FOOTBALL gave Alan Ball a rousing send-off last week.

Far too rousing, in fact.

Ball deserved every ounce of the respect which was paid to him at every football match throughout the country.

It was just a shame that he wasn't honoured with silence rather than applause.

A minute's applause isn't half as poignant as a minute's silence and it would be a step in the wrong direction if clapping hands became the accepted tradition.

You don't clap your hands at a funeral so why do it at a football match?

The reason it has been introduced is because a handful of fans at one or two clubs cannot be trusted to stay quiet during a minute's silence.

That's a disgrace. We should be able to honour dead players and managers in the most appropriate manner possible - and those fans who don't know how to behave just embarrass themselves.