Steve Evans (footballer, born 1962)

Steve Evans

Evans pictured whilst at Leeds United
Personal information
Full name Stephen J. Evans
Date of birth (1962-10-30) 30 October 1962[1]
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Mansfield Town (manager)
Youth career
000?–1979 Bolton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 Clyde 36 (4)
1981–1984 Albion Rovers 76 (28)
1984–1985 Ayr United 30 (4)
1985 Hamilton Academical 2 (0)
1985–1986 St Johnstone 24 (6)
Total 168 (42)
Teams managed
1994–1998 Stamford
1998–2002 Boston United
2004–2007 Boston United
2007–2012 Crawley Town
2012–2015 Rotherham United
2015–2016 Leeds United
2016– Mansfield Town

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Stephen J. "Steve" Evans (born 30 October 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who is the manager of Mansfield Town. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Evans played professional football for Bolton Wanderers, Clyde, Albion Rovers, Ayr United, Hamilton Academical and St Johnstone until a knee ligament injury ended his playing career at 24.

After his retirement he became a manager. Prior to taking charge at Crawley Town, he managed Stamford and Boston United, the latter on two separate occasions.

A controversial figure, whilst manager of Boston United he was successfully prosecuted for tax evasion.[2] However, in charge of Rotherham United, he led the club to two successive promotions. He left the club in late September 2015. On 19 October 2015, Evans replaced Uwe Rösler as Head Coach of Leeds United, before being sacked in May 2016.[3]

Early life

Born in Glasgow, Scotland,[1] Evans was spotted by scouts from English team Bolton Wanderers when playing for his local youth football club in Glasgow,[4] and he joined Bolton after leaving school.[4]

Playing career

Evans failed to break into to first team at Bolton and was released in 1979. He then returned to his native Scotland and joined Clyde, where he played in 36 league matches, scoring four goals, before joining Albion Rovers in 1981, where he scored 28 goals in 76 league matches during three years at Cliftonhill. He then moved to Ayr United in 1984, scoring four goals in 30 matches, and to Hamilton Academical in 1985, where he only played in two league matches. He joined St Johnstone in 1985 and scored six goals in 24 matches before a knee ligament injury ended his playing career in 1986, aged 24.[1]

Managerial career

Stamford

Evans started his managerial career with Stamford in 1994,[5] who he led to the United Counties Football League Premier Division title and to promotion to the Southern Football League.[6]

Boston United

After resigning as Stamford manager he was appointed manager of Boston United in October 1998.[6][7] He managed Boston to promotion from the Southern Football League to the Football Conference in 2000 and subsequently to the Football League in 2002. Both promotions have since been overshadowed by revelations of off-the-field cheating.[8]

Evans was suspended by Boston as manager on 4 July 2002 after a much-publicised Football Association (The FA) investigation into "contract irregularities".[9] He later resigned as manager of the club in September 2002, after still being suspended by the club.[10] He was found guilty by The FA in December 2002 of impeding an FA inquiry into contract irregularities.[11] Evans was also suspended from the game for 20 months in January 2003 for involvement of the affairs of Boston,[12] in which players' contracts lodged with the FA contained false salary details.[8] Evans was further accused of impeding the inquiry and fined £8,000.[8] Evans lodged an appeal against charges in May 2003,[13] but The FA rejected his appeal later that month and the punishment stood.[14]

An announcement was made on 20 February 2004 that Evans would return as Boston's manager on 2 March.[15] In September 2005, Evans and four other people connected with Boston appeared in court, denying fraud charges.[16] In November 2005, Evans was given a £1,000 fine, suspended for a year, after admitting to using insulting or abusive words to the match official in a match against Peterborough United in October 2005.[17] On 11 February 2006, he was escorted from Grimsby Town's stadium Blundell Park by Humberside Police at half-time,[18] after he berated the fourth official after being incensed when Grimsby goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall appeared to handle the ball outside his area and was immediately spoken to by a police officer after a complaint of alleged foul and abusive language. After the match Boston chairman Jon Sotnick accused the football authorities of waging a "conspiracy" against his manager.[19] In October 2006, Evans was linked with the vacant Darlington managerial vacancy, but Boston chairman James Rodwell and Evans both denied the link.[20] Also in October, Evans was sent from the dugout after an altercation with Wycombe Wanderers player Tommy Doherty.[21] After pleading guilty to conspiracy to evade tax, on 3 November 2006 Evans received a one-year suspended sentence and a £1,000 fine.[2] Despite these events, Evans kept his manager's position at Boston, a decision that angered the Boston United Supporters' Trust.[22]

In March 2007, Evans was left with only 11 professional footballers for the relegation clash with Bury.[23] Although players were back from suspension, Evans was left frustrated after players such as Barnsley's on-loan striker Nathan Joynes quit the club, which left him with just 12 fit senior players and he was forced to put 16- and 17-year-olds on an incomplete substitute's bench.[24] After drawing 1–1 in their penultimate match of the season against relegated Torquay United,[25] Boston needed a win against relegation rivals Wrexham to avoid the drop out of league football.[26]

