The Alan Ball management era

Seainsea

Seainsea

Well-known member
Totally different scenario in that Alan Ball had a fantastic career as a player but there are similarities in what is happening now and how history is repeating itself with his return to Blackpool as a player-manager. Although Bally was appointed in the summer of 1980 there was a delay in arriving as he honoured his contract at Vancouver Whitecaps. There was a lot of euphoria and things got off to a flying start with some scintillating football. As the season went on things began to slide and we just avoided relegation by winning at Rotherham. One of the problems Ball encountered was expecting lower league footballers to be able to play like First Division players. He tried to introduce youngsters and things went from bad to worse he ended up with a winning percentage at 20%.

>>>In March 2005, Ball finally commented on his time as Blackpool manager. He said, "Jack Charlton, a good friend, had offered me a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday, and with hindsight I should have done that instead: got a bit of experience under my belt. Another thing I should have done was kept Stan Ternent on. I replaced him as manager, but he was very good. I think I was a bit big-headed, a little headstrong, and I thought being a player-manager would be no problem for me. It was a lot more difficult than I thought, and not helped by dealing with the boardroom."[2]
 
I prefer to remember Bally as the brilliant player he was for us. It was a bit before my time watching The Pool, but I will always be proud that one of the best players in the WCF played for us.
BUT:
The least said about his management 80/81 season the better, it's not a season I enjoyed much at all. I actually think we went down to D4 in 80/81 didn't we? It was dire, I recently nominated the 0-3 home defeat to Brentford as one of the worst games I have seen.

However, the main difference between now and 81 was that Bally brought in experienced old players (Ted MacDougal, Willie Morgan, and Peter Noble), and it just didn't work at all. It looked like they were only here for a last earner before they hung their boots up, which I think they all did.
 
I never thought he was as honest about his stint here as he seems to be that snippet at the end. Honest and accurate. Thanks for posting.

if AVFTT had been around then, there would be a small gang keeping the faith no doubt!
 
Seainsea said:
Totally different scenario in that Alan Ball had a fantastic career as a player but there are similarities in what is happening now and how history is repeating itself with his return to Blackpool as a player-manager. Although Bally was appointed in the summer of 1980 there was a delay in arriving as he honoured his contract at Vancouver Whitecaps. There was a lot of euphoria and things got off to a flying start with some scintillating football. As the season went on things began to slide and we just avoided relegation by winning at Rotherham. One of the problems Ball encountered was expecting lower league footballers to be able to play like First Division players. He tried to introduce youngsters and things went from bad to worse he ended up with a winning percentage at 20%.

>>>In March 2005, Ball finally commented on his time as Blackpool manager. He said, "Jack Charlton, a good friend, had offered me a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday, and with hindsight I should have done that instead: got a bit of experience under my belt. Another thing I should have done was kept Stan Ternent on. I replaced him as manager, but he was very good. I think I was a bit big-headed, a little headstrong, and I thought being a player-manager would be no problem for me. It was a lot more difficult than I thought, and not helped by dealing with the boardroom."[2]
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The win at Rotherham was at the end of the 79/80 season. Stan Ternant had been sacked in the February and Ball agreed to be Manager at that time but couldn't start until the summer . The 80/81 season started quite well , we were 7th in mid October but we fell away when the heavier pitches came along. He was sacked at the end of February and we were relegated at the end of the season. His next managerial job was at Portsmouth ( 1984 to 1989) where he was a success.
He remains the best player I have seen in a tangerine shirt and almost single handedly kept us in the first division in 1964/5 and 1965/6. We were virtually relegated the following Christmas following his sale to Everton.
 
I remember Stan Ternent being in the dugout and news on the front page of the Gazette about Ball coming and somebody chucking it in front of the dugout for him to see mid match plus a chorus of Alan Balls tangerine army. I thought it was pretty cruel at the time even at my tender years.
Alan Ball tried to get us playing one touch football which didn't work. Lot of excitement when we drew Everton in the cup but it quickly turned sour. I don't see any parallels to now only another manager who s started poorly.
 
