The Sunderland legend has revealed details about an infamous incident between him and his old management. Kevin Ball, a Sunderland legend, has spoken about a confrontation with former manager Peter Reid. The Black Cats were up against Grimsby, and although winning, tensions rose behind the scenes. On the Undr The Cosh podcast, Ball discussed his disagreement with his former boss. The former midfielder recalled the game as one in which they won but did not play as well as they could have, and the manager ‘had to pick on somebody’ at half-time to elicit a response.
“My job was to mark Paul Groves,” Ball explained. “So in this particular game, me and Brace [Paul Bracewell] were in the middle of the park, and Paul Groves kept going on to Brace, so we had to keep switching, which was frustrating. Finally, the manager shouts at me, and I look at the bench, thinking, “I wish he would shut up.” I just want to get started with the game. I understand why, but I’m guessing your heckles are rising.”
After scoring what he describes as “one of the best goals of his career,” Ball urged the physio at halftime to pay attention to his calves, which frequently locked up and caused him discomfort due to lateral compartment syndrome. “We hadn’t played very well that half, and the manager knew he needed a reply. And he said, ‘Sit down there’. Then he said the James Hunt word to me, correct? But he turned his back. Now, if he had looked me in the eyes and said that, I would not have minded, but when he turned his back on me while saying ‘you ****’, that was it. I went crazy. I was enraged.
In the end, we had a disagreement, but don’t get me wrong; I know my place. I’ve always recognized my place.I couldn’t wait to get back out there for the second half, if only to finish it so I could come in and fight him. So in the second half, I was raging for the entire 45 minutes, and the strange thing was that I set up two goals for Michael Bridges, so we won handily, but we did not play well. He [Reid] was correct: we did not play well, but we won the game.
I couldn’t wait to get down the tunnel and into the changing rooms. Because, as I previously stated, I had no issues with authority, it was simply that he said it with his back to me. “I proceeded down, and as I came around the bend, thinking ‘where is he’, he was standing there. And I will never forget it. He extended his hand and exclaimed, “Magnificent skip today; you were outstanding.”
“I personally think that was a wonderful bit of management, because he knew he needed a reaction from me at halftime, and he got one, no doubt about it. I asked how he knew I was coming, and he said, “I heard your f***ing studs coming.”He knew exactly what he was doing, but he probably didn’t expect the reaction I got. But, oh, God, he knew what he was doing, and I believe the art of man management is understanding how to push your buttons. He probably pressed five on me that day.”
Ball laughed it off and praised Reid as a ‘great manager’ who was’magnificent’ for him and the rest of the team at the time. He won two First Division titles with Sunderland and was voted the League Managers Association Manager of the Year in 1996.
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