Dominic Martin Ball (born 2 August 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays for League One club Leyton Orient. He plays primarily as a defensive midfielder but can also play as a centre-back or at full-back.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Dominic Martin Ball[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 2 August 1995||
Place of birth | Welwyn Garden City, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.84 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Defensive midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Leyton Orient | ||
Number | 15 | ||
Youth career | |||
Watford | |||
2011–2013 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2013–2016 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | (0) |
2015 | → Cambridge United (loan) | 11 | (0) |
2015–2016 | → Rangers (loan) | 21 | (0) |
2016–2019 | Rotherham United | 13 | (0) |
2017 | → Peterborough United (loan) | 6 | (1) |
2017–2019 | → Aberdeen (loan) | 47 | (0) |
2019–2022 | Queens Park Rangers | 90 | (3) |
2022–2024 | Ipswich Town | 26 | (0) |
2024– | Leyton Orient | 8 | (0) |
International career | |||
2010 | Northern Ireland U15 | 1 | (0) |
2010–2011 | Northern Ireland U16 | 9 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Northern Ireland U17 | 8 | (2) |
2012 | Northern Ireland U19 | 4 | (4) |
2013 | Northern Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
2014 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
2014–2015 | England U20 | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 Oct 2024 |
Club career
editTottenham and loan moves
editA Tottenham Hotspur youth graduate, he joined the club's youth setup in 2011 from Watford[3] and appeared in 17 matches during his first campaign, scoring one goal.[4]
Ball appeared with the under-18s and with the under-21s in 2013–14, and was also named on the bench in a 2–2 UEFA Europa League away draw against Benfica on 20 March 2014.[5] He was also an unused substitute in two further matches for Spurs in 2014–15, a 1–0 home win against Partizan and a 2–1 away win against Hull City.
On 22 January 2015, Ball was loaned to League Two side Cambridge United until the end of the season.[6] He made his professional debut five days later, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Dagenham & Redbridge.[7] He was used mainly as a right-back, making two assists in his time at the club.[8][9]
On 14 August 2015, Ball signed a season-long loan deal with Scottish Championship club Rangers, reuniting with his Watford academy manager Mark Warburton.[3] At Rangers, he helped them return to the Scottish Premiership as they won the Championship and also picked up honours when they won the Scottish Challenge Cup.[10]
Rotherham United
editOn 12 August 2016, Ball signed for Championship side Rotherham United on a three-year deal.[11] He was released from his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season, having spent all but five months of his three-year deal out on loan.[12]
Peterborough United loan
editOn 3 January 2017, Ball joined Peterborough United on loan until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for Peterborough against Shrewsbury on 14 February.[13] The loan ended early on 2 March 2017, after Ball had a disagreement with staff at Peterborough United.[14]
Aberdeen loan
editOn 31 August 2017, Ball moved on loan to Aberdeen until the end of the season.[15][16] He joined again for a second season-long loan spell on 18 July 2018.[17]
Queens Park Rangers
editBall signed a two-year deal with Queens Park Rangers on 2 July 2019 upon expiry of his Rotherham United contract.[18]
Ipswich Town
editBall joined Ipswich Town on 1 June 2022 on a two-year deal after the expiration of his contract with Queens Park Rangers.[19] In November 2022, a ruptured meniscus ruled Ball out for a large part of the 2022–23 season.[20] On 3 June 2024, Ipswich announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.[21]
Leyton Orient
editOn 10 September 2024, Ball joined League One club Leyton Orient on a deal until the end of the season.[22]
International career
editAfter being capped by Northern Ireland in the under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19, and under-21 levels, Ball switched his allegiance to England in 2013.[4] He has represented England up to U-20 level, making six appearances at that level.
