About Alan Ball, Jr.: English football player and manager (1945 – 2007)
Alan James Ball MBE (12 May 1945 – 25 April 2007) was a professional English football player and football club manager. The youngest member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, he played as a midfielder for several clubs, scoring more than 180 league goals in a 22-year career. His career also included a record £220,000 move from Everton to Arsenal at the end of 1971. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year managerial career that included spells in English football’s top flight at Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City.
club career
Birth and early career in Blackpool
He was born at 2 Brookhouse Avenue, Farnworth, Lancashire, the son of (James) Alan Ball, a builder’s carpenter, later tax collector and his wife Violet, née Duckworth. Ball started his football career as a schoolboy, playing for Ashton United, the team managed by his father, which is part of Lancashire United. As he signed and played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, he fell out with the headmaster for missing out on the Fanworth Grammar School team. He left Farnworth Grammar without qualification.
After leaving school, the Wolves decided not to take Ball. The midfielder then started training with Bolton Rovers but they also decided against giving him a professional contract after manager Bill Reading said he was too young.
Blackpool signed Ball after his father asked for help from the coach, an old friend with whom he used to play. Ball was tried in September 1961 and was immediately signed up as an apprentice. He turned professional in May 1962 and made his Football League debut on 18 August 1962 in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. At 17 years and 98 days, he became Blackpool’s youngest league prospect. On 21 November 1964, Ball scored his first career hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Everton
Ball’s performance in England’s 1966 World Cup-winning side caught the attention of many bigger clubs than Blackpool. He was eventually sold to Everton for £112,000 in August 1966, when he paid a record transfer fee to an English club. At Everton, Ball joined Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall (who are still affectionately known as “Trinity”) in what is considered the best Everton midfield trio of his generation. In 1968, Everton reached the FA Cup final, but lost to West Bromwich Albion and were eliminated by Manchester City in the semi-final the following year. Ball was as important in the team as ever as Everton clinched the Football League title in 1970 and beat Leeds United’s final challenge.
Back at club level, Everton capitulated again in the 1971 FA Cup semi-final, with Ball’s opening goal being overhauled by two goals from Merseyside rivals Liverpool, who lost the final to Arsenal chasing “double play”. Ball made 259 appearances for the Toffees, scoring a total of 79 goals.
arsenal
On 22 December 1971, Arsenal paid a record fee of £220,000 to bring Ball to Highbury. At the age of 26, he was at the peak of his form and fitness when he joined Arsenal; he made his debut on 27 December 1971 against Nottingham Forest. However, Arsenal failed to defend their title in the 1971-72 season and also lost their grip on the FA Cup when Leeds United beat them 1-0 in the centenary final at Wembley.
Ball has been playing for Arsenal, starting almost as part of the first team, including making 50 appearances in the 1972-73 season. However, Arsenal’s double-winning squad was soon disbanded and their replacements proved insufficient; Ball remains one of the few good players on Arsenal’s side, having been appointed to the club in 1974 team leader. Ball broke his leg in April 1974, causing him to miss the start of the 1974-75 season when Arsenal finished 16th. Ball also missed the start of the 1975-76 season following an injury in a pre-season friendly against Alexandra Cruz and Arsenal then finished 17th that season. Bertie Mee resigned as Arsenal manager in the summer of 1976, and it was clear that new manager Terry Neal wanted to take the club in a new direction. Ball, 31, continued to play for Arsenal until December 1976, when he was sold to Southampton for £60,000. In total, he made 217 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 52 goals.
Southampton
Ball’s move to Southampton was somewhat symmetrical, as he played for Everton, Arsenal and Southampton in 1966, 1971 and 1976, when they were all FA Cup winners. He helped Southampton return to the First Division in 1978 and were runners-up in the League Cup after being beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest in 1979.
move to North America
Ball then played in the decade-old North American Soccer League and joined the Philadelphia Fury as a player in May 1978. He was appointed player-coach after former Newcastle United manager Richard Dinnis was sacked in June. One season later, after he was no longer coaching, he was sold to the Vancouver Whitecaps in June 1979. Almost immediately, he made a huge impact on the Whitecaps and helped them win the NASL Football Bowl in September. He also won the 1979 playoffs MVP award, scoring seven goals in nine games.