Wrexham defender Ryan Valentine scores the penalty kick against Boston United that relegated Evans' team

On 5 May 2007 Boston faced Wrexham in a win or bust situation, and things were looking good for the team when Francis Green opened the scoring for Evans' outfit, who lead 1–0 at half-time, but in the second half United conceded a penalty kick, which Wrexham defender Ryan Valentine converted, and so was the goal that sent Boston down. Two late goals from Chris Llewellyn and Michael Proctor rubber-stamped Wrexham's survival and saw Boston lose 3–1.[27] On 8 May 2007, Evans pledged his commitment to the club despite their relegation and return to non-League football.[28] However, on 27 May, Evans and his assistant manager Paul Raynor resigned from Boston with immediate effect.[29] Evans' two occasions as manager combined at Boston made him the club's second longest serving manager behind Fred Tunstall, who had three occasions as manager of the club in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.[30] He managed the team on 354 occasions, which resulted in 145 wins, 99 draws and 110 losses.[31]

Crawley Town

On 29 May 2007, two days after resigning from the Boston managerial post, Evans took over as Crawley Town manager.[32] He has been sent from the dugout numerous times, which resulted in a ten match ban during the 2008–09 season.[33] He verbally accepted a new three-year contract with Crawley in February 2011.[34] During the 2010–11 season, Crawley reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, beating Swindon Town of League One, Derby County of the Championship and Torquay United of League Two. In the fifth round they were drawn against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Crawley lost this match 1–0 but earned over £1 million for this match alone. Evans stated afterwards "I think we have done our football club proud and we wanted to go away with some respect" and "We have had a fantastic run in the competition and we could not have wished it to finish anywhere else". On 9 April 2011 Crawley clinched promotion to Football League Two for the 2011–12 season. After August, Evans (along with striker Tyrone Barnett were nominated for Player of the Month for August and League Two Manager of the Month for August respectively for Crawley Town but lost to Andy Scott for League Two Manager of the Month for August and Mark Arber for Player of the Month for August.[35] Despite this, Evans named October Manager of the Month due to having five wins, including a 5–2 away victory at AFC Wimbledon, strengthening their push for a second consecutive promotion.[36]

Rotherham United

Evans left Crawley on 9 April 2012 to be appointed manager of fellow League Two club Rotherham United on a three-year contract.[37] In September 2012, Evans was given a six-match stadium ban and fined £3,000 by the Football Association after being found guilty of "using abusive and insulting words and behaviour" towards a female member of Bradford City's staff, an incident which occurred during his time at Crawley[38] In his first full season at the club, Rotherham showed inconsistent form throughout, but a run of 5 wins in their last 5 games saw them elevate into the automatic promotion places, finishing second behind champions Gillingham, after a 2 – 0 win over Aldershot Town saw Rotherham promoted on the final day.[39] Starting the following season in League One, Evans continued to produce good results, an honorable mention being the 6-0 win at home against Notts County.[40] Rotherham were promoted later that season in May 2014, drawing the play-off final 2-2 over 120 minutes, and subsequently beating Leyton Orient 4 – 3 in a penalty shootout.[41]

On 29 May 2014, Evans agreed a new three-year contract with Rotherham, live on Sky Sports News,[42] a deal which would commit him to the club until 2017. Evans also kept Rotherham in The Championship during their first season back in the Championship, with a game to spare, he infamously wore a sombrero, shorts and sandals to the fixture against Leeds United at Elland Road on the final day of the season in celebration.[43]

On 28 September 2015, Evans and his assistant manager Paul Raynor left Rotherham with the club citing that the two parties wanted to take the club in different directions.[44] He was replaced as Manager on 9 October by former Leeds Head Coach Neil Redfearn.[45]

Leeds United

On 19 October 2015, it was announced Evans would become the new Head Coach of fellow Championship side, Leeds United on a rolling contract until the end of the 2015/16 season, with the option of a 2nd year, replacing previous Head Coach Uwe Rösler. Evans' assistant at Rotherham, Paul Raynor, also joined him as part of the Coaching staff.[46]

On the same day as hiring Evans, it was announced by the Football League that Leeds Owner Massimo Cellino had been disqualified as Leeds Owner after failing the Owners & Directors Test.[47]

Evans took charge of a Leeds side with them 1 point off the relegation zone, however, he managed to guide Leeds to a 13th-place finish at the end of the 2015/16 season with Leeds finishing 15 points behind the playoff positions. He also gave débuts to 3 academy graduates during the 2015/16 season with Lewie Coyle, Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Ronaldo Vieira all making their débuts under Evans during his tenure.[48] Evans also helped Leeds have an FA Cup run, however his side were knocked out on 20 February 2016 against Premier League side Watford F.C. in a narrow 1-0 defeat after a high-profile own goal from Leeds defender Scott Wootton to send Watford through to the FA Cup Quarter Final.[49]

During the final months of the season, Evans future at Leeds remained under question with speculation about Fabio Cannavaro becoming a favourite to become the next Leeds Head Coach, Cellino revealed on 24 March that he would make a decision if Evans would be Leeds Head Coach for the following season at the end of the 2015/16 season.[50] However, on 18 April, Cellino's interview with the Daily Telegraph cast further doubt of Evans long term prospects, Cellino advised he felt Evans 'talks too much' and that Evans had to learn to 'shut his mouth'.[51]

