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RETIREMENT OF ARTHUR GOULD.

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RETIREMENT OF ARTHUR GOULD. Big Loss to the Newport Team.Why the Welsh Skippar is Aban- doning tho Game. All footballers and football devotees, not only in South Wales but throughout our isles, will regret to learn that Arthur Guuld has closed his football career. We are informed by Mr. A. W. Boucher, the captain of the Ne\vpi>ri Club, that, as the result of a long cut with tha veteran on Fridjay evening-, the Usksid-exs will have to start the season without him. It is a b::i blow to Newport arid also to Wales. And yet, as Mr. Bouoher says, the loss would have to come at some time in at least the near future, and it may just as well come now as later. Ha sympathises—a* everyone must do- with the oopuW Welsh skipper in the reasons which make for resignation. Be it said at once that they have nothing to do with tlw testimonial. Arthur Gould £ us we are informed, has adopted an independent attitude towards the inter- rational board from the first moment when they bsgan to apply the sponge. His reasons for retiiememt are domestic, personal, and business in their character. Increasing anxieties in domestic affairs, his agt-he will be 32 next month—and the more optn liability to injury, which might leave permanent results with increasing- age, are chiefly ilie factors which have operated. He cannot afford now to meet with a bad knock out. Everybody must admit that. As to the testimonial, thd international board must be allowed for thv present to go its own way. It is not appa, reriily averse to the gift in kind of something to the value of a hundreel or a couple ot hun- dred sovereigns, but for the rest—well, tha* can be left to future consideration. "Do you regard the veteran's intimation to you as decisive and final?" atiked- our repre- sentative of Mr. Boucher. "Well, yee, I must," he replied. "He tells me tha.t he has thought the matter over a good deal, and the decision he has come to is that we must start without him. I don't know that he will not play a, game with the second., just to keep up old associations, or he even might help us in the first team if we found ourselves very hard up, but from what he told me this evening we must now count him aa retired." Whitt Newport footballers will do without Gould, of course, only the future can reveal, and the same remark applies to Welsh play. Boucher's friends are already uro-ing him to go to centre three-quarter himself,"be- cause forwards are more easily obtained than good three-oua-rters. With that proposition few eail quarrel, but the forwards must be good ones, and tiiey mus the trained, a.nd training take? a long time. There are the usual rumours oj Illen WHO nave "finished'' a.t Newport this sea- son as there have been before, but it is gratify-; ing, at all events, to know that the Lack divi- sion, with the exception of Gould, will be intact. James has signified his willingness to play all through the s^son, go that "vith him, Dauncey, Pearson, and a good centre, the team, though robbed of its most illustrious player, has still a fine rear. Arthur Gould, as we have .-aid, is close upon 32. He first began to pla.y for the Newport first team six- teen seasons ago. There was a difficulty in making up the full complement of Usksidert to do battle against Weston one Saturday after- noon. when the Somerset team was captainec by big Mas.soy. The Newport capfain (W. Phillips) did not know what t< do to get men. At length fourteei were urot. who would play, but there was forward short, Arthur Gov Id, then a lad in h.s mid-teeiis, who had not even passed through the graduation of the second fifteen, was seen in the street twenty minutes before the kick-off and consented to play. A re-arrangement of the men was made, and he was put nut as full back, and towards the Newport victory that day young Gouid contributed two goal* and a tiy. His plafCt in the team from thai moment- iv-aq sure. He played for some time for Newport a.=v custodian, and took up the same position for Wales a year or two later, but position for Wales a year or two later, but eventually went to three-quarter, where he has played continuously ever since, except when he was away in the West Indies for a few seasons. His numerical record in international games is higher than that of any obiter man, whi'st iiin skill it', so well known as hardly to need recounting. REMINISCENCES OF GOULD. [BY "WELSH ATHLETE."] Of course, we all knew it must come some time or other. Gould has been a wonderful player—is so at the present day, in fact—but he oannot lust for ever, and probably when we have got over the sting that his retirement naturally brings we shall say to ourselves, "Weil. Arthur was getting on in years, and hia retirement was possibly well advised." For my own part. I know I would rather see him go out of football with his blushing honours thick upon him, and the knowledge in my mind that even now in his old days, in comparison with our i»;esenit--dav players, Arthur Gould, as a captain and a three-quarter, can justly hold up his hand and cry "Excelsior"—T would rather him retire thus, I repeat, than see him, as another famous English three-quarter I wot of, gradually losing his form, and playing with a second-rate team. in a vain struggle t" maintain some of his o!d prestige. If Arthur Gould has definitely decided to retire he can content himself with thh knowledge that un- surpassed as a centre three-quarter during the whole cor.ise of hi" lengthy career, he still enjoys the honour of having no superior. With all his years, which from a football point, are many. when Gould handles the ball there may no other "Richmond" enter the field. Still, the sting of his retirement is undoubted, and, when we comedo select an international fifteen we shall begin to wonder who is to take Could s place as captain. His career in the football world cannot be dealt with at "neh short notice. From a club point of view his con- nc-etion has been almost wholly with Newport. Richmond had his c-ervices for a. season or so, wh;l.t Middlesex County, even up to the present dav, consider they have t claim upon him. Of all the company in which Go ild b" played, by the way, a recent match with Middlesex would probably be the most note- worthv. It is a couple of seasons ago now, T think anyhow, I remember Yorkshire were the opponents, and they gave the Middle- sex men an awful hiding. The Yorkshire forwards were at their zenith just then, ond they simply carted the Londoners an over the shop, with the result that the Middlesex backs were little other than spectators. It is those backs, by the way, that I would speak of in connection with Gould, for they were the finest quartette, individually. T have ever seen in my life. Gould and Stoddart were the centres, ( ampbell and Grcgor M'Gregor were the wing. and if any man has seen four better m4 plaving- together I wish he would write and tell me of it. So far as I can remember, they handled twice. The first time thev scored: tlie spcond time they were with m an inch or two of it. So far as Gould is concerned, one could, did time i nd space permit, rc-call hundreds of exciting incidc»nti* in his club and international career. The other day a London writer credited Gould with being a lienefactor to the four three-quarter system. Of course, that is not so, for Gould was essentially, by ^ery reason of his individual brilliance, a three b.r, a three tbree-noarter man. Had he played with a three three-quarter club his fame would prob- ably have been even crcater than it is now. A- an international player he holds the record of bavincr plaved in more matches than anv other Rugby footlaller, whilst as an all-round athlete he is r. credit to any country. The re-speot held for him *hroughout the football world is undoubted, and a farewell testimonial will. undoubtedly, meet with the hearties# a pprobation and support.

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