David Ball (footballer)

David Ball

Ball playing for Peterborough United in 2012
Personal information
Full name	David Michael Ball [1]
Date of birth	(1989-12-14) 14 December 1989 (age 34)
Place of birth	Whitefield, Greater Manchester, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [2]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Wellington Phoenix
Number	10
Youth career
199?–1997	Prestwich Marauders
1997–2009	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2011	Manchester City	0	(0)
2010–2011	→ Swindon Town (loan)	18	(2)
2011–2012	Peterborough United	41	(9)
2011	→ Rochdale (loan)	7	(3)
2011–2012	→ Rochdale (loan)	7	(0)
2012–2017	Fleetwood Town	179	(41)
2017–2019	Rotherham United	34	(8)
2018–2019	→ Bradford City (loan)	35	(5)
2019–	Wellington Phoenix	123	(15)
2024–	Wellington Phoenix FC Reserves	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 October 2024

David Michael Ball (born 14 December 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Wellington Phoenix in the A-League Men.

Began his career at Manchester City, he never made a first-team appearance despite being a star player in the club's Reserve and Academy teams. He started the 2010–11 season on loan at Swindon Town, before he was signed by Peterborough United in January 2011. Peterborough won promotion out of League One via the play-offs in 2011, though Ball returned to the division on loan at Rochdale for the first half of the 2011–12 season. He was signed to Fleetwood Town in July 2012, and helped the club to win the 2014 League Two play-off final. He scored 49 goals in 209 league and cup games in a five-year stay at Fleetwood, before moving on to Rotherham United in June 2017. He helped Rotherham to win the 2018 League One play-offs, but left the club after spending most of the 2018–19 season on loan at Bradford City.

Career

Manchester City

Ball spent his early childhood with Prestwich Marauders, before he joined the youth system at Manchester City at the age of seven. ^[3] He battled back from a foot injury at the end of his teenage years. ^[4] A star of the youth and reserve sides he scored in the 2008 final of the FA Youth Cup, which City won, ^[5] and was joint-fifth top-scorer in the 2008–09 Premier Reserve League and joint-second top-scorer in the 2009–10 Premier Reserve League. He was named as City's Academy Player of the Month for December 2007 and Reserve team Player of the Month for February 2008. ^{[6] [7]} He made it onto the first-team bench only once, though this was for the famous Manchester derby game on 20 September 2009 where City lost 4–3 to Manchester United at Old Trafford. ^{[8] [9]}

He was loaned out to League One club Swindon Town in July 2010 for six months, in order to gain first team experience. ^[10] This came despite interest from other clubs. ^[11] He made his league debut at the County Ground on 7 August 2010, in a 2–1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, but was replaced by Alan O'Brien after sixty minutes for tactical reasons. ^[12] He was initially played out of position in midfield by manager Danny Wilson and then spent time on the substitutes bench before taking an injured Charlie Austin's place up front in October. ^[13] He scored his first senior goal on 5 October, as Swindon beat Torquay United 2–0 in the Football League Trophy. ^[14] He scored a brace eleven days later in a 5–4 defeat at Peterborough United. ^[15] He was then benched in favour of Charlie Austin and Vincent Péricard, returning to the City of Manchester Stadium in January after scoring a total of three goals in nine starts and 12 substitute appearances for Swindon. ^[13]

Peterborough United

Ball signed a 2+1⁄2-year deal for Darren Ferguson's Peterborough United on 31 January 2011 after being bought for an undisclosed transfer fee. ^[16] He scored five goals in 21 appearances for "Posh" in the second half of the 2010–11 season, and was a stoppage-time substitute for Lee Tomlin in the League One play-off final as United secured promotion into the Championship with a 3–0 victory over Huddersfield Town. ^[17]

He was partnered with Tomlin following the sale of Craig Mackail-Smith to Brighton at the start of the 2011–12 season. ^[18] However Ball returned to League One on loan at Rochdale on 31 August after Peterborough signed Emile Sinclair from Macclesfield Town. ^[19] He scored four goals in eight games for the "Dale", which led to him being recalled to London Road on 10 October to compete with Paul Taylor and Emile Sinclair for a starting place in the absence of Nicky Ajose (loaned out) and Lee Tomlin (injured). ^[20] Ball made just five substitute appearances however, and returned to Rochdale on loan on 24 November. ^[21] His second loan spell at Rochdale was not as successful as his first spell as he failed to find the net in seven games and manager Steve Eyre was sacked. ^[22] He was put on the transfer-list at Peterborough in April 2012. ^[23]

