Kevin Ball slipped into the enemy’s lair and liked what he saw. St James’ Park is not a natural habitat for a man who played more than 300 times for Sunderland but he was on a reconnaissance mission, checking out protégé Jordan Pickford in a recent Premier League match.
Ball was Pickford’s lead coach in the Sunderland academy but that only tells a fraction of the bond between two men who are – in the words of Ball – “kindred spirits, both awkward so and so’s at times”.
There’s a fantastic picture of Pickford stood in front of Ball’s car as a kid, a shock of blond hair with his autograph book in hand, and almost two decades later the pair still meet in Chester-le-Street for a pot of tea and a catch-up. When times have been hard, Ball has always been a willing listener. But lately, that hasn’t been such an issue.
“There’s a reason why he’s England’s No 1 keeper and that’s because he’s got incredible mental resilience,” Balls says.
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“I won’t say I felt sorry for him getting that abuse – I’ve had it, not to the degree he has – but I would say I was unbelievably proud of his focus. I’m sure if they’d have won the game he’d have wanted to walk off and give everyone two fingers but he kept it together.
“If you’re Gareth Southgate, goalkeeper is the last of your worries with Jordan.”
Pickford’s journey began on the training pitches of Sunderland’s Academy of Light. Ball was a natural ally but not afraid to encourage a bit of creative tension with his charges, who also included Jordan Henderson.
Ball remembers the buzz around the skinny goalkeeper from Washington who was a brilliant shot-stopper but was so good with his feet that he “could have played centre-half”. Which is what they got him to do at times, just to challenge a player who – by his own admission – got “bored” easily.
“He had a very challenging nature which I loved. At times, I could manipulate that and I knew he’d be tempted to turn around and think ‘I’ll effing show you’,” Ball recalls.
“I don’t think that’s changed. The overriding thing he has is the ability, in terms of his shot stopping, but his playing out from the back and passing is phenomenal. It was a fantastic experience for me to coach him and I’m so proud of what he has become.”
Pickford starts for England in Qatar as undisputed No 1 with two magnificent tournaments on his CV. But he remains there to be shot at.
Pickford signed off for the Premier League’s hiatus with a high-profile mistake, spilling a Dominic Solanke shot to tee up a Marcus Tavernier goal in Everton’s heavy defeat to newly-promoted Bournemouth.
What makes him special is how robust he is in the face of such errors. It is the result, Ball says, of being sent out on as a teenager to clubs like Carlisle, Bradford and Preston where mistakes cost team-mates bonuses and the team crucial points. It made him a man and refined a unique process he has for coping with mistakes.
“It’s like he closes down for a few moments,” Ball reveals. “It’s like he’s doing a reset in his mind, thinking ‘I need to do this to process it’. It’s remarkable to watch. He used to go and do something to the posts, kick them, or with his water bottle or with his gloves, something physical.
“It was like getting rid of what’s just happened. You might do something to challenge him after he’d made a mistake, get him annoyed to get him thinking ‘I’ll show you’.”
Not that Ball, who was told by his son Luke of the criticism Pickford gets on social media, feels he is necessarily treated fairly.
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“No one talks about him as one of the world’s best but he is. Take the minutes he’s played and then the mistakes he’s made, they’re minute,” Ball says.
“But because of who he is, people think he’s a target. Seems like we’re happier to focus on mistakes we’ve made rather than consistency, level-headedness, focus. It’s a shame but I think he is a target at times.
“We expect England’s No 1 to be a picture perfect kid but he’s not. His personality, within him, is what’s been able to help him withstand the knocks, and make him who is today.
“We were happy to let him be that. If you’re not allowed to be you, what are you doing?”
Ball was a guest of Pickford’s at the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and was invited to the Euro final at Wembley last summer, an offer he had to turn down as he was on holiday.
If England make it to the Lusail Iconic Stadium at the end of December for the World Cup final, one corner of the North East will see it as destiny (almost) fulfilled.
“Jordan has done unbelievably well for himself. To get where he has, I don’t think people realise what a strong mentality he has had to have. But what I would like to see is have something to show for it,” he says.
“I also think it’s nice to achieve something. For all the money, the fame, the comfortable lifestyle, actually achieving something on the pitch is something very different.
“And to be one of those people that win a World Cup for England? Well you’re immortal, aren’t you?”
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