ALAN BALL: THE EXETER CITY DIARIES

 The youngest member of England's 1966 World Cup winning side, Alan Ball's managerial career was at a crossroads when he was appointed as Exeter City manager early in the 1991-92 season. 

After a successful playing career with Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal and Southampton and England, Ball's time as a manager had seen a number of ups and downs. He had led Portsmouth back to the top-flight in the 1986-87 campaign. However, Pompey were relegated during the 1987-88 season and he was dismissed in January 1989. Ball then had a spell as an assistant manager to Jock Wallace at Colchester United and to Mick Mills at Stoke City, where he replaced the latter after his departure - but was later sacked himself in February 1991. 

Ball arrived at St James Park as the successor to his former England teammate Terry Cooper, who like Ball was part of Sir Alf Ramsey's England squad for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Cooper had previously led the Grecians to the Fourth Division title in the 1989-90 season before successfully keeping them in the third tier in 1990-91, making him a tough act to follow. 

At this time, City chairman Ivor Doble was also suspended from football and financial issues at the club were starting to mount. 

However, after losing his first game in charge - a 6-3 defeat to West Bromwich Albion, Ball oversaw a Rumbelows Cup exit against Birmingham City, then managed by Cooper, before he won his first game in a 1-0 Devon derby victory over Torquay United at St James Park. 

As well as bringing through young players through the club's youth policy, Ball also used his contacts to good effect, as he made Steve Moran, a former teammate of his at Southampton and an ex-England Under-21 international, one of his first signings. Moran would finish 1991-92 as the Grecians' top scorer with 20 goals as Ball guided the club to safety. 

In the 1992-93 season, Ball once again kept the Grecians in the newly rebranded Division Two, following the creation of the Premier League, and he guided the club to a memorable league double over arch rivals Plymouth Argyle, who were managed by another of Ball's former international colleagues in the form of Peter Shilton. He also led them to the Southern Area final of the Autoglass Trophy, where they were beaten by Port Vale. 

Whilst with the Grecians, Ball was also part of Graham Taylor's England backroom staff at the 1992 European Championship in Sweden. 

In January 1994, Ball eventually left St James Park to manage Southampton, who he successfully kept in the Premier League by getting the best out of the club's talisman Matt Le Tissier, who scored six goals in his first four games in charge. 

After guiding the Saints to a tenth place finish in the Premier League in 1994-95, Ball was tempted away to Manchester City by his former England teammate Francis Lee, who had just completed a takeover of the club. Sadly, his time at Maine Road proved to be unsuccessful as the club were relegated from the Premier League in the 1995-96 campaign, and he resigned early in the 1996-97 season. 

Whilst in charge of Manchester City, Ball returned to St James Park to pay £500,000 to the Grecians for Martin 'Buster' Phillips - a young player who he had handed his professional debut to, and predicted that he would become the country's first '£10 million player.' 

Ball would return to Portsmouth for a second spell in January 1998, which would last until December 1999, after which he decided to retire from management. 

He also formed part of a family managerial dynasty, as his father Alan senior took charge of Halifax Town, Preston North End and Southport and his son Jimmy had a caretaker spell in charge of Forest Green Rovers in 2021, and is currently managing Torquay United. 

Ball sadly died of a heart attack in April 2007, whilst attempting to put out a bonfire at his home in Hampshire, which made him the first member of England's 1966 team to pass away since Bobby Moore's death from Cancer in 1993. 

ALAN BANKS 1938-2026

 After starting his career with Liverpool, where he played under the great Bill Shankly, Alan Banks later become synonymous with football in the South West following spells with Exeter City and Plymouth Argyle. 

He marked his debut for the Anfield club with a goal on his debut in a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion, but he would drop into non-league football with Cambridge City. 

Banks scored 129 goals in the Varsity which alerted the Grecians to his potential, as he joined them in November 1963 and he netted 18 goals in the 1963-64 campaign and helped City to win their first ever promotion from the Fourth Division. 

