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FFS - he was one player. If the club is so delicate that the selling of one player can be used to justify 50 years of 'mediocrity', them we deserve all we (didn't) get. Besides, (unpopular opinion alert) i don't recall him pulling up any stumps for Arsenal after he left. Maybe we got the best years out of him and sold him when we could still get a decent price?
We replaced him with Mike Bernard. Need I say more?
Cork Evertonian
Player Valuation: £40m
Catterick was a great manager for us, but the way we declined after that 1970 league title win, does not reflect well on him. Swapping David Johnson for Rod Belfitt was another silly move imo.
Bluebonic
Player Valuation: £35m
Bally was never world class outside of that trio. i know that may outrage many blues, but its like taking Messi out of that Barca trio, still a great, great player, but never a shadow of the man for Argentina etc. Messi, with xavi and Iniesta either side was the ultimate footballer. Ball with Harvey and Kendall either side was our best ever midfielder by a million miles. Without them, he was very, very good, not world class!
Eggsyblueskin
Player Valuation: £40m
Tripe!
Bluebonic
Player Valuation: £35m
he was world class for arsenal was he?
"Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play"
I suspect folk that watched the 1966 world cup final would disagree with your synopsis that he could not play world class levels without Kendall and Harvey! Magic player, loved his attitude on the pitch.
Every time I hear the name Rod Belfitt I cringe. I think Catterick was starting to get ill at that time. Either that or he was on LSD.?
I love Bally for what he did for us, but i still think that he was no better than average (for Arsenal, England, Southampton and whoever else) after he left. Maybe he was one of those players who peaked early? He can't have been much older than 25 when he left. As for Catterick, didn't we finish something like 14th the season after winning the league? You can only blame so much on injuries, can you imagine that happening to Ferguson, Revie (or even Paisley)?
Broke my heart when Bally was sold, that was the end of us as a truly massive club, sure we had the 80's but even then, we were winning stuff, but, no longer true heavyweights of the game.
BigMick
Player Valuation: £20m
Take a peak at Brazil v England 1970 World Cup. Bally and Bobby Moore were brilliant that day and wouldn't have looked out of place in that great Brazilian team.
Eggsyblueskin
Player Valuation: £40m
Sorry, but I disagree so much with your view on Ball that it’s almost pointless debating further.
I will however point out, though, that he was an integral player in a team that triumphed in the World Cup , so I don’t know the criteria you apply to judge a player deserving of the ( admittedly amorphous) appellation of ‘world class.’
However knock yourself out denigrating and demeaning an Everton great.
Hope it makes you feel suitably ‘edgy’.
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