Back to Blackpool
After fulfilling the remainder of his contract with Vancouver, he returned to England in February 1980 as player and manager of his first professional club, Blackpool. Meanwhile, Blackpool’s general manager Freddy Scott made a substitution. Ball’s appointment has been well-received by Blackpool supporters, who return with enthusiasm, eager to bring the good times back to the club and still have enough energy to play occasionally.
The following year saw Blackpool’s latest doom slip further. The club slid into relegation, with only a few firm performances (including four wins from their last six matches) securing an 18th-place finish and survival. Ball brought in several new faces in the final season and is also prepared to bet on young players. One of his least popular moves among fans was the sale of Tony Kellow, a Bloomfield Road favourite. The 1980-81 season started in a similar fashion, with Blackpool struggling in the standings. Optimism during the preseason turned to anger as the team’s performance fell short of Ball’s promise.
Following his FA Cup first-round win over neighbours Fleetwood Town on the Falder coast on November 22, Ball publicly criticised fans for allegedly not wanting the team to be as successful as he did. In the end, it was too much for both the manager and the club, and Ball’s contract was terminated shortly after the loss to Brentford on 28 February 1981, and the relationship ended in ruins. Blackpool were relegated at the end of the season. In March 2005, Ball finally spoke about his experience as Blackpool manager. He said: “Jack Charlton, a good friend, gave me a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday and in hindsight, I should have done it: gain some experience. The other thing I should have done was stay Under Stan Tent I replaced him as head coach, but he’s fine I think, but dealing with the board didn’t help.”
Return to Southampton and end his career
Ball was tempted to return to Southampton in March 1981 to play alongside veteran and former England teammates Mick Channon and Kevin Keegan. He left Southampton in October 1982 to play for Hong Kong side Orient Athletic before joining Bristol Rovers in January 1983 until his retirement the following season. When Ball finally retired, he had played 975 games in 21 years.
International career
1966 World Cup
Despite being in a struggling Blackpool team, Ball’s diligence, stamina and distribution were noticed by England manager Alf Ramsey, who drew 1-1 against Yugoslavia in Belgrade on 9 May 1965 He made his international debut at the competition, three days before his twentieth birthday. Ramsey is gearing up for the World Cup a year from now, where England will host, and is developing a system that will allow England to deploy defensive and hard-working midfielders that traditional wide players cannot fully guarantee . As a result, Ball became a useful tool for Ramsey — able to play wing or center on a regular basis, but still have the energy to help his defense when needed.
Ball is the youngest member of Ramsay’s 22-man squad selected for this World Cup, at just 21 years old. Despite England’s collective emergence as a team of heroes from the Championship, Ball is one of a number of players who are seen as individual successes, especially when he is a player without a proven record at the highest level. experience accusations. In fact, he, Jeff Hurst and Martin Peters received huge honours and timeless accolades in the game – all of them were still only played when they were selected for the final against West Germany Digits.
The 98,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium witnessed Ball’s amazing solo performance. Full of runs, he continued to work, sprint and track while teammates and opponents alike stood up. With less than 15 minutes left, he won a corner on the right and he quickly took the penalty. Hirst’s shot from the edge of the box went into the air before hitting the instep of Peters, who gave England a 2-1 lead. Germany equalized with seconds remaining, which meant the game went into overtime. Somehow, this gave Ball’s game an extra kick, and his image of running in a row at Wembley, with socks around his ankle, was one of the most enduring images of the occasion. It was his chase and low cross that created a controversial second for Hurst, and a third for England. He was also sprinting up front, unmarked, screaming the pass as Hurst pushed the ball forward with the final kick of the game to break his historic hat-trick goal. After the success of the World Cup, Ball returned to a civic reception in Walkerdon, Lancashire, where he lived with his parents and sister. Ball’s appearance in the final marked the last time a Blackpool player had the full cap for England.
1970 World Cup
Ball is the first name on Ramsay’s England squad so far as he traveled to Mexico for the 1970 World Cup as defending champions. Ball famously hit the crossbar with a shot during England’s 1-0 loss to Brazil in a group match. England have won their other group stage and advanced to…
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