The Royal Engineers A.F.C.: The First Combination Team (late 1860s To Mid 1870s)
Sir Frederick Wall (who was the secretary of the Football Association from 1895–1934) states in his biography that the early combination game was first used by the Royal Engineers A.F.C. in the early 1870s, in particular prior to their 1873 tour of Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield . Wall states that the "Sappers moved in unison" and showed the "advantages of combination over the old style of individualism". He goes on to state that they were the first "to show the value of combination in Sheffield and Nottingham. Wall attended and regularly refers to the 1872 international match in his account (see below) and speaks very highly of many Scottish teams and players he does not attribute the combination game to either of these. The Engineers were also capable of dribbling the ball, for example one 1868 match reports states "Lieut Morris got off and dribbling the ball quite round his opponents, brought it in front of the goal and a kick from Lieut Dorward scored the first goal for the Royal Engineers".
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