Seainsea said:
Totally different scenario in that Alan Ball had a fantastic career as a player but there are similarities in what is happening now and how history is repeating itself with his return to Blackpool as a player-manager. Although Bally was appointed in the summer of 1980 there was a delay in arriving as he honoured his contract at Vancouver Whitecaps. There was a lot of euphoria and things got off to a flying start with some scintillating football. As the season went on things began to slide and we just avoided relegation by winning at Rotherham. One of the problems Ball encountered was expecting lower league footballers to be able to play like First Division players. He tried to introduce youngsters and things went from bad to worse he ended up with a winning percentage at 20%.

>>>In March 2005, Ball finally commented on his time as Blackpool manager. He said, "Jack Charlton, a good friend, had offered me a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday, and with hindsight I should have done that instead: got a bit of experience under my belt. Another thing I should have done was kept Stan Ternent on. I replaced him as manager, but he was very good. I think I was a bit big-headed, a little headstrong, and I thought being a player-manager would be no problem for me. It was a lot more difficult than I thought, and not helped by dealing with the boardroom."[2]
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This sentiment has gone through my mind several times. I think I went to every game under Ball. The crowd stayed passive and when he left after the Brentford game it was a shock. Bally tried to play a different style and to be fair blooded a few players but it just never came together.
 
PNENIL said:
I remember Stan Ternent being in the dugout and news on the front page of the Gazette about Ball coming and somebody chucking it in front of the dugout for him to see mid match plus a chorus of Alan Balls tangerine army. I thought it was pretty cruel at the time even at my tender years.
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In Stan's excellent (and very very funny) autobiography he certainly doesn't speak fondly of his time here.
 
I think the fundamental problem with bringing NC in was that 'the management' saw it as an opportunity to become the 'next Liverpool'; we'll be able to play like them, be coached like them and win stuff....

It's almost like saying; "Let's get Mark Spitz in as coach. That way we'll all be able to swim faster"

(For those of us old enough to remember Mark Spitz!)
 
1950`spoolfan said:
Yes Bally took us down to Div.4 and was a terrible manager for us but a great player. He did however have some success as a manager with Portsmouth who he took up to the top division.
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From memory he relegated Blackpool Exeter Colchester Man City Stoke and Pompey

He was also England coach under Graham Taylor and we went out at the group stage in Sweden

As I said Inspector Clouseau
 
BobHatton said:
I think the fundamental problem with bringing NC in was that 'the management' saw it as an opportunity to become the 'next Liverpool'; we'll be able to play like them, be coached like them and win stuff....

It's almost like saying; "Let's get Mark Spitz in as coach. That way we'll all be able to swim faster"

(For those of us old enough to remember Mark Spitz!)
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What ever happened to Bob Carolgees?
 
FessParker said:
The win at Rotherham was at the end of the 79/80 season. Stan Ternant had been sacked in the February and Ball agreed to be Manager at that time but couldn't start until the summer . The 80/81 season started quite well , we were 7th in mid October but we fell away when the heavier pitches came along. He was sacked at the end of February and we were relegated at the end of the season. His next managerial job was at Portsmouth ( 1984 to 1989) where he was a success.
He remains the best player I have seen in a tangerine shirt and almost single handedly kept us in the first division in 1964/5 and 1965/6. We were virtually relegated the following Christmas following his sale to Everton.
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I was at the Rotherham match - went from Leeds where I was at uni. Repeated the trip the following season and we got stuffed.
 
Dave62 said:
I prefer to remember Bally as the brilliant player he was for us. It was a bit before my time watching The Pool, but I will always be proud that one of the best players in the WCF played for us.
BUT:
The least said about his management 80/81 season the better, it's not a season I enjoyed much at all. I actually think we went down to D4 in 80/81 didn't we? It was dire, I recently nominated the 0-3 home defeat to Brentford as one of the worst games I have seen.

