callum ball to stay?

[Dave]

Think Callum Ball has done very well for us, hit the woodwork a few times and had a few decent efforts from nothing sail just wide of the post, unlucky not to have scored more, his approach play is pretty good aswell. As Derby appear to be paying his wages then, a no brainer indeed.

[chunkygull]

if derby are paying all of his wages then yes it is a no brainer to keep him as an option, but the fact remains i feel we should be trying different things and being a bit more flexible, it hasnt really worked much so far. is virtually the same 11 going to get another 10 games to click?

ball hasnt impressed me so far, but as a few have said there could be a lot more to come from him, who knows?

[hector]

I don't mind Ball. I think he has quite a bit of potential. I would be happy to see him stay. It is just the managerial situation at Derby that makes me wonder if he will be allowed to stay.

[cambgull]

I've only seen Ball in one game against Oxford so far, and I did feel there is a cracking player in there somewhere. When he slammed the ball against the crossbar, it came from absolutely nothing, with his back to goal and no player near him who he could lay it back to.

I can't judge on any other games, but I do wonder if given a little more confidence, we could have a player who will score great goals from nothing. If we're not paying his wages, I think he is without doubt a great prospect worth the time and effort. I do however think that if we're going to extend his loan, it needs to be a long term one and not another month. He's either our player for the long term or not at all.

[Plymouth Gull]

If he isn't costing us a penny, then it's worth working with. On his day he is a threat, and as others say, he is only a young lad so potentially there is a player in there.

Hector does bring up a valid point about the managerial changes at Derby, but I can't see McClaren looking to use CB anytime soon.

[ferrarilover]

He's not my cup of tea, but if he's free, I guess he might as well be here as not. He's probably keeping Benyon out of the side though, which might be a worry.

Matt.

[hector]

He's not my cup of tea, but if he's free, I guess he might as well be here as not. He's probably keeping Benyon out of the side though, which might be a worry.

Matt.

Even better then!

[knightmaregull]

From the games I have seen he has offered no more than Benyon or Yeoman would have done. I personally would far rather see our own players given the chance and time to develop and impress than loanees who, if they play well, will just go back to their parent club - especially if our lads have come through the youth team. As things stand there was no point taking Benyon on in the summer or giving Yeoman a contract.

[chunkygull]

From the games I have seen he has offered no more than Benyon or Yeoman would have done. I personally would far rather see our own players given the chance and time to develop and impress than loanees who, if they play well, will just go back to their parent club - especially if our lads have come through the youth team. As things stand there was no point taking Benyon on in the summer or giving Yeoman a contract.

a point i was trying to make earlier, but you hit the nail on the head and explained it better.

[ferrarilover]

It's a squad game, a club can't just have 11 players. That said, I see why Ball was signed, he's just never quite turned out to be the player Knill thought he was. We have plenty of players to do the Ball thing, we could do with someone to do what Ball doesn't (but looks as though he should).

You wanna be careful Hector, you'll have Tezza after you for having a go about Bennerz.

Matt.

[supergulls]

No brainer then! Do they pay all of his wages super?

Normally the loaning club continues to pay the wages with the loanee club giving the individual playing time, the parent club benefits from this and hopefully gets back a better individual. But the loaner club normally covers expenses... Such as living accommodation, fuel, food etc as your away from home and to ensure the loaner is not in any way penalised.

[Banging_Them_In]

Jeez. Footballers have got it made ! ............. even in our league !
........we pay housing, fuel, food, etc !!!!!!! ....... what about a car or at least a driver, or a free bar tab, or maybe even a few 'female escorts' ........

[PhilGull]

Jeez. Footballers have got it made ! ............. even in our league !
........we pay housing, fuel, food, etc !!!!!!! ....... what about a car or at least a driver, or a free bar tab, or maybe even a few 'female escorts' ........

I think you'll find most businesses do the same. If I have to go work in any of my companies regional or international offices then my travelling and food expenses are covered.

[gullintwoplaces]

I think you'll find most businesses do the same. If I have to go work in any of my companies regional or international offices then my travelling and food expenses are covered.

I certainly wouldn't agree to work on a temporary basis in another part of the country without my expenses (house etc.) being covered. When I coined my ID for this site I was in fact living in two places, one of which (the temporary work one) was paid for by the business I was working for. I know that Torquay is much nicer than Derby, but even that is not a reason he should come to the Gulls at his own cost!

[AustrianAndyGull]

On reflection i may have been a tad unfair to Ball. I don't necessarily think he is a bad player but just that at this moment in time from what we have seen i don't hold the opinion he warrants a starting berth over Hawley or Benyon. He has scored just twice, one a massive deflection and one a pretty regulation finish although they all count. He has had some cracking afforts at goal but so has Bodin for example when he cracked one against the bar at Morecambe so most players have. What he has shown me personally in the 3 games I've seen live plus highlights of others and reports makes me come to the conclusion we have better options, long term options than him.

I accept that he may need more time to show what he can do but we find ourselves going down that road again don't we. A loan player (unless it is for a season or more) really needs to hit the ground running, we cannot be waiting around for them to 'find their feet'. Azeez comes in and bang, a goal already and a great impact and he has only played 30 minutes or whatever for us. If we have someone on loan for a month or two then they need to start ideally like Azeez has done but if not certainly be a lot more effective than Ball has been.

We've got players contracted to TUFC that can do a better job than Ball so no offence to him but i'd rather see them in the side on the basis of what I've seen so far.

In addition i also agree with Matt when he says he is just not his cup of tea. I can't quite put my finger on it but that is exactly how i feel about Ball.

As others have said though, if he is completely free then keep him here as a back up option.