TT BLOG

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive blogs about Jimmy Ball’s presser

“WE BROKE DOWN ON SATURDAY AND THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED”

It’s a knockout:

A few minutes into his regular Thursday afternoon press conference manager Jimmy Ball said Saturday’s trip to Tonbridge is:

“A knockout game: it’s a cup final.”

He went on to say that his Torquay side have got to go to war again. It’s clear that the final league game is do or die for United: defeat runs the risk of missing out on a playoff spot after a season full of ups and downs.

Injuries and availability:

There are what Jimmy referred to as a couple of fatigue injuries leading into the weekend, with joint-leading goal-scorer Louis Dennis and mercurial midfielder Callum Dolan carrying muscle strains which will be assessed on Friday to see if they’re fit for Tonbridge.

Hemel:

The manager understandably wanted an immediate debrief after last Saturday’s poor performance at home to playoff rivals Hemel Hempstead. He said that there were no teacups thrown but that there were a lot of questions: he wanted to understand why a team that had been on a winning run looked so off it. He said the half an hour or so spent in the dressing room was useful and that some decent feedback was obtained.

Tell the Truth Monday:

After Sunday off the players were in at training for what he described (after the camera stopped rolling) as “tell the truth Monday.” It seems clear that the players had to listen to some home truths because in the managers words:

“We broke down on Saturday and that has to be addressed.”

In his appearance at the fans’ forum on Tuesday Jimmy had described his squad- so many of whom arrived to great fanfares last summer- as having underachieved. He nodded when I reminded him of that comment and nothing he said this afternoon suggest that his views have changed.

He said this is the time for everybody within the school to be honest and open with each other:

“Don’t sulk about it. Don’t be babies. Own it. Get on with it try and be better.”

Living by the sword:

Ball is clear-eyed about the precarious nature of life as a football manager. I asked him whether he felt that clubs should be more patient and to give managers more time- certainly more time than Liam Rosenior has been given at Stamford Bridge.

In a thoughtful answer which I’m sure will resonate supporters, the manager said that he wished owners perhaps had a better understanding of the limits on managers’ ability to control events on a Saturday:

“I can’t control whether they tackle or run really. All I can do is take them off or bring them on.”

In a hint to his likely approach this summer, Ball said that it all comes back to recruitment and:

“If you can’t change the people you gotta change the people”- by which I’m sure he means that if footballers don’t respond to the coaching and hard work that he is very obviously prepared to put into them then it might may be time for them to look elsewhere.

He said that he thought the Hemel collapse was due either to the pressure of the occasion (or perhaps “perceived pressure”), and he clearly expects the squad to step-up in the vital game(s) to come.

Over to you lads.