In 1966, he moved to Home Park after the Grecians were relegated from the Third Division, but only remained with the Pilgrims for just over a year before returning to St James Park. 

Over the next six years, Banks topped the Grecians' goal scoring charts three times and became the club's record goal scorer - which he held until it was beaten by Tony Kellow. In addition to this, he scored in their FA Cup third round tie with Manchester United in 1968 at St James Park, which the Grecians lost 3-1.

Spells with Poole Town and Tiverton Town followed before he retired from playing. 

He later owned a Sports Shop in Exeter and also returned to St James Park as a matchday host. 

BALL'S SIGNINGS SHOW UNITED'S NEED FOR SPEED

 Pace has long been considered one of the most important assets in modern football, whether it be in attacking transitions, in defensive pressing, in one versus one situations or when manipulating space. 

It was an asset that Torquay United utilised fully in their National League South title winning campaign in 2018-19 under Gary Johnson. 

The Gulls' side was packed with pacey individuals, including full-backs Ben Wynter and Liam Davis, French winger Kalvin Kalala and the strike pairing of Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh, who scored 51 goals between them.

Then you also had wide man Opi Edwards in reserve, and that's not to say anything of centre midfielder Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and centre back Kyle Cameron, who both possessed the ability to accelerate quickly when required to. 

And it's an approach that current United boss Jimmy Ball has looked to adopt with his recruitment ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. To date, Ball has signed Callum Morton and Isaac Westendorf to play up front and former Forest Green winger Shaun Robertson. While Morton may not be a lightning fast as Westendorf or Robertson, he does possess the ability to run in behind and stretch defences, as evidenced by the goal he scored for Bristol Rovers against Crewe Alexandra which can be found on YouTube. 

This was something that the Gulls used to good effect last season following the signing of Deon Moore, a player who may yet still sign a new deal with the club, who demonstrated the ability to run in behind and stretch opposition defences on numerous occasions towards the end of the 2025-26 campaign. 

As well as offering United the opportunity to stretch opposition defences, quick players also offer the option of being able to speed the game back up again if your opponents try to slow the game down. 

In addition of his attacking plans, Ball hasn't limited himself searching for pace in his defensive players, as shown by the acquisition of left-back Tyler Hill from Spennymoor United. 

One thing that will be guaranteed at Plainmoor will be that the Gulls are likely to have speediest team that they have had for a good few years. 

ENGLAND VETERANS WIN NINTH TITLE WITH SOUTH WEST INFLUENCE

 England Veterans secured a record ninth Seniors World Cup in Thailand against their French counterparts with significant contributions from several players who have previously plied their trade in the South West. 

The senior Three Lions triumphed 4-0 in the final with former Plymouth Argyle and Truro City striker Barry Hayles netting the opening goal, with ex Exeter City striker Jamie Cureton and one time Pilgrims central midfielder Karl Duguid also finding the target. 

Hayles and Duguid were part of a quartet of former Argyle players in the squad which included goalkeeper Luke McCormick and midfielder David Norris. They were joined in the squad by former Torquay United, Exeter City and Yeovil Town central midfielder Alex Russell, who was appearing in his sixth tournament at the age of 53, and came off the bench in the final.

They ended the tournament with a 100% record as they beat host Thailand 2-0 in the opening game before defeating Taiwan 4-1 and ended the group with a 3-0 victory over USA. A thumping 5-2 triumph over Australia in the semi-finals followed which set up their meeting with France in the final. 

This year, they were joined in the squad by former Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and England midfielder Gareth Barry, who appeared for England in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and ex Aston Villa winger Lee Hendrie, who was also capped by England. 

FORMER SOUTH WEST STARS SET TO SHINE FOR ENGLAND VETERANS

This summer all eyes will be on the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer for the 23rd FIFA World Cup, a number of Football League favourites will be playing out their own version of the game's greatest show in Thailand for England Veterans. 

Whilst Thomas Tuchel's side will be aiming to end 60 years old of hurt across the pond, the Senior Three Lions will be looking to secure their ninth Seniors World Cup. 

