Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland and stages its home fixtures at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin; the team made their debut at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Between 1924 and 1936, the team competed as the Irish Free State and from until 1950, it was referred to by the FAI as Éire or Ireland. In 1953, FIFA decreed that for competitive matches in tournaments that both Irish teams may enter, the FAI team would be called the Republic of Ireland while the IFA team was to be named Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland was allowed to use the title Ireland by FIFA in the Home International Competition until it was discontinued in 1984; the Republic of Ireland was the first nation from outside the United Kingdom to defeat England at home at a fixture played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, in 1949. The team reached the quarter-final stage of the 1964 European Nations' Cup, where they lost to the eventual winners Spain.
Under the guidance of Jack Charlton, the team enjoyed its most successful era, reaching their highest FIFA world ranking at sixth in August 1993, qualifying for UEFA Euro 1988 in their first appearance at the UEFA European Championship, reaching the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in their first appearance at the finals, as well as making the last 16 at the 1994 edition. Charlton's successor Mick McCarthy lost out on the next two major tournaments but qualified for the 2002 World Cup, making it to the last 16. Under Giovanni Trapattoni, the team narrowly lost out on qualification for the 2010 World Cup during a controversial play-off, but went on to qualify for Euro 2012; the team failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, marking the end of Trapattoni's tenure as manager. The Republic of Ireland fell to a record low FIFA ranking of 59th a record low of 70th in June 2014. For the next Euro qualifying campaign under manager Martin O'Neill, the Republic of Ireland finished third behind Germany and Poland, but went on to qualify for Euro 2016 after a 3–1 aggregate win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-offs.
The Boys in Green reached the Round of 16 stage at that tournament and were knocked out by the hosts and eventual runners-up France after losing 2–1. Between 1882 and 1924, Ireland was represented by a single national football team organised by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. In 1920, Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State Following the initial political upheavals surrounding Partition, a Dublin-based organisation calling itself the Football Association of the Irish Free State split from the IFA in 1921 and began organising its own league and national football team. In 1923, the FAIFS was recognised by FIFA as the governing body of football in the Irish Free State and at the 1924 Summer Olympics, the Irish Free State made their international debut. On 28 May, at the Stade Olympique, they beat Bulgaria 1–0, with Paddy Duncan scoring the team's first goal; as a result, they qualified for the quarter-finals. On 14 June 1924, the Irish Free State made their home debut against the United States, who had embarked on a brief European tour after competing in the same Summer Olympics.
Ed Brookes scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win at Dalymount Park. The Irish Free State did not play their next game until 21 March 1926, an away game against Italy lost 3–0. In subsequent years, the status of the Olympic Games football competition was downgraded and as a result, this game is regarded as the Irish Free State's first official game. On 25 February 1934, the Irish Free State made their FIFA World Cup debut, drawing 4–4 with Belgium at Dalymount Park in a 1934 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Paddy Moore scored all four of the Free State's goals and became the first player to score four goals in a World Cup game. After 1936, they reverted to the designation "Football Association of Ireland" and began to refer to their team as Éire or "Ireland". During this entire period, there were two Irish international football teams, chosen by two rival Associations. Both Associations, the Northern Ireland-based IFA and the Irish Free State-based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and considered themselves entitled to select players from the entire island.
