of Glasgow.
Posted by Celtic fan Michael Kane
Follow Michael on Twitter @m_gkane
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