Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur
Jake O'Brien prepares to take a throw-in during the match between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 26, 2025
Jake O'Brien prepares to take a throw-in during the match between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 26, 2025
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Much has been made of the first two goals for Tottenham Hotspur coming from corners and the threat they offered from throw-ins.Some people don’t take throw-ins seriously, but they’re a crucial part of the game. While we all like seeing perfect football from the goalkeeper all the way through, set pieces are so important.You’ve got to have that dedication in training. It might be boring because you’re standing there for 90 minutes, going through set-pieces, how you’re going to put together a situation going forward or how you’re going to defend it. I had the ability to put in a long throw-in when I was playing. It was just an opportunity to pop the question.We had players like Duncan Ferguson and Kevin Campbell who could cause problems. It’s not just about the first phase, it’s the second drop down.
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Duncan’s goal at Anfield, Kevin Campbell’s one, were from my throw-ins but even if it’s not directly from the initial throw itself, it causes the problem. It’s the same with set-pieces, people are switching off.I always had that in my locker but other people in football used to snigger about it. I remember being a kid going to Everton and the fans would be stood up on their feet when we got a throw-in because they knew that something might happen.I’d go away with England and they’d be laughing, saying: ‘Bally gets a big round of applause each time he gets a throw-in.’ They stopped all that when we scored. Michael Owen used to laugh at me, and I said to him: ‘You won’t be laughing when we score.’ I turned around to him when Duncan Ferguson scored at Anfield.They stopped sniggering when I started setting them up for England and Howard Wilkinson would be building routines for the Under-21s around my throws. It wasn’t always a long throw as such, it was just effective. It’s so difficult to deal with because as a defender you want to deal with it. There’s no pace on the ball, so you can’t really clear it.Back in the day, we didn’t have the towel either, so we used to have to buy glue to put on your hands to make them stickier. Richard Dunne kept on slipping and it became a bit of a joke in training, but the pitch gets slippy even if it’s sunny, so we needed that extra bit of grip on the ball.The problem that Everton have had in recent years though is that they’ve done well to get the ball up the field and win a throw-in, but it ends up going back to Jordan Pickford. All that hard work and they’ve let the opposition settle – it’s my pet hate.