At least 38 dual internationals were selected to represent both teams, however the overwhelming majority of these were Southerners who agreed to play for the IFA team, with only a bare handful "crossing the border" in the other direction. A 2–0 win over England at Goodison Park on 21 September 1949 was the first time England suffered a home defeat by a team outside the Home Countries of Scotland and the Ireland team run by the Belfast-based Irish FA. FIFA intervened when both teams entered 1950 World Cup qualification, the first time they had entered the same competition. Four players – Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh, Con Martin – played for the two different teams in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. All four players concerned had been born in the Irish Free State and made their full international debut in FAI colours before agreeing to represent the IFA team; this may have alarmed the FAI, since they subsequently lobbied FIFA to prevent the IFA from picking Southern-born players. FIFA's response was to restrict the eligibility of players on the basis of the border, further ruling in 1953 that ne
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is a professional football club in Bristol, which plays in League One, the third tier of English football. The team play home matches at Memorial Stadium in Horfield; the club was founded in 1883 as Black Arabs F. C. and were known as Eastville Rovers and Bristol Eastville Rovers before changing its name to Bristol Rovers in 1899. The club's official nickname is The Pirates; the local nickname of the club is The Gas, from the gasworks next to their former home, Eastville Stadium, which started as a derogatory term used by fans of their main rivals, Bristol City, but was affectionately adopted by the team. Cardiff City and Swindon Town are considered third biggest rivals. Rovers were admitted to the Football League in 1920 and have played there since, apart from spending the 2014–15 season in the Conference Premier, their highest finishing positions were in 1956 and 1959, on both occasions ending the season in 6th place in Division Two the second tier of English football.
The club's honours include winning the third tier title twice, the fourth tier play-off final once. Rovers were Football League Trophy finalists in 1990 and 2007; the club was formed following a meeting at the Eastville Restaurant in Bristol in September 1883. It was called Black Arabs F. C. after the Arabs rugby the predominantly black kits in which they played. This name only lasted for the 1883–84 season, in a bid to draw more fans from the local area the club was renamed Eastville Rovers in 1884; the club played only friendly games until the 1887–88 season, when it took part in the Gloucestershire Cup for the first time. In 1892 the club became a founder member of the Bristol and District League, which three years was renamed the Western League. In 1897 Eastville Rovers joined the Birmingham and District League, for two seasons played in both this league and the Western League. At the beginning of the 1897–98 season, the club turned professional and changed its name to Bristol Eastville Rovers, on 17 February 1899 the name was changed to Bristol Rovers.
In 1899 Bristol Rovers joined the newly formed Southern League, where they remained until 1920, winning the league title along the way in 1905. For the 1920–21 season, the Southern League teams were moved into the new Division Three of the Football League, which became Division Three the following season, they remained in this division for over 30 years, before winning the league, promotion in the 1952–53 season. The team has won promotion on five other occasions: in 1973–74 from the Third Division to the Second Division, again in 1989–90 as Division Three champions, in 2006–07 to the Football League One, in 2014–15 to League Two from the Conference Premier, in 2015–16 to League One; the club has been relegated six times—in 1961–62, 1980–81, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2010–11 and most at the end of the 2013–14 season. The highest position in the football ladder achieved by Rovers at the end of season is sixth place in the second tier, which they did twice; the closest they came to the top flight was in 1955–56, when they ended the season just four points below the promotion positions.
The lowest league position achieved by the club is twenty-third out of twenty-four teams in the fourth tier, which has occurred twice. In the 2001–02 season, relegation from the Football League was narrowly avoided on two counts; this position was matched at the end of the 2013–14 season, which this time saw Rovers relegated to the Conference for the first time. They returned to the league at the end of their first Conference season, with a penalty shootout victory over Grimsby Town in the play-off final. In February 2016 it was announced that a 92% stake in the club had been bought by the Jordanian al-Qadi family and that Wael al-Qadi, a member of the Jordan Football Association, would become the president; the club is now owned by Dwane Sports Ltd with 92.6% of the shares with Bristol Rovers Supporters Club owning the remaining 7.4%. The only major cup competition won by Bristol Rovers is the 1972 Watney Cup, when they beat Sheffield United in the final; the club won the Division Three Cup in 1934–35, as well as winning or sharing the Gloucestershire Cup on 32 occasions.
