Bally - performances in the 1966 World Cup winning England team attracted the attention of a number of clubs bigger than Blackpool. Leeds nearly got him - He was eventually sold to Everton for a fee of £112,000 in August 1966, at the time a record transfer fee paid to an English club - The Catt stated he would never accept £500,000 9 months after the 1970 World Cup he sold him for £220,000????? -
A total mystery why he was sold - as Captain - various rumours emerged - Harry Catterick stated he doubled the fee on him & it was good business - it was not only 3 months earlier he stated back then £500 -000 could not buy Bally - he sold him for £220 - 000 peanuts for a world-class player - at Arsenal they played the long ball game - Bally struggled in that system - his best playing days after us were at Southampton - as a comparison it would be like selling KDB at City to a rival premiership team ....
My analysis on many Everton Books I have read is Bally was a great Captain when we were winning after the 1970 World Cup he & other players were fatigued playing at high altitude - Bally hated losing a game of Tiddly winks - so when our form dipped & defeats started in early 1970 he was a disruptive influence in the dressing room as The Manager told him he had a free rein to chastise players which he did if we got beat - Gordon West & Keith Newton although claiming he was a great player - not a good Captain - as Captain Bally lost the dressing room ... Tantrums galore, so I read upsetting the team ethos ... one story in training he told a player who failed to trap a football - I can't kick it as far as your attempt to trap the ball - it did not go down well - Gordon West stated he got that bad he would buy him a drink in a round
The Manager should have handed the captaincy back to Brian Labone, or Howard Kendall in hindsight - selling him was a stupid thing to do as the team that should have gone on to win more trophies was disbanded as Bally was the heartbeat of that team, & eventually the team was dismantled far to early IMO ....
I remember the game after he sadly died, Portsmouth at home. Pompey fans sang his name too, and his son laid a wreath in the St End goal. Every person near me was in tears.
Loved Everton as much as we loved him
