Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
DumbleDelia is Magic

Inept Ballboys

Recommended Posts

I was very pleased with the result today. A battling draw against a tough side with good players was fine with me. The thing that annoyed me was how spectacularly inept our ballboys seem to be! This wasn''t the first time I''ve noticed it, but it seemed blatent today. What sort of training before hand do these guys get? One held onto the ball for fully 10 seconds before deciding to throw it to the waiting Edworthy. Also, it''s great that we''ve got more than one ball around the pitch, but the lads need to be told which one should be used when the ball goes out of play- The one just gone out or the one off the pitch? If they are not holding onto the ball for ages they are throwing two in. It just disrupts the flow of the game a bit. Of course it wouldn''t be a bad tactic I suppose: Whenever the oppo get to our penalty area, throw another ball on and the ref brings the play back! Seriously though I think these guys should be told what to do a bit better.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
agree something has to be done but it''s not always their fault. on many occasions the ball is thrown on to the pitch by some well meaning old codger instead of them throwing it to the ball boy. Remember a few games ago when they gathered in all the balls because they were coming in from all directions. from what i understand the bloke that trains the ball boys is a hard task master so it won''t be for want of trying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Have to agree with this. As someone pointed out on another forum it is helping the opposition. When we''re away from home the opposition ballboys know how important it is to get the ball back asap to keep the flow of an attack going. However, our ball boys just chuck two balls on and break down / slow up our attacks.

I''m all for giving kids a chance to have their big day doing the ball boy stuff but they could do with a bit more training.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
i would say that they need to be older. 15/16, so they can understand what to do and when to do it. but it was not fair on them yesterday. repka kept hoofing it into the top row, the player asked 4 the ball, which he got from the ballboy. and then comes down the other ball onto the pitch 30 secs later when the play has already started. then the ref and the players started having a go at him. u can''t rely that the boy is going to catch a ball which has been chucked down and probably not even to him. the fans chuck it onto the pitch to the players. the players are as much to blame as they should know that the ball will come back from the stands and onto the pitch. whats 10 secs gonna do? they were only about 7 years old so u can''t be too harsh on them. i think the players should only get the ball from the ballboy if its the one that has just gone out of play and he has gone to collect it, or the ball in play has been launched onto the roof or has been punctured or something like that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi Dumbledelia,
Firstly I guess you and I are both glad you got your prediction wrong and that we didn''t lose yesterday.
As to your thread, the ball boys this has been bugging me all season.They are too young and inexperienced to do the job properly and I''m surprised this hasn''t been recognised by the club yet.Surely they can use lads from a senior school 12 - 14 years old or why not use the youth accademy lads to get them more involved on match days.As you so rightly say these small lads, and some look not more than 4 or 5, disrupt the flow of the game and just dont either move quick enough or they get the ball and then don''t know what to do with it.It needs sorting Norwich.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I totally agree that the ballboys need to be older. Using teenagers (13-16 year olds) would be much better. They have a better knowledge of the game and have more common sence. I''m sure we''re not the only ones to have noticed it and when we go up in the summer you would think the club do something about it. It''ll be a bit embarassing in the Prem!!

Cityangel, you''re right: I was delighted to be wrong in the prediction league! I have no problem finishing bottom if the lads go up. Although perhaps finishing bottom would be a bit embassing!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It is becoming a problem.

Originally, the ballboys (and girls) weren''t given spare balls. They were just stationed around the ground to retrieve the match ball when it went out of play. It always seemed a pointless exercise to me, the crowd is so close at Carrow Road that ballboys aren''t really needed.

The fact that all the ballboys now each have a spare ball suggests to me that someone on the coaching staff has decided that it could be a distinct advantage to NCFC to have the ball back in play very fast, hopefully catching the opposition unawares. I have seen on a couple of occasions the opposition have a shot at goal that has sailed high into the Barclay, and while they all have a breather thinking that it will take at least 30 seconds for the ball to come back from the crowd, Greeno has snatched a ball from one of the kids behind his goal and launched a quick goal kick trying to get Hucks one on one with the keeper.

It can work, and I''m all for anything that gives us any advantage over the opposition. But for it to work properly, it''s no good using kids from local primary schools. Nigel Worthington should use young players from the Acadamy who are already completely savvy about all the "professional" tricks of the trade and will ensure that the ball is quickly back in play for us if we need it to be (if we are behind or level and time is running out, for example) and ensure that the same doesn''t happen if the opposition are chasing the game.

It''s slightly naughty, but hey, I want Norwich to win. Anything that helps that happen is ok by me. Of course, the crowd would have to do their bit as well by not chucking the original ball back onto the pitch causing the game to be stopped, and that might prove rather trickier to organise!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Brings me back to my youth this.....

I was ballboy 18 years ago. It was the game Peter Mendham picked up the injury that led to his premature retirement. So, from a highly experienced point of view *grin*, 2 observations......

1) Training was 2 minutes before the game. That was it. If it''s the same now, I can understand why the problems.

2) Having a go at kids as being inept is well out of order. I''ll tell your kids they are inept and see if you think it''s OK?

And finally, for your amusement.......

I threw a ball back to Steve Bruce. I managed to get it to hit the edge of the pitch and for it to bounce back towards me at a great rate of knots. Laugh? He nearly wet himself!

Craig



Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Slightly off track but I was amused by your anecdote Craig - it reminded me of other freak events I have witnessed at Carrow Road.. I saw a linesman wave his flag once which then promptly broke just above the handle and fly off into the City stand behind him, and Flecky had a shot go wide which I managed to duck to avoid, though the old man behind me wasnt so lucky.. Full in the face.. ooo..

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...