The team has never played in European competition. In the FA Cup, Rovers have reached the quarter-final stage on three occasions; the first time was in 1950–51 when they faced Newcastle United at St James' Park in front of a crowd of 62,787, the record for the highest attendance at any Bristol Rovers match. The second time they reached the quarter final was in 1957–58, when they lost to Fulham, the most recent appearance at this stage of the competition was during the 2007–08 season, when they faced West Bromwich Albion, they were the first Division Three team to win an FA Cup tie away to a Premier League side, when in 2002 they beat Derby County 3–1 at Pride Park Stadium. They have twice reached the final of the Football League Trophy, in 1989–90 and 2006–07, but finished runners-up on both occasions. On the second occasion they did not allow a single goal against them in the competition en route to the final, but conceded the lead less than a minute after the final kicked off. Bristol Rovers main rivals are
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Islington, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. It has won 13 League titles, a record 13 FA Cups, two League Cups, the League Centenary Trophy, 15 FA Community Shields, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893, they reached the First Division in 1904. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division, have won the second-most top-flight matches in English football history. In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970 -- 71, they won their first FA Cup Double. Between 1989 and 2005, they won five FA Cups, including two more Doubles, they completed the 20th century with the highest average league position. Herbert Chapman died prematurely, he helped introduce the WM formation and shirt numbers, added the white sleeves and brighter red to Arsenal's kit.
Arsène Wenger won the most trophies. He won a record 7 FA Cups, his title-winning team set an English record for the longest top-flight unbeaten league run at 49 games between 2003 and 2004, receiving the nickname The Invincibles, a special gold Premier League trophy. In 1886, Woolwich munitions workers founded the club as Dial Square. In 1913, the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, becoming close neighbours of Tottenham Hotspur, creating the North London derby. In 2006, they moved to the nearby Emirates Stadium. In terms of revenue, Arsenal is the ninth highest-earning football club in the world, earned €487.6m in 2016–17 season. Based on social media activity from 2014 to 2015, Arsenal's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2018, Forbes estimated the club was the third most valuable in England, with the club being worth $2.24 billion. In October 1886, Scotsman David Danskin and his fellow 15 munitions workers in Woolwich, now South East London, formed Arsenal as Dial Square, with each member contributing sixpence and Danskin adding another three shillings to help form the club.
Named after the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex, they took the name of the whole complex a month later. Royal Arsenal F. C.'s first home was Plumstead Common, though they spent most of their time in South East London playing on the other side of Plumstead, at the Manor Ground. Royal Arsenal won Arsenal's first trophies in 1890 and 1891, these were the only football association trophies Arsenal won during their time in South East London. In 1891, Royal Arsenal became the first London club to turn professional. Royal Arsenal renamed themselves for a second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893, they registered their new name, Woolwich Arsenal, with The Football League when the club ascended that year. Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of The Football League, starting out in the Second Division and winning promotion to the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers and the arrival of more accessible football clubs elsewhere in the city, led the club close to bankruptcy by 1910.
Businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall became involved in the club, sought to move them elsewhere. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Woolwich Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London; this saw their third change of name: the following year, they reduced Woolwich Arsenal to The Arsenal. In 1919, The Football League voted to promote The Arsenal, instead of relegated local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, into the newly enlarged First Division, despite only listing the club sixth in the Second Division's last pre-war season of 1914–15; some books have speculated. That year, The Arsenal started dropping "The" in official documents shifting its name for the final time towards Arsenal, as it is known today. With a new home and First Division football, attendances were more than double those at the Manor Ground, Arsenal's budget grew rapidly, their location and record-breaking salary offer lured star Huddersfield Town manager Herbert Chapman in 1925. Over the next five years, Chapman built a new Arsenal.
He appointed enduring new trainer Tom Whittaker, implemented Charlie Buchan's new twist on the nascent WM formation, captured young players like Cliff Bastin and Eddie Hapgood, lavished Highbury's income on stars like David Jack and Alex James. With record-breaking spending and gate receipts, Arsenal became known as the Bank of England club. Transformed, Chapman's Arsenal claimed their first national trophy, the FA Cup, in 1930. Two League Championships followed, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. Chapman presided over multiple off the pitch changes: white sleeves and shirt numbers were added to the kit. In the middle of the 1933–34 season, Chapman died of pneumonia, his work was left to Joe Shaw and George Allison, who saw out a hat-trick with the 1933–34 and 1934–35 titles, won the 1936 FA Cup and 1937–38 title. World War II meant The Football League was suspended for seven years, but Arsenal returned to win it in the second post-war season, 1947–48; this was Tom Whittaker's first season as manager, after his promotion to succeed Allison, the club had equalled the champions of England record.
