Ted MacDougall - how did he score so many goals?

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Cherry Chimes has teamed up with Pitch Publishing this week to celebrate, AFCB Club Secretary, Neil Vacher's re-release of his book 'MacDougoal! The Ted MacDougall story' in paperback. Look out later this week for the competition to win a copy of the book. The book charts Ted's football career, from the years to his coaching in the States and his reflections on the modern game. To get you in the mood, here is an extract from the book.

“Every day we trained under John Bond it was about finishing and movement. His philosophy to the other players was, ‘We’ve got the best striker in the country so you better get him in!’ My job was to create space, the defenders job was to deny space, but our end product was me. I had such a desire for knowledge because I knew I scored goals but I wanted to know why. John began to teach me about movement, angles and stuff, and creating space for yourself in a small area. Movement creates space - today top players will make one run, but if the ball doesn’t come to them they won’t do it again. I learned how to make a run towards the ball. I was good in the air, I could hang there but I couldn’t do it from a standing jump, I had to move in and attack the ball. That way I would drag my marker away, then go back and use the space I had created and the power I could generate on the ball.

“To be a good striker I think you have to be born with a talent and desire for scoring goals. It’s purely instinctive. You must be single-minded and have the kind of nasty streak that makes you want to be the best, to go into areas others fear to tread. Naturally you must have the basics required to play football but, for me, the right attitude and approach is half the battle. Average strikers could improve if they were given advice by qualified people.

“Whilst at Bournemouth it was once said to me that the goals are the same size, no matter which division you are playing in. In fact I found the higher you went, the easier it was. The chances come at any level, whether you’re a Premier League player today or a Fourth Division player when I was around. Yes, you got fewer chances at the top level, but there’s a bit more time because people respect your ability. There wasn’t as much cut and thrust and I didn’t get hacked down so much in the First Division. But when the ball is loose in the goalmouth I stood an equal chance of scoring – and that’s how I got a lot of my goals.

“I used to look in the mirror, look at my hair and think, ‘What am I good at? What am I not good at? So what am I going to do? Am I going to work at what I’m not good at or am I going to eliminate it?’ I decided to eliminate it and let Phil Boyer do it - running, showing, linking, pushing down the wings. My game was primarily running away from the ball until the cross came in. Now I thought if that’s all I do, I better do it well!

Big thanks to Pitch Publishing and Neil Vacher for allowing Cherry Chimes to publish an extract of the Ted MacDougall story. If you haven't read up about AFCB's record-breaking striker, enter the competition later this week! You can also buy a copy of the book online at the club's store.