Alan Ball's transfer broke the British record twice. When he moved from Blackpool to Everton in 1966, he cost the Goodison club £110,000 and when he joined Arsenal in 1971, he cost a new record £220,000 fee. He was capped 72 times by England and he played a major role in England's World Cup win of 1966. He later played for Southampton, Blackpool and Bristol Rovers before retiring in 1984 with 743 League appearances under his belt.
In May of that year, Ball was appointed Pompey's manager and, after two years of near success, he steered them into the First Division. Unfortunately, due to lack of spending power, they were relegated after just one season in the top flight. With Pompey failing to regain their early form under Ball and struggling in the Second Division, he was sacked.
He went on to manage Stoke City, Exeter City, Southampton and Manchester City. In February 1998 Ball returned to Portsmouth as manager but his contract was terminated on 9 December 1999 after the club endured a near-fatal financial crisis and came close to relegation from Division One. When he was appointed Pompey were several points adrift at the bottom of the table. In 1998 he masterminded a miraculous escape that saw two of his former sides (Stoke City and Manchester City) relegated after Pompey won 3-1 at Bradford City on the final day of the season. On his retirement, 54-year-old Ball was the last remaining England World Cup winner in management.
In April 2006 Ball became Honorary Patron of B.E.S.T (British European Soccer Tuition) - football coaching and tours across USA and Europe.
He died of a heart attack on 24th April 2007, aged 61.
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