They won a third FA Cup in 1950, won a record-breaking seven
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is a professional football club in Bermondsey, South East London, England. The team competes in the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in 1910. From until 1993 the club played at what is now called The Old Den in New Cross, before moving to its current home stadium nearby, called The Den; the traditional club crest is a lion rampant, referred to in the team's nickname'The Lions'. Millwall's traditional kit consists of white shorts and blue socks. In Millwall's 91 seasons in the Football League from 1920–21 to 2017–18, the club have been promoted eleven times and relegated nine times, they have spent the majority of their existence yo-yoing between the second and third tier of the Football League. The team spent two seasons in the top flight between 1988 and 1990, in which the club achieved its highest finish of tenth place in the First Division.
In 2004, the team reached the FA Cup final and qualified for the UEFA Cup, playing in Europe for the first time in their history. The club has reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1900, 1903, 1937, 2013 and the League Cup quarter-finals in 1974, 1977 and 1995. Millwall have won two League One playoff finals in 2010 and 2017, the Football League Group Cup in 1983, finished runners-up in the Football League Trophy in 1999. In the media, Millwall's supporters have been associated with hooliganism, with numerous films having been made fictionalising their notoriety; the fans are renowned for their chant "No one likes us, we don't care". Millwall have a long-standing rivalry with West Ham United; the local derby between the two sides has been contested a hundred times since 1899. The club share a rivalry with Leeds United, contest the South London derby with local rivals Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic. Millwall Rovers were formed by the workers of J. T. Morton's canning and preserve factory in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in London's East End in 1885.
Founded in Aberdeen in 1849 to supply sailing ships with food, the company opened their first English cannery and food processing plant at Millwall dock in 1872 and attracted a workforce from across the country, including the east coast of Scotland Dundee. The club secretary was 17-year-old Jasper Sexton, the son of the landlord of The Islander pub in Tooke Street where Millwall held their club meetings. Millwall Rovers' first fixture was held on a piece of waste ground on Glengall Road, on 3 October 1885 against Fillebrook, a team that played in Leytonstone; the newly formed team were beaten 5–0. Rovers found a better playing surface for the 1886–87 season, at the rear of the Lord Nelson pub and it became known as the Lord Nelson Ground. In November 1886, the East End Football Association was formed, along with the Senior Cup Competition. Millwall made it to the final against London Caledonians, played at Leyton Cricket Ground; the match finished the teams shared the cup for six months each.
Millwall won the East London Senior Cup at the first attempt. The club won the cup in the following two years, the trophy became their property. In April 1889, a resolution was passed for Millwall to drop "Rovers" from their name, they began playing under the name Millwall Athletic, inspired by their move to their new home The Athletic Grounds, they were founding members of the Southern Football League which they won for the first two years of its existence, were runners-up in its third. They were forced to move to a new ground North Greenwich in 1901, as the Millwall Dock Company wanted to use their land as a timberyard. Millwall Athletic reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1900 and 1903, were champions of the Western Football League in 1908 and 1909. Millwall moved to a new stadium, named The Den, in New Cross, South London in 1910; the club had occupied four different grounds in the 25 years since their formation in East London. The estimated cost of The Den was £10,000; the first match played at the new ground was on 22 October 1910 against reigning Southern League champions Brighton & Hove Albion, who won 1–0.
Millwall, who had now dropped "Athletic" from their name, were invited to join the Football League in 1920 for the 1920–21 season, along with 22 other clubs, through the creation of the new Football League Third Division. The Southern League was shorn of its status, with all its clubs deciding to leave—Millwall followed suit. Millwall's first Football League match was on 28 August 1920 at The Den, they were 2–0 winners against Bristol Rovers. In the 1925–26 season Millwall had 11 consecutive clean sheets, a Football League record, which they hold jointly with York City and Reading. Millwall became known as a hard-fighting Cup team and competed in various memorable matches, notably defeating three-time league winners and reigning champions Huddersfield Town 3–1 in the third round of the 1926–27 FA Cup. In the 1927–28 season Millwall won the Third Division South title and scored 87 goals at home in the league, an English record which still stands. Matches against Sunderland and Derby County saw packed crowds of 48,000-plus in the 1940s.