Personal life
editBall was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Ball has an older brother, Matt, who is also a footballer, while his father Tim was academy business manager at Watford.[23] Ball graduated from the Open University in 2021 with a degree in business studies, having studied part-time for six years.[24]
In April 2022, Ball released a book called From Winning Teams to Broken Dreams about the football academy system in England. All proceeds from the book go the charity Sarcoma UK.[25]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 13 April 2024
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Tottenham Hotspur | 2014–15[26] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2015–16[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Cambridge United (loan) | 2014–15[26] | League Two | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Rangers (loan) | 2015–16[27] | Scottish Championship | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 30 | 0 |
Rotherham United | 2016–17[28] | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
2017–18[29] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
2018–19[30] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
Peterborough United (loan) | 2016–17[28] | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
Aberdeen (loan) | 2017–18[29] | Scottish Premiership | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 |
Aberdeen (loan) | 2018–19[30] | Scottish Premiership | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 40 | 0 |
Queens Park Rangers | 2019–20[31] | Championship | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |
2020–21[32] | Championship | 39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
2021–22[33] | Championship | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
Total | 90 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||
Ipswich Town | 2022–23[34] | League One | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 1 | 19 | 1 |
2023–24[35] | Championship | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
Total | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 1 | ||
Career Total | 205 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 255 | 5 |
- ^ Appearances in Scottish Challenge Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
editRangers
- Scottish Championship: 2015–16[36]
- Scottish Challenge Cup: 2015–16[10]
- Scottish Cup runner-up: 2015–16[37]
Aberdeen
- Scottish League Cup runner-up: 2018–19[38]
Ipswich Town
- EFL League One runner-up: 2022–23[39]
- EFL Championship runner-up: 2023–24[40]
References
edit- ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Queens Park Rangers" (PDF). English Football League. p. 58. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Dominic Ball". 11v11. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ a b McCarthy, David (15 August 2015). "Rangers boss Mark Warburton set to seal third loan signing as Ibrox men miss out on Scott Allan". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Dominic Ball". Tottenham Hotspur FC. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Benfica squeeze past valiant Spurs". UEFA.com. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Spurs youngster joins U's". Cambridge United FC. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Cambridge 1–1 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Cambridge United vs. Mansfield Town - 18 April 2015 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town vs. Cambridge United - 14 April 2015 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ a b English, Tom (10 April 2016). "Rangers 4–0 Peterhead". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ "Ball rolls into Rotherham". Rotherham United F.C. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
- ^ "Rotherham United: Jon Taylor & Ryan Williams among five players in talks with Millers". BBC Sport. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Ball makes Peterborough Switch". Rotherham United F.C. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
- ^ "Dominic Ball: Rotherham United defender leaves Peterborough loan after 'disagreement'". BBC Sport. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ^ "Dominic Ball joins The Dons on loan". Aberdeen F.C. 1 September 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ Gilfeather, Frank (9 September 2017). "Aberdeen new boy Dominic Ball insists Scottish top flight is a step up from the English Championship". Daily Record. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
- ^ "Ball Rejoins On Season Long Loan". Aberdeen F.C. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "QPR complete signing of Dominic Ball". QPR Official Site. 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Ball is a Blue". Ipswich Town F.C. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ "Dominic Ball: Ipswich Town midfielder set to miss rest of season with knee injury". BBC Sport. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ FC, Ipswich Town (3 June 2024). "RETAINED LIST CONFIRMED". Ipswich Town FC. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Experienced midfielder Dom Ball signs for Leyton Orient". www.leytonorient.com. 10 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ Green, Chris (2009). Every Boy's Dream. Bloomsbury. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-4081-1216-8.
- ^ Louis, Nathan (14 April 2021). "QPR footballer Dominic Ball graduates from the Open University". Watford Observer. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ "'I was numb': the pain of release by an academy and what football can learn". The Guardian. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Dominic Ball | Football Stats | Queen's Park Rangers | Season 2021/2022 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Games played by Dominic Ball in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Rangers 1-0 Dumbarton". BBC Sport. 5 April 2016.
- ^ "Rangers 2-3 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Celtic 1-0 Aberdeen". BBC Sport. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ^ "Fleetwood Town 2 - 2 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "We Are Premier League!". 4 May 2024.
External links
edit- Tottenham Hotspur official profile
- Dominic Ball at Soccerbase
- Dominic Ball at Soccerway
- Dominic Ball – UEFA competition record (archive)