However, the main difference between now and 81 was that Bally brought in experienced old players (Ted MacDougal, Willie Morgan, and Peter Noble), and it just didn't work at all. It looked like they were only here for a last earner before they hung their boots up, which I think they all did.
Click to expand...
And yet that is seen as the panacea by many.
 
BobHatton said:
I think the fundamental problem with bringing NC in was that 'the management' saw it as an opportunity to become the 'next Liverpool'; we'll be able to play like them, be coached like them and win stuff....

It's almost like saying; "Let's get Mark Spitz in as coach. That way we'll all be able to swim faster"

(For those of us old enough to remember Mark Spitz!)
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with the club aspiring to play the beautiful game.
 
Seainsea said:
Totally different scenario in that Alan Ball had a fantastic career as a player but there are similarities in what is happening now and how history is repeating itself with his return to Blackpool as a player-manager. Although Bally was appointed in the summer of 1980 there was a delay in arriving as he honoured his contract at Vancouver Whitecaps. There was a lot of euphoria and things got off to a flying start with some scintillating football. As the season went on things began to slide and we just avoided relegation by winning at Rotherham. One of the problems Ball encountered was expecting lower league footballers to be able to play like First Division players. He tried to introduce youngsters and things went from bad to worse he ended up with a winning percentage at 20%.

>>>In March 2005, Ball finally commented on his time as Blackpool manager. He said, "Jack Charlton, a good friend, had offered me a coaching role at Sheffield Wednesday, and with hindsight I should have done that instead: got a bit of experience under my belt. Another thing I should have done was kept Stan Ternent on. I replaced him as manager, but he was very good. I think I was a bit big-headed, a little headstrong, and I thought being a player-manager would be no problem for me. It was a lot more difficult than I thought, and not helped by dealing with the boardroom."[2]
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He was late joining the club as his contract only expired at Southampton end of season and Pool couldn't afford to pay out his contract, so he came at the end of the season.
Nothing to do with Vancouver Whitecaps but there was one player who we got from there, I can't remember who it was though.
 
Dave62 said:
I prefer to remember Bally as the brilliant player he was for us. It was a bit before my time watching The Pool, but I will always be proud that one of the best players in the WCF played for us.
BUT:
The least said about his management 80/81 season the better, it's not a season I enjoyed much at all. I actually think we went down to D4 in 80/81 didn't we? It was dire, I recently nominated the 0-3 home defeat to Brentford as one of the worst games I have seen.

However, the main difference between now and 81 was that Bally brought in experienced old players (Ted MacDougal, Willie Morgan, and Peter Noble), and it just didn't work at all. It looked like they were only here for a last earner before they hung their boots up, which I think they all did.
Click to expand...
Peter Noble was a Stan Ternent signing,fantastic whole hearted professional who stayed at Pool until he retired at the end of the 82/3 season.Willie Morgan and Macdougall were a drain on the clubs finances.
 
I mentioned after the Ipswich defeat that it reminded me of the Alan Ball management era.
We were bullied by big physical sides and lacked scoring fire power.
Several duff signings too with some from the previous season.
Jackie Ashurst and Entwistle to name a few.
Ball brought in some youngsters like Eamon Collins who was going to be the next George Best!

Back to the Ipswich game brought memories of a night match against Chesterfield In October 1980.
We couldn’t score and everytine they attacked either scored or presentable chance.
We lost 3-0.
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
From memory he relegated Blackpool Exeter Colchester Man City Stoke and Pompey

He was also England coach under Graham Taylor and we went out at the group stage in Sweden

As I said Inspector Clouseau
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I think that's a bit disrespectful. Yes his managerial career left a lot to be desired but if you are to do an appraisal of sorts
then you have to mention his successes which were his first 4 years at Portsmouth who he took to the old first division and then his
time at Southampton.
 