Their 1937 FA Cup run saw Millwall reach the semi-finals for the third time, a fifth-round game against Derby still stands as Millwall's record attendance of 48,762. Millwall were the 11th best supported team in England despite being in the Second Division. Millwall were one of the most financially wealthy clubs in England; the club proposed signed international players. Wi
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, who play in the League of Ireland First Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club joined the Irish Football League, an all Ireland competition, before becoming founding members of the League of Ireland in 1921. Shelbourne have won the league 13 times and are one of three clubs to have won both the IFA Cup and the FAI Cup, they play their home matches in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. The club colours are red and white, with home jerseys being predominantly red. "Shels" is an abbreviation of Shelbourne. In the 2004/2005 European season, Shelbourne became the first Irish club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, their performances in European competition and former striker Jason Byrne being capped for the Republic of Ireland whilst with the club, gained Shelbourne international exposure. The club lost their Premier Division licence for the 2007 season due to the club's debt situation.
Although the club was saved, since Shelbourne have played in the second tier of the League of Ireland. Shelbourne Football Club was formed in 1895 in the Ringsend area of Dublin by a group of men led by Mr. James Rowan; the club took its name from the nearby Shelbourne Road. The club's first pitch was at Havelock Square just behind the north stand at the present day Aviva Stadium. Shelbourne's second season was their first in competitive competition. Shelbourne played 28 matches, won 25, drew 2 and lost only 1, their goal tally was 109 for and 15 against. Shelbourne won the Leinster Junior Cup and League Championship; the club decided to enter the senior ranks for the 1897–98 Season and reached the Leinster Senior Cup Final at their first attempt, only to lose to Bohemians. They finished runners-up in the Leinster Senior League; the club won their first Leinster Senior Cup in 1899/1900, Shelbourne won the competition again in 1901 and 1904. The club were beaten by Distillery; the following year Shelbourne defeated Belfast Celtic in the Cup Final 2–0 and became the first Southern club to win the IFA Cup, according to a Dublin newspaper "Tar Barrels and bonfires were blazing across Ringsend and Sandymount that night as the Irish Cup was paraded around the district".
In 1906 Shelbourne player Val Harris became the club's first player to line out for Ireland. In 1906 Shelbourne won their fourth Leinster Senior Cup, the club played in a charity match against Bohemians in 1906 and raised more than 100 pounds to build a Roman Catholic Church in Ringsend. Shelbourne reached the IFA Cup Final again in 1907 and 1908 but were beaten on both occasion in replay's against Cliftonville and Bohemians. In 1907 Shelbourne were Irish Football League runners-up to Linfield, they won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1908 and 1909. In 1909 Shelbourne were City Cup winners and finished 3rd place in the Irish Football League, behind champions Linfield and Glentoran. In 1911 Shelbourne won the IFA Cup for their second time. Shelbourne won the Leinster Senior Cup again in 1913 and 1914. Shelbourne were 1914 Gold Cup runners-up, winners in 1915. Shelbourne were Leinster Senior Cup winners again in 1917 and 1919. Shelbourne won the IFA Cup once more, in 1920 after the other semi-final was declared void as both of the teams involved were ejected from the competition, before Shelbourne's association with the Irish Football Association was to come to an end.
Additional reading: IFA #North-South SplitFollowing the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Partition of Ireland and establishment of the Irish Free State, the League of Ireland was formed for clubs in the 26 counties of Ireland that had not remained part of the United Kingdom. The immediate cause of the split lay in a bitter dispute over the venue for the replay of an Irish Cup match in 1921 involving Glentoran of Belfast and Shelbourne; when the first cup match was drawn in Belfast, because of the Irish war of independence, the IFA reneged on a promise to play the replay in Dublin and scheduled the rematch again for Belfast. Shelbourne refused to forfeited the Cup; such was the anger over the issue that the Leinster FA broke away from the IFA and formed its own national association, the present day Football Association of Ireland. Shelbourne became one of the original League of Ireland founder clubs along with Bohemians, St James's Gate, Olympia, Dublin United and YMCA. In the opening 1921–22 Season, Shelbourne finished 3rd place behind winners St James's Gate and Bohemians.