Fleetwood Town

On 23 July 2012, Ball signed for newly promoted League Two side Fleetwood Town on a three-year deal. ^[24] He started the 2012–13 season playing out of position until manager Micky Mellon was replaced by Graham Alexander in December. ^[3] He ended the campaign with nine goals in 38 games, before scoring 13 goals from 40 appearances in the 2013–14 season. Fleetwood won promotion out of League Two with a 1–0 victory over Burton Albion in the 2014 play-off final. ^[25] On 29 March 2015, he scored a goal that was a described as a "spectacular lob" and an "exquisite chip" to secure a 1–1 draw with Preston North End at Highbury Stadium, which later saw him nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award; this made him only the second Englishman to be nominated for the award, after Wayne Rooney in 2011. ^{[26] [27]} He scored eight goals in 30 League One games for the "Fishermen" during the 2014–15 campaign.

In August 2015, Ball signed a new two-year contract with Fleetwood. ^[28] He was limited to five goals in 42 matches in the 2015–16 season, before hitting a career-high 14 goals from 55 matches in the 2016–17 season. He left the "Trawlermen" after rejecting manager Uwe Rösler's new contract offer. ^[29]

Rotherham United

On 22 June 2017, Ball signed for Rotherham United on a two-year deal; he said he was persuaded to come to the New York Stadium after hearing manager Paul Warne's ambitious plans. ^{[30] [31]} He scored his first goal for Rotherham in an EFL Trophy tie against Manchester City Under-23s on 15 August 2017. ^[32] He finished the 2017–18 season with nine goals in 38 games for the "Millers" and helped the club to win promotion despite missing a penalty during the 2–1 extra-time win over Shrewsbury Town in the League One play-off final. ^[33]

On 3 September 2018, Bradford City confirmed the signing of Ball until the end of the 2018–19 season, in a deal that was signed on the loan deadline of 31 August. ^[34] The deal was confirmed just hours before manager Michael Collins was sacked. ^[35] He scored his first goal for Bradford in an EFL Trophy tie against Barnsley on 13 November. ^[36] In December 2018 he was praised by City teammate Hope Akpan, ^[37] and in May 2019 he was credited by "Bantams" manager Gary Bowyer for helping Lewis O'Brien to develop as a young player. ^[38] On returning from his loan at Valley Parade, Ball was released by Rotherham at the end of his contract. ^[39]

Wellington Phoenix

On 12 July 2019, Wellington Phoenix announced that Ball had signed a two-year contract with the club. ^[40] He extended his contract for a further 2 years in 2022, with hopes to become a New Zealand citizen and play for New Zealand internationally in 2024, when he has lived in NZ for 5 years. ^[41]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 August 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	2009–10	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Swindon Town (loan)	2010–11 [42]	League One	18	2	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	21	3
Peterborough United	2010–11 [42]	League One	19	5	0	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	21	5
	2011–12 [43]	Championship	22	4	0	0	2	2	0	0	24	6
	Total		41	9	0	0	2	2	2	0	45	11
Rochdale (loan)	2011–12 [43]	League One	14	3	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	1	15	4
Fleetwood Town	2012–13 [44]	League Two	34	7	2	2	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	38	9
	2013–14 [45]	League Two	30	8	2	1	1	1	7 [lower-alpha 3]	3	40	13
	2014–15 [46]	League One	32	8	0	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	34	8
	2015–16 [47]	League One	37	4	1	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	1	42	5
	2016–17 [48]	League One	46	14	5	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 4]	0	55	14
	Total		179	41	10	3	5	1	15	4	209	49
Rotherham United	2017–18 [49]	League One	33	8	1	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 5]	1	38	9
	2018–19 [50]	Championship	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		34	8	1	0	3	0	3	1	41	9
Bradford City (loan)	2018–19 [50]	League One	35	5	4	1	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 6]	1	42	7
Wellington Phoenix	2019–20	A-League	25	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	26	6
	2020–21	A-League	24	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	6
	2021–22	A-League Men	24	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	28	2
	2022–23	A-League Men	24	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	1
	2023–24	A-League Men	26	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
	2024–25	A-League Men	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		123	15	6	0	0	0	0	0	129	15
Career total			444	83	21	4	11	3	26	8	502	98

