ABSTRACT
Northern clubs, officials and players on the other hand, stamped their own manly, aggressive, competitive and success-oriented attitudes on the game. Success brought by 'dodges and trickery' reinforced the acceptability of playing close to the letter of the law. Sociologist Paul Willis has found that in this century working-class lads placed a premium on dodges and trickery both at school and on the shop floor. These actions, as well as feats of strength, brought working-class males personal kudos.30 These actions on the pitch not only benefited the individual, but brought their clubs and community bragging rights in the highly charged competitive area of the industrial North. These actions too would have been sanctioned by club officials who recruited and selected players capable of earning their community prestige through success. Rather than internalizing the assumed ethos of the public schools, the northern clubs were making the game reflect their own attitudes towards manliness.