Shelbourne finished runners-up the following two seasons and won the 1924 Leinster Senior Cup, the reds finished third in the league again in the 1924–25 season before winning the league for their first time the following season in 1925–26. They finished runners-up the following two years before winning the 1928–29 Championship. Additional reading: Reds UnitedHaving failed to retain the title in 1930, Shels won their third league title in 1931 and were Leinster Senior Cup winners. In 1934 the club got into a dispute with the Free State F. A. when they looked for compensation when the FAIFS arranged a match for the same day as Shelbourne had a match scheduled. In the row that followed, Shels resigned from the League and were suspended from football for a year by the FAI; the club played no football during the 1934–35 season and spent the 1935–36 season in the Athletic Union League before being re-admitted to the League of Ireland for the start of the 1936–37 season. During the 1935–36 season a team called Reds United, made up of a number of Shels players and backed by Shels personnel, compete
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization. Some scouts are interested in the selection of prospects, younger players who may require further development by the acquiring team but who are judged to be worthy of that effort and expense for the potential future payoff that it could bring, while others concentrate on players who are polished professionals whose rights may be available soon, either through free agency or trading, who are seen as filling a team's specific need at a certain position. Advance scouts watch the teams that their teams are going to play in order to help determine strategy. Many scouts are former coaches or retired players, while others have made a career just of being scouts. Skilled scouts who help to determine which players will fit in well with an organization can be the major difference between success and failure for the team with regard to wins and losses, which relates directly to the organization's financial success or lack thereof as well.
Scouts tend to have to perform one of two tasks, either scouting opposition teams to research the opposition's players and tactics, or scouting individual players to identify their level of skill and to keep track of potential new signings. Contemporary Major League Baseball teams classify scouts and their differing responsibilities as follows: Advance scouts follow the MLB clubs that their team is scheduled to play and file reports on trends and tendencies that influence pitching, defensive and game strategy. Major League scouts and professional scouts track active players under contract to other teams for potential acquisition, they may support advance scouts or evaluate competing minor league organizations. Per their designation, the former follow players in MLB, while "pro scouts" work minor league and independent league baseball. Amateur scouts evaluate high school and college baseball players and prepare their MLB teams for the June amateur draft. To ensure that players are seen by multiple evaluators, amateur scouts are divided into area scouts, regional cross-checkers and national cross-checkers.
International scouts cover players not from the United States, Puerto Rico and other U. S. territories, or Canada. These players are signed as international free agents and are not subject to the June draft, although bonus amounts and signing regulations are governed by the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and its players' union. In addition to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, where MLB teams have had a scouting presence since the mid-20th century, the growth in international baseball has compelled most teams to station scouts in Japan and other Asian countries and Europe. International scouting involves cross-checking to enable multiple evaluators to validate the reports of local scouts. According to Tony Lucadello, considered by some to be the greatest scout the four kinds of scouts start with the letter'P': Poor – wastes time looking for games rather than having a planned itinerary Picker – emphasizes a player's one weakness to the neglect of all strengths and ignores the potential within Performance – bases his evaluation on what a player does in his presence Projector – envisions what a player will be able to do in two or three yearsLucadello estimated that five percent of scouts were poor, five percent pickers, 85 percent performance scouts and five percent projectors.