FessParker said:
I think that's a bit disrespectful. Yes his managerial career left a lot to be desired but if you are to do an appraisal of sorts
then you have to mention his successes which were his first 4 years at Portsmouth who he took to the old first division and then his
time at Southampton.
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Great player and I would go as far as to say a BFC legend as a player...terrible manager and I totally disrespect him as a manager...it took years for us to recover
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
Ball was the Inspector Clouseau of football management and relegated virtually every club he managed...it literally took us 4 years to recover from his mismanagement
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Nice logo TTP - that was the one on Bally’s kit of that season - he spent an absolute fortune (on bringing in his mates, setting up houses for wanna be youngsters - Remember Eamon/Eoin Doyle, 14 etc) and basically bankrupted the Club in a year)

He blamed everyone but himself. It’s a lesson in don’t let someone run your Club like a dictatorship and at the end of it, he walks away from virtually a crime scene. Dreamer and joker Mr Ball - yes a very good player and even bigger ego, but he didn’t have the first clue about how to manage a Club - many don’t !

often in life, less tampering isn’t a bad thing - Holloway did a lot with us using almost all the resources he inherited and still achieved what still seems a gobsmackingly astonishing outcome even today akin to Leicester winning the Premier L
 
Camberwell1 said:
Nice logo TTP - that was the one on Bally’s kit of that season - he spent an absolute fortune (on bringing in his mates, setting up houses for wanna be youngsters - Remember Eamon/Eoin Doyle, 14 etc) and basically bankrupted the Club in a year)

He blamed everyone but himself. It’s a lesson in don’t let someone run your Club like a dictatorship and at the end of it, he walks away from virtually a crime scene. Dreamer and joker Mr Ball - yes a very good player and even bigger ego, but he didn’t have the first clue about how to manage a Club - many don’t !

often in life, less tampering isn’t a bad thing - Holloway did a lot with us using almost all the resources he inherited and still achieved what still seems a gobsmackingly astonishing outcome even today akin to Leicester winning the Premier L
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Eamonn Collins. Played against Kilmarnock in the Anglo Scottish Cup, I was there that night, it was treated as a serious first team game. Imagine playing a 14yo !! No wonder he never played again for us, probably traumatised the poor lad. Ball took him to almost every club he went to hoping that he'd make it big .

Hope this works
 
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Lewis_Winthorpe said:
Don't recall him relegating anybody?

I only remember him managing Bolton and Coventry to be fair.
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Probably a bit harsh as a comparison.
He did get relegated as Bolton's manager but his overall managerial stats aren't great & I think it was repeating everything Graham Taylor shouted as England manager that made Neal look a clown.
 
Many clubs (rolls eyes) have gone down the ex legends route but it seldom seems to work, neither does giving someone a barrelful of cash without some evidence they know what they are doing.
Some still trying it now but the 'Jimmy Sirrel' way of coaching after learning the game is still the best route,but it requires great patience and support from everyone involved.
Unfortunately in todays game that just doesnt seem to happen.
 
Plumbs said:
Many clubs (rolls eyes) have gone down the ex legends route but it seldom seems to work, neither does giving someone a barrelful of cash without some evidence they know what they are doing.
Some still trying it now but the 'Jimmy Sirrel' way of coaching after learning the game is still the best route,but it requires great patience and support from everyone involved.
Unfortunately in todays game that just doesnt seem to happen.
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I watched the Jimmy Sirrel's Notts County team that was promoted to the First Division back in 1980/. What he achieved with limited resources was incredible. Remember, also that this was when Clough's Forest was winning the Div 1 Championship and the European Cup.
 
Alan Ball seemed to discover humility late in life. We were truly shite under his management and I recall Tony Quested referring to Stan Ternent as "unlucky" when he was fired to make way.

