James Ball (footballer)

James Ball (born 1 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays for Solihull Moors, as a midfielder.

James Ball
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-12-01) 1 December 1995[1]
Place of birth Bolton, England[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Solihull Moors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Bolton Wanderers 0 (0)
2014 → Hyde United (loan) 5 (0)
2015–2016 Northwich Victoria
2016 Stalybridge Celtic 6 (1)
2016–2018 Stockport County 74 (14)
2018–2019 Stevenage 18 (3)
2019 Ebbsfleet United 14 (1)
2019– Solihull Moors 31 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:06, 16 December 2020 (UTC)

Ball started his career at Bolton Wanderers. During his time at Bolton, he was loaned out to Conference North club Hyde United on a work experience loan at the start of the 2014–15 season. Following his release from Bolton in May 2015, Ball spent the following season at Northwich Victoria. He joined National League North club Stalybridge Celtic ahead of the 2016–17 season before signing for Stockport County a month later in September 2016. After two seasons at Stockport, Ball signed for Stevenage in May 2018. He spent a season at Stevenage before joining Ebbsfleet United of the National League in July 2019. He moved to Solihull Moors in October 2019.

Career

Early career

Ball began his career at hometown club Bolton Wanderers and is a product of the club's academy.[3] At the start of the 2014–15 season, he was sent on a work experience loan to Conference North club Hyde United.[3] Ball made his debut for Hyde in the club's 3–2 away loss to Bradford Park Avenue on 25 August 2014,[4] and went on to make five appearances during the one-month loan spell.[5] Ball returned to Bolton following the conclusion of the work experience loan, but did not many any first-team appearances for the club.[2] He was released by Bolton in May 2015,[6] subsequently joining Northwich Victoria for the 2015–16 season.[7]

After a full season at Northwich, Ball joined National League North club Stalybridge Celtic on a free transfer ahead of the 2016–17 season.[8] He made his debut on the opening day of the campaign, playing the whole match in a 1–0 away victory over Boston United.[8][9] During the short spell at Stalybridge, spanning a month, Ball made six appearances, scoring his only goal for Stalybridge in the club's 3–1 home loss to Stockport County on 9 August 2016.[8][10]

Stockport County

Having scored against Stockport County a month earlier, Ball signed for the club on 6 September 2016.[11] Ball had played under Stockport manager Jim Gannon at Northwich the previous season.[12] He made his Stockport debut a day later, in a 2–1 away defeat to Darlington, scoring the club's goal in the match.[13] In March 2017, Ball signed a new two-year contract extension with the club,[12] with Gannon stating he believes Ball has all of the attributes to become a Football League player.[12] He played regularly during the season, making 37 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven times,[11] as Stockport narrowly missed out on a place in the National League North play-offs by a point.[14]

Contracted to Stockport for the 2017–18 season, Ball remained a regular fixture in the centre of midfield for the club throughout the campaign.[11] He scored his first goal of the season in a 6–0 victory over Southport at Edgeley Park on 5 September 2017.[11][15] He ended the campaign by scoring seven times in the club's final eleven fixtures.[11] This included a brace in a 4–0 win against Leamington,[16] as well as a 94th-minute winner in a 3–2 victory over Bradford Park Avenue a week later to help Stockport secure their place in the National League North play-offs courtesy of a fifth-place finish.[17][18] Ball made 48 appearances in all competitions during the campaign, scoring 11 goals, as Stockport were defeated at the qualifying round stage of the play-offs.[11]

