It Was Fifty Years Ago Today

[magicjuan]

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?

He was at the time the living, breathing embodiment of NSNO. So much so that him leaving took a huge chunk of that belief from the support as well as the club itself.
Which is why when he left he didn't play to his best, he'd left that ethos at Everton.
Are you old enough to have seen him play? Genuine question.

 

[magicjuan]

Couldn't understand the white shoes anywhere else but Goodison. Cried my eyes out along with others. What was he doing playing in red with white sleeves along side Charlie George at Highbury? Tough one to get over actually I never have.

Me neither. Everything that was Everton was in that player, everything.

 

[Jacko93]

Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play?

 

[bluenorsky]

Me neither. Everything that was Everton was in that player, everything.

Everton was going to be the team of the seventies said Brian Clough on a particular radio show. We never were after Ball left and worst of all we cocked up getting Cloughy as our manager as he would have rivalled Shankly and co for repartee. And if my memory serves me well that's what most toffees wanted at the time. Of course Mr Clough went onto win a couple of European cups with Forest. A double wammy for us . Could'nt write the script.

 

[stommo]

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.

This all day long. Bally's performance at the 1970s world cup was breathtaking at times. But it took it out of him and we suffered the next year culminating in the semi final derby defeat at Old Trafford against lfc and getting knocked out of the European cup by Parathaniokos earlier in the month (Edit. it may have been the same week) . It wasn't just Bally that suffered it was Labone, Wright and Newton as well. In fact we did extremely well that season considering our players world cup exertions. Bally fitted our club and we fitted him and that's why other teams never saw the best of him, he left us heartbroken.

 

[irishtony1878]

Bally was everything we ask for in a modern day player, energetic, mobile, great passer, motivator, scored goals, best of all for me, he kicked people's backsides when they weren't giving 100%.
We are always moaning about the lack of claims for penalties, throw ins, bad tackles by the opposition, Bally would be right there screaming at the ref.
He just loved scoring against the RS and winding them up as well.

 

[royvernon39]

In retrospect it was a massive mistake and at the time it seemed nuts. HC unloaded him for non-football reasons
and everybody knew he was the heart of the team. EFC got some money in return which they mis-spent. The nearest thing in recent times was the Rooney transfer. I never thought he would go after all Billy Liar told us he was staying.

I suppose the difference was that Bally did not want out and Rooney did.

 

[irishtony1878]

Have said this before on here. The Cat was his own worst enemy at times. He didn't like stand out players who were idolised. He sold Bobby Collins, he didn't like the Golden vision and he sold Bally. He should have built teams around these type of players and made them the fulcrum of the team for a longer period. Swapping Johnson for Belfitt deary, deary me, as someone said earlier he must have been on something. Mick Bernard was a really good footballer but was always overweight and couldn't be a£&@) half the time. But The Cat bringing ING him in to replace Bally WTF.

The only thing I remember about Mike Bernard was seeing a picture of him having a half time ciggy in the dressing room and wondering how he got away with it.
Must have been in every dressing room of the time though.

 

[royvernon39]

Bernard played full back and was not Bally's replacement but he was average.

 

[peteblue]

I’ve seen an awful lot of players come and go, but I’ve never been as shocked or stunned as when I heard the news of Ball’s transfer to Arsenal…

 

[Sharpies volley]

The only thing I remember about Mike Bernard was seeing a picture of him having a half time ciggy in the dressing room and wondering how he got away with it.
Must have been in every dressing room of the time though.

Haha I remember some one a sweet either at him or to him when he was warming up before kick off and he unwrapped it and ate it and I remember one particular humiliating defeat at home on boxing day and coming out the ground me arl fellas mate saying no wonder we got beat, you only had to look at Mick Bernard to see he'd been at the Christmas pudding the day before. He was a nice tidy footballer Mick, but he was an ale tank.

 

[witchdoc187]

Sargent pepper told the band to play

 

[paultheblue]

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!

Bally was man of the match in a world cup final won by England anybody who can say that he was not world class can not have seen him play.

 

[Lawrence]

Bally went from an Everton team on the slide to an Arsenal side who had hit the slide. Carterick had done a hell of a job through the sixties, then the man was taken ill and never recovered. Bally also had a need for some money around the time of his transfer. However Liverpool sell Keegan and buy Dalglish. We sell our second best player ever and give Stoke almost as much money for Mick Bernard??? That good in midfield we banged him to full back.

 

[peteblue]

We’ve seen them all, Pickering , Vernon, Young, Kendal, Harvey, Reid, Sharp, Royle, Lineker , Rooney, just name them, none will ever achieve what Ball did, none will ever be in the hearts of Evertonians like this small, ginger magnificent player , who never gave up…….