G. O. Smith
Gilbert Oswald Smith ( aka G. O. Smith ) ( born November 25, 1872 in Croydon, Surrey; † December 6, 1943 in Lymington, Hampshire ) was an English football player in the amateur of the 19th century and was often regarded as the first large center-forward of modern football called.
Smith was trained at the Charterhouse School, one of the cradles of the English association football and learned there a set of technical skills who are already helped him to fame when he was still attending school. He later studied at the University of Oxford and took the profession of a school teacher.
Club career
Smith played at the beginning of his studies for the University of Oxford and won three out of four prestigious duels against the University of Cambridge, where he led the team in his final year as team captain. After graduating, he joined the club Corinthian FC, who was known not only as the best British amateur football club at this time and was on par with the best professional clubs, but was also instrumental in the establishment of sporting principles and fair play. Smith scored in 131 games and scored 113 goals with a ratio of 104 minutes per goal up to now one of the best hit rates in the history of football.
During his club career Smith led the FC Corinthians in the first Sheriff of London Charity Shield event. The competition was launched in order to pit the best of British professional and amateur clubs against each other. However, the match against Sheffield United proved to be extremely controversial, as the professional club from Sheffield refused due to a number of controversial refereeing decisions after the expiry of 90 minutes to go in for an extension. Smith scored later in a 2-1 victory in another Charity Shield match at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre against Aston Villa in November 1900, the winning goal.
International career
Smith led the England team 1896-1901 at least 13 international appearances as a team captain, a number that has possibly even increased to 14, but because of the inaccuracy of the records from the early days of English football can not be clearly clarified. He won this case at least eight games ( possibly even nine ) and played in two games draw. He was the only one of six players, and the only Englishman in the February 1899 resulting in an international hat-trick when he scored three goals within five minutes and yet another fourth goal for 13:2 - record home win against Ireland contributed. In 1894, he had also already completed with the complete Eleven of the Corinthians a game against the Welsh selection.
"They were fine fellows, " as the famous Welsh player Billy Meredith wrote about the alleged by Smith, only amateurs existing, English forward line, " with approximately 1.90 meters in her socks, which filled every inch with a large weight. And they were not afraid to use their weight, as some of us had to learn. Always for true custom sportsmännischem they could - of course - plug hard knocks as well, as well as dish out. Each of them could run like a deer and before the game ended, many of us were exhausted. Most of them were top players of Corinthian and they practiced the Corinthian style of play. It was a grand sight, this attack line running down the field to see, although our defensive players probably do not think so. "
The official national balance sheet of GO Smith has 19 inserts for England, where he was able to achieve eleven goals. This occurred at a time when only three matches per year ( against Scotland, Wales and Ireland) were used. Some football historians, including also the author of the article on Smith in the Dictionary of National Biography, write Smith to 21 matches, the match against Germany in 1901, had an unofficial character. This game was also the last appearance of Smith in an English jersey.
Play
G. O. Smith, who took to the football games exclusively in brown street shoes, was famous during his entire playing career for exceptional ball handling and good timing. His playing was distinguished by an always close control.
Contrary to the majority of today's center forward Smith was also an above average pass players. An ability that clearly distinguished him from other players of his time was to pull his talent defenders to himself, and then with an accurate pass a free-standing player to use with an assist. Steve Bloomer, who acted as a professional player in numerous international matches at Smith's side, it was presented as the main reason why he preferred the interaction with Smith over any other center forward.
His playing style was thereby the valid at the time offside rule from 1866 contracts, whereby a player if and only was offside when he was placed both in front of the ball and had less than three opponents in front of him. This through-balls have been very difficult to attack the center and benefiting primarily player with a talent for dribbling, or ability to distribute the ball in distress across or backwards to a teammate.
Physically, Smith seemed disadvantaged despite an above-average for his time height of 1.80 meters. He was of slight stature, had asthma and did not have the muscle strength, through which the England team had before, with players like William Cobbold, excellent - and this at a time when body checks and a sometimes very rude way of playing more than fair play were understood. He stayed away from head balls and even expressed the wish that this play should be removed from the sport of football. The tactical disadvantage which grew out of all that he made up for by intelligent game with and without the ball, although opponents always emphasized that he was " tough as a whip cord " and very difficult to separate from the ball.
Reputation
At the time of his resignation, Smith was probably the most popular English football player and received his recognition of his distinctive initials also to further generations, to a time when only one other athlete was popular with the cricket player WG Grace in a similar manner. Despite the later appearance of the same talented players on the center-forward position - especially Vivian Woodward, the direct successor of Smith - the skills of Smith were praised until the 1940s. The Germany-based international statisticians IFFHS Association described him as the " most brilliant, truly perfect footballer in the world of turn of the century ."
" G. O., "was, according to eyewitnesses, even among professional footballers popular, although these usually eyeing the premier amateur players with suspicion. The reason was, according to Sir Frederick Wall, the longtime secretary of the Football Association that Smith was a player without arrogance. Steve Bloomer, Wall said further, maintained a great admiration for his strike partner in the national team and revealed that Smith, at that time, was always different from the majority of amateurs polite to his working in professional business and partly socially poor teammates: "He was the most decent type of an amateur, one that professional players shook hands with us in a way that expressed that he was just happy to be with us. "
In his youth was G.O. Smith as a good cricketer. In the Varsity Match of 1896, he scored for Oxford University against Cambridge University match-winning 132 points in the last playthrough. He was a right-handed batsman, also reasonably good pitcher and played in the field is usually used on the cover point position. In the field he moved - according to his obituary in Wisden Cricketers famous ' Almanack - " with graceful speed in everything he did ."
Resignation
Smith retired shortly after his last international match from active competition and became a teacher at the Ludgrove School, a preparatory school for college, especially for the famous Eton College. Later he rose to become director of the school. He also taught at Lancing College and supervised perennial football teams in his school. After retiring from the profession he died at the age of 71 in Lymington, Hampshire.