David Beeden — Tufty Club Podcast
I was just about to toss it into his midriff when he shouted…
‘F*****G HURRY UP THEN!’
I generally arrive at games right on kick-off, so at the recent home game against Fulham, I missed Gary Sinclair's announcing the introduction of a new rule regarding ball boys and girls (or ball assistants, as they are now called). I was a ball boy once, so that is the term I’m going to run with.
Certain incidents this season have brought the role of the ball boy to the fore. Recall Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno appearing to push a ball boy during his side’s loss at Bournemouth. More recently, Coventry manager Mark Robins celebrated so vociferously in the face of a ball boy at Molineux (after he had previously held onto the ball) that the youngster was said to be in tears after the game.
At the start of the season, there was a Premier League clampdown on time-wasting and an emphasis placed on “ball in-play time” – the ball being on the pitch (invariably on its way into our net), rather than out of play, for longer during matches. The new rule, which allegedly helps prevent home teams from gaining any competitive advantage with their instructions to the ball boys, puts an end to a decades-old tradition and takes ball boys out of the spotlight.
Premier League captains, managers and officials were informed of the coming change with the amended guidance as follows:
‘There will now be five ball stations on each side of the pitch and two at each end plus the match ball in circulation on a given match day, up from the previous total of 10.
Rule L.35 now states: "When the match ball goes out of play and is not quickly retrievable, players must go to the nearest cone to collect a replacement ball themselves to restart play.
‘Ball assistants are not permitted to return a ball to a player. Ball assistants are required to return a ball to a vacant cone each time a replacement ball is used.
‘Ball assistants should not be positioned next to cones so that it is clear they will not return balls to players (and be behind LED boards where possible).’
The Fulham game saw confusion arise, especially from those unaware of the new rule. Ball boys simply stood there as the ball went out, leading to cries of frustration from some in the crowd. They would then merely pick up a ball and place it on the nearest cone. It looked and seemed ridiculous.
This new landscape for ball boys raises as many questions as answers. Whilst they cannot hand the ball to a player on the pitch, substitutes jogging down the touchline can. Will Chris Wilder send out a whole bench's worth of subs to warm up if the Blades need a goal?
Logistically, the whole thing is nonsensical too. Having only two balls at the end of the pitch and BEHIND THE GOAL will only give goalkeepers a greater opportunity to time waste. You can well imagine them ambling to the nearest cone once the ball has gone out of play. And what of the crowd? Will fans be ejected if they chuck the ball back onto the pitch rather than throw it to the “ball assistant”? Will this signal the end of the great footballing spectacle of a fan heading the ball directly back from whence it came?
You can see that I’m taking all of this rather personally. And that is because I was a ball boy. Albeit, I was not the most historically significant ball boy in Sheffield United history…
The History of the Ball Boy
Aptly, the history of the humble ball boy has connections to Sheffield United. In 1905, Chelsea signed the now infamous goalkeeper, William ‘Fatty’ Foulke, for £50. Foulke, had this trick where he’d take to the pitch with two children, making himself look even more massive than his giant frame suggested. Eventually, the he used the two lads as a kind of personal assistant, saving his legs when the ball went out of play. Arguably, it’s one of the great early contributions to sports science. Keeping players fitter and faster, the ball boy eventually became a mainstay.
In modern times, ball boys have often been cherry-picked from the academies. It is used as both a reward for young players and an opportunity to expose them to a large crowd in a high-pressure environment. Famous players from the past and the present such as Pep Guardiola (Barcelona), Phil Foden (Man City), Bernardo Silva (Benfica), Phillipe Lahm (Bayern Munich) and Fabio Cannavaro (Napoli) were all ball boys. And perhaps they understood that ball boys had a greater role than the casual observer might expect.
In 2017, Pep Guardiola disclosed details of a mid-game exchange with a Manchester City ball boy to the media:
“The ball boys were slow, everybody was slow. And we have to create in the game, to provoke the game … In the second half, you could see immediately that the team was ready.”
They may only play a small role within a whole 90 minutes, but ball boys have made a significant impact in high-stakes football matches.
In 2019, Tottenham were 2-0 down in the first half of Champions League game when Jose Mourinho gestured to a ball boy to hurry up in returning the ball for a throw-in. The quick reaction of the ball boy helped Tottenham speed up an attack directly leading to a goal by Lucas Moura. Impressed by the ball boy’s contribution to the team’s quick play, Mourinho praised him in the post-match interview and later invited him into the dressing room to meet the players.
Earlier in 2019, Oakley Cannononier became one of the most significant ball boys in history. He was just 14 when he sat near the Anfield corner flag in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Trailing 3-0 from the first leg at the Nou Camp, Liverpool pulled it back to 3-3 on the night.
With 11 minutes left, ball boy Cannonier – who had been informed of Barcelona’s lax setup from set-pieces – swiftly threw defender Trent Alexander-Arnold the ball to allow him to take a quick corner. Seeing the Barcelona defence fast asleep, Alexander-Arnold found Divok Origi, who was free in the box to finish the chance and score the goal that sent Liverpool through.
Ball boys can make a difference. And that is evidenced throughout football from the Champion’s League to non-League. A few years ago, in a tie between Yeovil Town and Bromley, a ball boy was shown a red card.