Ternent might have signed Peter Noble and a few other duffers, but he also signed Dave Bamber and Colin Morris. I think he also signed Gordon Simmonite, who was the type of "take no prisoners" right back we we could do with now.
 
Never knew he played for the Whitecaps! My current closest team. Him and Tony Waiters, that’s pretty cool
 
Mark_GT said:
Alan Ball seemed to discover humility late in life. We were truly shite under his management and I recall Tony Quested referring to Stan Ternent as "unlucky" when he was fired to make way.

Ternent might have signed Peter Noble and a few other duffers, but he also signed Dave Bamber and Colin Morris. I think he also signed Gordon Simmonite, who was the type of "take no prisoners" right back we we could do with now.
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Are you calling Peter Noble a duffer? He was a Great player of the time and is still remembered fondly by Blackpool and Burnley fans. Also remember Paul Fletcher who was a great header of the ball.

Stan tenant I am sure would have done very well at Blackpool given the chance.
 
Dave62 said:
I prefer to remember Bally as the brilliant player he was for us. It was a bit before my time watching The Pool, but I will always be proud that one of the best players in the WCF played for us.
BUT:
The least said about his management 80/81 season the better, it's not a season I enjoyed much at all. I actually think we went down to D4 in 80/81 didn't we? It was dire, I recently nominated the 0-3 home defeat to Brentford as one of the worst games I have seen.

However, the main difference between now and 81 was that Bally brought in experienced old players (Ted MacDougal, Willie Morgan, and Peter Noble), and it just didn't work at all. It looked like they were only here for a last earner before they hung their boots up, which I think they all did.
Click to expand...
Peter Noble put in a shift but Willie Morgan spent more time on North Shore GC than Squires Gate and Ted McDougall was woeful.
 
It just showed you need more than a name and hype to sustain anything. The crowds shot up when Ball came , even my Dad wanted to go again and he hadn't been since we got relegated. It all evaporated very quickly when we just lost all the time. It took Sam Ellis and a promotion run to get my Dad back again in 85.
 
Mark_GT said:
Alan Ball seemed to discover humility late in life. We were truly shite under his management and I recall Tony Quested referring to Stan Ternent as "unlucky" when he was fired to make way.

Ternent might have signed Peter Noble and a few other duffers, but he also signed Dave Bamber and Colin Morris. I think he also signed Gordon Simmonite, who was the type of "take no prisoners" right back we we could do with now.
Click to expand...
Peter Noble gave his all and not in any way was a “duffer”.God rest his soul.
 
The street where Alan Ball grew up as a small boy in Farnworth was over the road from Bloomfield Road, Farnworth. There is a recreation area the other side of Bloomfield Road so it is likely that even as a small boy, Ball would go down Bloomfield Road to play football.
 
P t Barnum said:
He gave an after dinner speak at the tangerine club in the 90s all he seemed to talk about was Everton
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There is a You Tube video of another after dinner speech where he mentions his Pool debut v Liverpool “ where I got a call up to replace a chap called Mandy Hill who was injured. We were supposed to be lambs to the slaughter according to the press but we won 2-1 and I did ok.” He also gives Ray Charnley a namecheck and mentions Squires Gate training ground with a wry smile. He also talks about Ron Suart and the events that led to his transfer to Everton. He obviously had an affection for Blackpool as they gave him a start in football after other clubs had turned him down for being ‘ too small”.
 
Bally was the highest paid manager in England whilst at BFC - probably because he was player manager
Remember the headlines about it Think it made back page headlines in the Mail
 
Alf said:
Never knew he played for the Whitecaps! My current closest team. Him and Tony Waiters, that’s pretty cool
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Also local Blackpool lad Roger Kenyon who went on to have a great career at Everton alongside Bally was a member of the 1979 Whitecaps National league title win. When Bally took over at Pool after leaving Vancouver he signed up his old mate Roger but alas he didn't appear in a Tangerine shirt.
 
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