Dominic Ball didn't impress with us. He got the hook at half-time in what I think was his last appearance for us after a 45 minute performance that could only be described as a bit of a nightmare. By all accounts he wasn't good at Peterborough and seemingly had a fall out with the manager there. He has figured infrequently for Aberdeen (three appearances only) where most weeks they play League One standard opponents. I watched a game on BT Sport against St Johnstone which I think was his last start for them. I tuned in to watch Arnason, forgetting that Ball was there. Ball got the same hook at half time in that one too. He was playing as a holding midfielder but looked a bit lost.
As bad as we have been at the back this season, I don't think Dominic Ball is the answer. Anyone calling for him to be brought back in is probably suffering from the well-known phenomenon where players begin to look much better than they actually are during periods when they are not in the side.
Dominic Ball was given the opportunity to perform at both CB and midfield with us. He did not appear comfortable in either role and looked nothing like ready for a regular first team place. I realise that our opponents then were a step up from our current opponents, but I formed the impression that he needed a prolonged loan period to build up his experience and composure, and particularly to work on his distribution which was awful. The fact that his loan period has seen him fail to impose himself in a League which is of a similar standard to our current one suggests that he is far from the quality that we need to shore up our defence. I'd look to offload him and bring in better quality - be it loan or permanent.
