The Ambassadors

What do retired footballers do with their time these days? Back in the olden days, pre-1992, pre-Sky and before the premier league billions they usually had to take a job. Traditionally for those who liked a drink they would open a pub.  Gobby ones with a line in patter might get a job in sales somewhere. Nick Sharkey flogged cars and fruit machines once he'd finished playing. A lucky one or two might end up on the telly but with the lack of televised games there wasn’t many of these jobs about and once a Hanson or a Lawrenson was entrenched in the Match of the Day chair they stayed there for decades.

Now that there’s money washing around every aspect of football, corporate hospitality is big business, worth over a billion pounds itself every year to the football industry. Someone needs to do the schmoozing and handshakes. Who better than a former footballer? Every football club has them on its books these days.  Step forward the Club Ambassador. Some are recognisable to millions, see Robbie Fowler at Liverpool and Tore Andre Flo at Chelsea (the rumours he turned down a similar post at Sunderland remain uncorroborated). Others are local crowd favourites such as Hartlepool lad Steve Fletcher who played with the likes of Joe Allon, John MacPhail and Brian Honour at 'Pools before making a name for himself with Bournemouth where he now combines a role in player recruitment with representing the club at functions as ‘Ambassador’. Villa's former midfielder Ian Taylor anyone? Alex Ferguson is reported to earn a small fortune for his some time work as an Ambassador at Manchester United.  Ji Sung Park is reported to receive £100,000 a year for his role at Old Trafford. Along the road they even put club ambassador Bob Moncur on the board. Although this is the same club who shoved manager Steve McClaren on there as well.

At Sunderland the two most notable ambassadors are firstly, legend among fans, Kevin Ball and secondly the legend recognised the world over for 'that save', Jimmy Montgomery. There's no job description we're likely to see for these roles but there are three key elements, schmoozing, schmoozing and schmoozing. Since taking up the post, Mr Ball has been to all manner of weird and wonderful events, some of which would bore the arse off a lesser mortal, let’s take a look at what the job entails:

1. Public Speaking

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2. Schmoozing with business types

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3. Flying half way round the world to meet and greet potential new fans during the club's abominable pre-season tour of the USA and Canada in 2015

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We think Bally is getting a bum deal. It has recently been announced that Gary McAllister, him of Leeds and Liverpool notoriety and now officially installed as ambassador at Anfield is to accompany Liverpool Ladies FC on their upcoming tour of South Africa. Nicknamed 'the enforcer' during his footballer career, Bally would still knack him. In the words of The Independent, 1996 when Sunderland played Coventry "Gary McAllister was not just policed but arrested by Kevin Ball". I rest my case.