Stevenage

Ball signed for League Two club Stevenage on 9 May 2018, joining for an undisclosed five-figure fee.[19] Whilst managing Nuneaton Town, Stevenage manager Dino Maamria recommended Ball to Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace in December 2017, describing him as one of the best players in non-league football.[20] Maamria subsequently made Ball his first signing for the club.[20] Ball made his Stevenage debut in the club's opening match of the 2018–19 season, scoring the first goal of the match in an eventual 2–2 draw with Tranmere Rovers at Broadhall Way.[21] Despite being a regular starter in midfield in the opening months of the season, Ball featured predominantly as a substitute from October 2018 onwards.[22] He came on as an 11th-minute substitute and played as a striker in a 2–1 win over Crawley Town on 12 January 2019, scoring both of Stevenage's goals.[23][24] He was praised by Maamria for his work-rate and maturity in a position he had rarely played in.[24] Ball subsequently started the club's next two matches,[22] but once again began to make appearances from the substitute's bench, and ultimately did not play for the final three months of the season.[22] He made 21 appearances and scored four goals during the season.[22] Ball was transfer-listed by the club on 9 May 2019.[25]

In July 2019 he signed for Ebbsfleet United,[26] before moving to Solihull Moors in October 2019.[27]

Style of play

Ball was initially a defender during his time at Bolton Wanderers' academy and was played in central defence on loan at Hyde United.[3][5] He moved further up the pitch to play in central midfield during his time at Northwich Victoria and has remained there since.[2][11] On signing for Stevenage, manager Dino Maamria described Ball as "big, strong, box-to-box, can cover a lot of ground and can score goals from midfield".[20]

Career statistics
As of match played 23 February 2019
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bolton Wanderers 2013–14[2] Championship 0000000000
2014–15[2] Championship 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Hyde United (loan) 2014–15[5] Conference North 5000—0050
Stalybridge Celtic 2016–17[11] National League North 6100—0061
Stockport County 2016–17[11] National League North 33522—2[lower-alpha 1]0377
2017–18[11] National League North 41900—7[lower-alpha 2]24811
Total 74142200928518
Stevenage 2018–19[22] League Two 18300112[lower-alpha 3]0214
Career total 10318221111211723
  1. Appearance(s) in the FA Trophy.
  2. Six appearances and two goals in the FA Trophy, one appearance in the National League North play-offs.
  3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "James Ball – Stevenage". Stevenage F.C. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. "Soccerway – James Ball". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. "Hyde bring in James Ball from Bolton Wanderers". Hyde United F.C. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. "Bradford Park Avenue 3–2 Hyde United". Hyde United F.C. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. "Hyde United – James Ball". Hyde United F.C. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  6. "Bolton Wanderers announce retained list". Bolton Wanderers F.C. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  7. "Jimmy Ball – 11v11". 11v11. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  8. "James Ball – Stalybridge Celtic". Stalybridge Celtic F.C. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  9. "Boston United 0–1 Stalybridge Celtic". Soccerway. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  10. "Stalybridge Celtic 1–3 Stockport County". Soccerway. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  11. "Soccerway – Jimmy Ball". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  12. "Fans help Stockport County build for the present and the future". Beyond The Big Two. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  13. "Darlington 2–1 Stockport County". Soccerway. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  14. "National League North 2016/17". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  15. "Stockport County 6–0 Southport". Soccerway. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  16. "Stockport County 4–0 Leamington". Soccerway. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  17. "Bradford Park Avenue 2–3 Stockport County". Soccerway. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  18. "National League North 2017/18". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  19. "James Ball: Stevenage sign Stockport County midfielder". BBC Sport. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  20. "Dino: "James will be brilliant for the football club"". Stevenage F.C. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  21. "Stevenage 2–2 Tranmere Rovers". BBC Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  22. "Games played by James Ball in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  23. "Stevenage 2–1 Crawley Town". BBC Sport. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  24. "Stevenage boss Dino Maamria lauds two-goal hero James Ball and new boy Moses Makasi". The Comet. 12 January 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  25. "Stevenage retained/released list". Stevenage F.C. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  26. https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/sport/fleet-add-midfielder-208486/
  27. Kendrick, Mat (4 October 2019). "Confirmed: Solihull Moors have announced this new signing". birminghammail.
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