In fact, after the first ball boy was sent off for time-wasting, the rest of them – probably half a classroom’s worth – were given their marching orders. Red cards for ball boys…you’ll never sing that.
Ball Boys at the Lane
Closer to home, Sheffield United have also had numerous first-team players that graduated from ball boy to baller. Most notably, Billy Sharp, Kyle Walker, Chris Wilder and recent Premier League debutant Oliver Arblaster. As a club, we are not free of incidents either.
In 2019, the then Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray was sent off for getting in a clash with a ball boy: one Kyron Gordon. Mowbray said of the incident:
“I was trying to teach a young guy about doing the right thing, human values, integrity and honesty. The lad kept the ball longer than he should have done on more than one occasion. There was no harsh words or anything like that, I just thought that he shouldn’t let his club down, shouldn’t let himself down. Just get the ball back, that’s your job. Just do that. That was all it was and I shook his hand. The official in the middle thought I did something wrong, for some reason."
There is one other ball boy I’d like to discuss. One
I was a ball boy once…or twice…a few times
I am fortunate (or maybe that should be unfortunate) enough to have had a spell as a ball boy myself at the Lane. I played for the Junior Blades when I was around 8 or 9 years of age and they used us to ball boy at reserve team games.
It was quite exciting when I learnt of this opportunity to secure a very important role. The ball boys would all meet up before the game and our old manager Ian Sands would direct us to the old first-team dressing room in the bowels of the John Street terrace.
We would wear our Junior Blades tracksuits and be given quite basic instructions. ‘Make sure you space yourself out, be ready and get the ball back quickly!’ I fulfilled this role for 4 or 5 games around 1986-87. The initial nerves and excitement quickly evaporated when I realised how bloody cold it always was. They normally gave us a Bovril at half-time at least.
I used to like being on the John Street side as I felt no pressure from the crowd who often were waiting for your mistake or imploring you to be quicker. I remember though that if you were on one of the three sides with no crowd, then you had the added pressure of retrieving the ball from the stands. At least it was the days before seats on the Kop, so finding it was not a problem, even if you had to go a long way round to find an open gate (days of fences) to hurtle up the Kop steps and retrieve said Mitre Delta. Then you had to hope your chuck went over the fence. Often you needed a tag team approach to help you fulfill your role.
Most of my memories though of this brief flirtation with the professional game (I have played on the pitch but that is for another story) came from my exchanges with players. Remember, in those days it was not uncommon for senior players to be playing for the ‘stiffs’ or ‘ressies’ as they were sometimes called. These days of course it is almost exclusively academy players being used in such fixtures. Back then, there were as many experienced professionals as youngsters operating on these cold, miserable nights in front of a few hundred fans.
I remember Keith Edwards playing in a game for Leeds and I was awe-struck that my hero was only a few yards away but I think I had more touches of the ball on this particular evening.
Overall, the players were decent to us and tended to say very little. I vaguely recall Chris Wilder getting a bit annoyed when, once, I did not retrieve the ball quickly enough. But in the same game, one of my best friend’s Dad, Colin Morris, was also playing and he took pity on my miscontrol knowing I had tea at his house only a few days before.
The one moment that stood out was when I collected a ball and Everton left back Neil Pointon came hurtling towards me. I was just about to toss it into his midriff when he shouted…
‘F*****G HURRY UP THEN!’
I was quite taken aback. I was only 8 years of age. Maybe I was not ready for the cut and thrust of ball boy-ing in the Central League but the incident has remained with me to this day. And whenever I saw Pointon play after that, I scowled at the sight of him.
Of course, what followed 90 minutes was a parental evaluation. After observing from his position in the South Stand, my Dad would critique each performance, explaining what I had done wrong and what I could do better. I was a bloody ball boy. I was not playing. Not that it mattered to my Dad who was an incredibly harsh critic.
And perhaps it is the criticism from managers, players and the public that has seen these new rules put into place. Or perhaps it’s all to do with “ball in-play time”. Either way, the rule will make football matches a little bit more process-driven and a little less human. The experience of being a ball boy allows youngsters to be part of a professional game and to build an affinity with their heroes. Like me, most don’t become professional footballers. But every one of them deserves their ‘Neil Pointon’ moment — a story to tell.
And if this is the first move towards ridding the game of the ball boy then it’s sad but not surprising. It seems, in an attempt to perfect the beautiful game in the top flight, the rule makers are intent on cleaning up every imperfection. Like plastic surgeons to the stars, they’ll probably make it worse.
Great read that David,
Thanks, very funny and honest memories, also saw David Frain in the programme line up. Let’s face it the new Premier league rules and management leave proper fans exasperated .
Leave the Ball boys alone !! ⚔️
Thanks, David - that was really interesting. Ball boys are such an integral part of the match that we tend not to notice them . . . wish a few referees could be like that, too!
" The initial nerves and excitement quickly evaporated when I realised how bloody cold it always was. " When I see them shivering on the sidelines, that tends to be when I notice the ball boys the most! (They do get a hot chocolate at half time on the south stand, though).
I'm assuming this is (for now at least!) only in the Premier League . . . they love tinkering to make things worse. But it's a proud tradition - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Sue.