Modern day scouts are becoming more and more reliant on computer programs to aid and assist in the evaluation of talent being scouted. Many professional sport clubs now use computers to organize their collected information and data. Most sports still depend on human management to decide which players their organization will draft or sign. Hugh Alexander Joe Devine Amanda Hopkins Edith Houghton Paul Krichell Tony Lucadello Bobby Mattick Ray Shore Joe Sugden Rich Behm — Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant, permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed in the May 2009 collapse of the Cowboys training facility. Steve Belichick — late assistant coach and scout for the United States Naval Academy, author of Football Scouting Methods, father of the NFL coach. Dick Haley — architect of 1970's Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty Bill Nunn — legendary scout for Pittsburgh Steelers Will Robinson- scouted for the NFL's Detroit Lions. Kevin Mackey, Indiana Pacers Piet de Visser Geoff Twentyman Les Kershaw Jack Hixon Marco Zunino Liam Brady Pierluigi Casiraghi Jorge Alvial Håkan Andersson Garnet Bailey Mike Liut Bobby Orr Jordan, David M.
Occasional Glory: The History of the Philadelphia Phillies. McFarland & Company, 2003. ISBN 0-7864-1260-7 Robbins, Ninety Feet from Fame: Close Calls With Baseball Immortality. Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-7867-1335-6 Spivak, Jeffrey. Crowning the Kansas City Royals: Remembering the 1985 World Series Champs. Sports Publishing LLC, 2005. ISBN 1-58261-826-7 Winegardner, Mark. Prophet of the Sandlots: Journeys with a Major League Scout. Prentice Hall Press, 1990. ISBN 0-13-726373-2 Joyce, Gare. "Wall of Dreams."
Association football
Association football, more known as football or soccer, is a team sport played with a spherical ball between two teams of eleven players. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies, making it the world's most popular sport; the game is played on a rectangular field called a pitch with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by moving the ball beyond the goal line into the opposing goal. Association football is one of a family of football codes, which emerged from various ball games played worldwide since antiquity; the modern game traces its origins to 1863 when the Laws of the Game were codified in England by The Football Association. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with hands or arms while it is in play, except for the goalkeepers within the penalty area. Other players use their feet to strike or pass the ball, but may use any other part of their body except the hands and the arms; the team that scores most goals by the end of the match wins.
If the score is level at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout depending on the format of the competition. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, which organises World Cups for both men and women every four years; the rules of association football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863 and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time rugby football. The first written "reference to the inflated ball used in the game" was in the mid-14th century: "Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe"; the Online Etymology Dictionary states that the "rules of the game" were made in 1848, before the "split off in 1863". The term soccer comes from a slang or jocular abbreviation of the word "association", with the suffix "-er" appended to it; the word soccer was first recorded in 1889 in the earlier form of socca.
Within the English-speaking world, association football is now called "football" in the United Kingdom and "soccer" in Canada and the United States. People in countries where other codes of football are prevalent may use either term, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now use "football" for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is evidence. Cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net, it was remarkably similar to modern football. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established. Phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup. Athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda and harpastum were played involving hands and violence.
They all appear to have resembled rugby football and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified "mob football", the antecedent of all modern football codes, these three games involved more handling the ball than kicking. Other games included kemari in chuk-guk in Korea. Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other ball games played around the world FIFA has recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe; the modern rules of association football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the varying forms of football played in the public schools of England. The history of football in England dates back to at least the eighth century AD; the Cambridge Rules, first drawn up at Cambridge University in 1848, were influential in the development of subsequent codes, including association football. The Cambridge Rules were written at Trinity College, Cambridge, at a meeting attended by representatives from Eton, Rugby and Shrewsbury schools.
They were not universally adopted. During the 1850s, many clubs unconnected to schools or universities were formed throughout the English-speaking world, to play various forms of football; some came up with their own distinct codes of rules, most notably the Sheffield Football Club, formed by former public school pupils in 1857, which led to formation of a Sheffield FA in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School devised an influential set of rules; these ongoing efforts contributed to the formation of The Football Association in 1863, which first met on the morning of 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The only school to be represented on this occasion was Charterhouse; the Freemason's Tavern was the setting for five more meetings between October and December, which produced the first comprehensive set of rules. At the final meeting, the first FA treasurer, the representative from Blackheath, withdrew his club from the FA over the removal of two draft rules at the previous meeting: the first allowed for running with the ball in hand.
Other English rugby clubs followed this lead and did not join the FA and instead in 1871 formed the Rugby Football Union. The eleven remaining clubs, under
