Evening Express

WILL PRO. CLUBS PAY? Good Players Scare] [BY FORWARD."] I I- Some weeks, if nat a few months, will elapse before it "frill' be possible to measure the strength of professionalism as a factor in South. W ales football. It is a matter of common knowledge that six Welsh clubs are now affiliated to the Northern Union, namely, Merthyr, Ebbw Vale, Aberdare, Mid-Rbondda, Barry, and Treherbert, and from the numerical standpoint it would seem that the new cult, initiated locally by Merthyr and Ebbw Vale last season, has made such satisfactory progress that it is only a question of time before several other dubs will follow in their wake. That is the probability which suggests itself in taking a merely superficial view of the situation, and the one which will be looked upon by many people as an augury of the ultimate capitulation to professionaliSim of what has hitherto been an amateur stronghold. To what extent they are justified in taking that view depends so much upon so many cir- cuinstances of varying import,ance that time alone can decide in their favour or against them. In the first place, each of the professional clubs must have a fairlv sound financial basis, hacked up by a substantial revenue from its home matches, and that revenue can only come from the pockets of those people who will be attracted to witness the club's per- formances throughout the season. There is no uniform rate of pay for play. and, as a general rule, each player will be paid according to his playing ability. In other words, each club will necessarily have to manage its domestic affairs in its own way, and work out its own salva- tion without recourse to the resources of any other organisation. That is the ma-in consideration to be borne in mind in any attempt to give a forecast of the future of professional football in South Wales. There are many contingent cir- cumstances of equally relative import- ance, but the bedrock foundation of a club's existence is the amount of public patronage it receives. Now, what are the prospects in that direction? Last Saturday I went down to Barry to see the first match played under Northern Union rules in that district, and it was a natural expectation that the noveltv of the occasion would in itself be sufficient to ensure for it a reasonable measure of success. Amateur football had failed for some years to appeal to the spirting instincts of Barry folk, and it occurred to me that under the new dispensation the enthusiasm which had so long been lying dormant would be awakened into strong, vigorous life, and that the players who had rallied under the new standard would be acclaimed by a multitude of people. Ten minutes before the time fixed for kicking off I was a lone, solitary figure in the centre of the new ground, and the only sign of human animation was that represented by a policeman and a few officials stand- ing at the entrance waiting and wa-te-h- ing for the players and spectators to turn up. The outlook was not promising just then. A quarter of an hour later the two teams put in an appearance, and when they took up their respective positions within the playing area there was an attendance of about 400 people. One. expected a cheer from some of them when the teams lined up. But all were dumb, and one did not know what interpretation to place upon this strange silence. It was my first expe- rience of Barry football, and I concluded that an outburst, of enthusiasm was not part of the game in the district. Any- how, it was. very quiet crowd and an "uncommonly poor game, the like of which I have no desire to see again for some considerable time. I do not wish it to be inferred from this remark that the dis- play was representative of Northern Union football as it is played by the lead- ing teams in the Union. Nothing of the kind. A first-class exhibition was not to be expected from two scratch teams play- ing together under new rules for the first time, and it is only fair that this expla- nation shouJd be made. But the point of greater importance than the character of the play in this one match was the average ability of the players engaged. Very few of them would find permanent places in the beet of the second -class South Wales teams, aud on neither side was there a single player of more than ordinary merit. It is this dearth of class players which threatens the very existence of the Northern Union clubs which have been recently established in our midst. Befo-re 400 people Cl be expected to climb up the hillside at Ba.rry to witness another game the standard of play will have to be improved out of all knowledge, and that improve- ment can only be brought about by some radical changes in the constitution of both the Barry and Treherbert teams. Where are the better players tu come from? That is the difficulty. Are these clubs likely to secure the services of some of the best pJayers in our amateur teams? Personally, I think not. There are many reasons for think- ing so. In the first place, the average amateur would require a very substan- tial inducement to sever his oonnrotion with the club for which he is playing and to embark upon a career of profes- sionalism. Not only would he need such ¡an inducement, but he would want to be assured of a liberal weekly remuneration for ibis services, and, taking a club like Barry, for instance, I don't see that the funds would allow of many fat weekly salaries tieing paid to players. Assum- ing that the gates averaged £20 for every home match, which is only tplayed once a fortnight, there won't be many sovereigns left to be doled out to players after the ordinary expenses of the club have been met. Frequent journeys to the North of England cannot be made without money, and this matter of a necessary heavy expenditure is the rock upon which Northern Unionism in South Wales is likely to split. Whatever may be said about the loyalty and self- sacrifice of players who have allied themselves to these professional clubs,- there is no gainsaying the fact that they cannot be run successfully without* strong financial resources. In the case of the two Rhondda clubs—Treherbert and Mid-Rhond.dathe prospect is little less alluring than th-at of Barry. The former "gates," under the amateur regime, were so poor that there has never been much of a surplus left at the end of any season. The Mid-Rhondda candidates are exploiting now ground, and on Saturday they inaugurated their venture by losing to Bradford in a game which was more in favour of the York- shire club than was indicated by the margin of five points. Wigan did not see-m to suffer from the same kindly com- punction of conscience in smiting Aber- dare hip and thigh; and Ebbw Vale re- turned home beaten from the North. These experiences do not harmonise with the traditions of Welsh Rugby foot- baoll during the last decade, and the success of the amateur code in that period has been so pronounced as to ma.ke Wales famous all the world over. What may be in store for Merthyr and Ebbw Vale is almost eq-ualily as pro- blematical, and they will have to acquit themselves far better than they did last season to be worthy of the name of really reprE-sentative Welsh clubs. So far Northern Unionism has only just touched the fringe of Welsh football, but, now that the thin end of the wedge has been introduced, there is no limit to the possi- bilities of the future.