Amongst their number will be former Torquay United, Exeter City and Yeovil Town midfielder Alex Russell, who will be looking to lift the prize for the fifth time. Russell spent four years at Plainmoor between 2001 and 2005, during which time he won the club's player of the season award in 2002-03, automatic promotion under Leroy Rosenior in 2003-04 and was named in the PFA Division Three team of the season twice. 

In addition to Russell, there will also be a quartet of ex-Plymouth Argyle players in the form of goalkeeper Luke McCormick, midfielders Karl Duguid and David Norris and striker Barry Hayles. McCormick and Norris were both part of the Pilgrims Division Two title winning side in 2003-04 under Paul Sturrock, and then Bobby Williamson. 

This year, they will also been joined by a duo who graced the Premier League and received England senior honours in the form of the ex-Aston Villa pair Gareth Barry and Lee Hendrie. 

In order to reach the final, England will need to negotiate a group that includes Iran, Taiwan and the USA before a potential semi-final with hosts Thailand, France, last season's runners-up Australia and New Zealand. 

A FIRST TROPHY FOR OLLIE WATKINS

 While Aston Villa's Europa League final triumph over German side Freiburg marked the Villains' first European success since 1982 and their first trophy of any kind since 1996, it also provided striker Ollie Watkins with the first medal of his career. 

Goals from Youri Tielemans, Emi Buendia and Morgan Rogers sealed a 3-0 victory for Villa in Istanbul with Prince William, the future King of England, looking on, as Watkins secured his first honour with the club. 

Given everything that the Torbay-born, but Newton Abbot raised striker has achieved as a player, from scoring for England in the semi-finals and winning several individual awards, it is surprising that a player of his calibre had yet to win a trophy or a promotion. 

In the 2016-17 season, he was part of the Exeter City side that lost to Blackpool in the League Two play-off against Blackpool - which proved to be his final appearance for the Grecians before his move to Brentford in the summer. However, his displays did help him to win the EFL Young player of the year award for 2017. 

After he joined Brentford, Watkins continued his upward trajectory as a player as he won the Championship player of the year prize for the 2019-20 campaign. Nevertheless, by the time that the Bees eventually made it to the Premier League in 2020-21, he had already secured his move to Villa Park. 

With Champions League football assured for Villa for the 2026-27 season, further success could yet follow for Watkins, who is also one of number of players waiting for Thomas Tuchel's England squad announcement for the World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico. 

A HOMECOMING FOR CALLUM MORTON

 Over a decade after he left the club when they closed their youth department, Callum Morton has returned to his hometown club as Torquay United's first summer signing by manager Jimmy Ball. 

Morton, 26, has experienced a journeyed career since he first left Plainmoor as he initially followed former United youth coach Geoff Harrop to Yeovil Town when he joined their academy before becoming a scholar at Huish Park. 

After scoring against West Bromwich Albion's youth side in the FA Youth Cup for the Glovers, the Baggies paid an undisclosed fee to bring him to the Hawthorns. 

Whilst with the Baggies, Morton was loaned out to Braintree Town, Northampton Town, Lincoln City, Fleetwood Town and Peterborough United. He was close to joining the Gulls on loan in the 2019-20 season under Gary Johnson. 

His spell with Northampton in 2019-20 proved to be the most fruitful of his loan stints, as he netted twice against Cheltenham Town in the League Two play-offs, a feat which he then followed up by finding the target in the final against Exeter City that the Cobblers won 4-0. 

Moves away from the Hawthorns followed for Morton to Fleetwood and then Salford City, who later loaned him out to Forest Green Rovers and to Northampton for the second time in his career. 

In November 2025, he joined Bristol Rovers on a short-term deal and scored on his first start for the Pirates against Crewe Alexandra in a 1-1 on December 19, 2025. However, he was let go by Rovers' boss Steve Evans in February 2026. 

Morton then joined the Gulls' National League South promotion rivals Worthing, who eventually clinched the league title - and the Plainmoor faithful will be hoping he can play a part in another promotion from the NLS in the 2026-27 season.