1. Appearances in the Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in the League One play-offs
3. Four appearances in the Football League Trophy and three in the League Two play-offs
4. One appearance in the Football League Trophy and two in the League One play-offs
5. Two appearances in the Football League Trophy and one in the League One play-offs
6. Appearances and goal in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Manchester City

• FA Youth Cup: 2007–08 ^[51]

Peterborough United

• Football League One play-offs: 2011 ^[17]

Fleetwood Town

• Football League Two play-offs: 2014 ^[25]

Rotherham United

• EFL League One play-offs: 2018 ^[33]

Individual

• A-League Men Player of the Month: February 2020

References

1. "Professional retain list & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. 18 May 2013. p. 62. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
2. David Ball at Soccerbase
3. Rourke, Sam (30 June 2015). "Feature: When Fleetwood Let Their Cantona Go". Football League World. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
4. Scott, Oliver (9 August 2010). "Swindon loanee David Ball gets quizzed by youngsters". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
5. Mawhinney, Stuart (26 April 2007). "Liverpool retain Youth Cup". thefa.com. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
6. "Dunnie is City's Player of the Month for December". mcfc.co.uk. (Manchester City Football Club). 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 30 November 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
7. "Awards time for Craig and Pablo". mcfc.co.uk. (Manchester City Football Club). 9 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
8. McNulty, Phil (21 September 2009). "Man Utd 4-3 Man City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
9. David Ball at Soccerway
10. "Manchester City striker David Ball agrees Swindon loan". BBC Sport. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
11. "Swindon Town are close to signing David Ball". BBC Sport. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
12. "Swindon 1 – 2 Brighton". BBC Sport. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
13. "Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk - David BALL - Player Profile". swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
14. "Swindon 2-0 Torquay". BBC Sport. 5 October 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
15. "Peterborough 5-4 Swindon". BBC Sport. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
16. "Peterborough sign Jones and Ball". BBC Sport. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
17. Begley, Emlyn (29 May 2011). "Huddersfield 0-3 Peterborough". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
18. "David Ball targets lead role at Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
19. "Rochdale snap up David Ball and Ahmed Benali". BBC Sport. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
20. "David Ball confident of success at Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
21. "Rochdale net David Ball & Kuagica Sebastiao Bondo David". BBC Sport. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
22. "Ferguson to hold talks with out of favour striker". Peterborough Telegraph. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2019.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
23. "Peterborough United list Grant McCann, release Joe Lewis". BBC Sport. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
24. "Fleetwood Town sign Peterborough striker David Ball". BBC Sport. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
25. Maiden, Phil (26 May 2014). "Burton Albion 0-1 Fleetwood Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
26. "FIFA Puskás Award 2015 Nominees". FIFA. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
27. "David Ball honoured by FIFA Puskas Award nomination alongside Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez". efl.com. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
28. "David Ball: Fleetwood Town striker signs new contract". BBC Sport. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
29. "David Ball signs for Rotherham after leaving Fleetwood". Sky Sports. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
30. "Staff enthusiasm tipped the balance - Ball". themillers.co.uk. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
31. "READ | Millers confirm Ball signing". Rotherham United F.C. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
32. "Rotherham United lose out in penalty shoot-out with Manchester City". The Yorkshire Post. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
33. Scott, Ged (27 May 2018). "Rotherham United 2–1 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
34. "City Complete Ball Signing". Bradford City A.F.C. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
35. Time, Millers (4 September 2018). "Things change quickly for David Ball before and after Rotherham exit". itsmillerstime.co.uk. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
36. "Barnsley 2 Bradford City 1". The Yorkshire Post. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
37. Simon Parker (13 December 2018). "Bradford City: Akpan hails attacking midfield trio". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
38. Simon Parker (2 May 2019). "Bradford City: Ball has had role in midfielder's progress". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
39. "Rotherham United: Jon Taylor & Ryan Williams among five players in talks with Millers". BBC Sport. 15 May 2019.
40. "New English forward David Ball brings experience to Wellington Phoenix". Stuff. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
41. "English forward Ball extends Phoenix stay two more years". Newshub. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
42. "Games played by David Ball in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
43. "Games played by David Ball in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
44. "Games played by David Ball in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
45. "Games played by David Ball in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
46. "Games played by David Ball in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
47. "Games played by David Ball in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
48. "Games played by David Ball in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
49. "Games played by David Ball in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
50. "Games played by David Ball in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
51. Brennan, Stuart (4 June 2015). "Manchester City: Where are Boyata's 2008 Youth Cup winning team-mates now?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 June 2019.

External links

• David Ball at Soccerbase