After the final game of the 2015/16 season against Preston North End, a tearful Evans proclaimed that he had a 'gut feeling' that his contract would not be renewed by Cellino.[52]

On 23 May 2016, it was revealed that MK Dons Manager Karl Robinson had turned down the opportunity from Massimo Cellino to become Leeds United Head Coach, further casting doubt on Evans' future at the club.[53] On 27 May, after being turned down by Robinson, Cellino then approached Bristol Rovers Manager Darrell Clarke to replace Evans, however again was rebuffed with Clarke preferring to sign a new deal at Bristol.[54] On 27 May, Evans revealed that despite Cellino publicly approaching other managers to replace him that he would still say 'yes' if Cellino was to ask him to stay on as Leeds Head Coach, however he also revealed that he would need to be given an answer regarding his future - "I need to establish, in the next week or so at the latest, whether I have a plan going forward at Leeds United."[55]

On 31 May 2016, Evans and his assistant Paul Raynor were both sacked by Leeds Owner Massimo Cellino, becoming the 6th Manager sacked by Cellino in 2 years. On Evans' sacking Cellino revealed in a club statement that he felt the club 'needed a different approach in order to achieve targets for the new season'.[3][56]

On 2 June 2016, Garry Monk was appointed Head Coach of Championship club Leeds United on a one-year rolling contract replacing Evans.[57]

On 14 June, after being linked with the Managerial vacancy at Bradford City, Evans revealed to Telegraph & Argus he had held talks with a club in China to Manage a club in China League One, Evans described the financial package as 'mind-blowing' however rejected the job due to personal reasons to stay with his family in England.[58] On 21 June, Evans was offered the Managerial job at League 1 side Oldham Athletic and after originally agreeing personal terms Evans decided to pursue other Managerial offers in the pipeline.[59]

Mansfield Town

Evans was appointed manager of League Two side Mansfield Town on 16 November 2016, replacing Adam Murray.[60]

Personal life

In 2006, Evans was living in the village of Eye, Cambridgeshire in the city of Peterborough.[2] He is married to Sarah-Jane and has two daughters.[61]

Evans is a supporter of Scottish club Celtic.[62]

Managerial statistics

As of Information correct as of 26 November 2016.
Team From To Record Ref
G W D L Win %
Stamford 1994 October 1998
Boston United October 1998 4 July 2002 186 92 53 41 49.5 [31]
Boston United 2 March 2004 27 May 2007 168 53 46 69 31.5 [31]
Crawley Town 29 May 2007 9 April 2012 266 128 68 70 48.1 [63]
Rotherham United 9 April 2012 28 September 2015 173 72 45 56 41.6 [63]
Leeds United 19 October 2015 31 May 2016 38 14 12 12 36.8 [63]
Mansfield Town 16 November 2016 Present 3 2 0 1 66.7 [63]
Total 834 360 225 249 43.2 —

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Steve Evans". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "Football scam boss spared jail". BBC News. 3 November 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  3. 1 2 "CLUB STATEMENT: STEVE EVANS United part company with head coach.". Leeds United Official Site. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Steve Evans' profile". Boston United F.C. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  5. ↑ "History of Stamford Association Football Club". Stamford Daniels. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Evans for Conference side Crawley". Stamford Mercury. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "Steve Evans: Manager Profile". League Managers Association. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 Summers, Chris (3 November 2006). "The football cheats who prospered". BBC News. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
  9. ↑ "Boston suspend Evans". BBC Sport. 4 July 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  10. ↑ "Evans quits Boston". BBC Sport. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  11. ↑ "Evans found guilty". BBC Sport. 23 December 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  12. ↑ "Evans faces FA ban". BBC Sport. 29 January 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  13. ↑ "Evans set for appeal". BBC Sport. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  14. ↑ "FA rejcts Evans's appeal". BBC Sport. 20 May 2003. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  15. ↑ "Boston reappoint Evans". BBC Sport. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  16. ↑ "Football manager denies charges". BBC News. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  17. ↑ "Boston boss handed suspended fine". BBC Sport. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  18. ↑ "Grimsby 1–0 Boston Utd". BBC Sport. 11 February 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  19. ↑ "Police send FA report over Evans". BBC Sport. 13 February 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  20. ↑ "Boston 0–1 Wycombe". BBC Sport. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  21. ↑ "Shamed football manager keeps job". BBC News. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  22. ↑ Oliver, Pete (29 March 2006). "No selection headaches for Evans". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  23. ↑ "Boston manager is left frustrated". BBC Sport. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  24. ↑ "Boston Utd 1–1 Torquay". BBC Sport. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  25. ↑ "Evans ready for last-day battle". BBC Sport. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  26. ↑ "Boston lose Football League spot". BBC Sport. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  27. ↑ "Boss Evans will not leave Boston". BBC Sport. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  28. ↑ "Evans & Raynor leave Boston roles". BBC Sport. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
  29. ↑ "Evans signs off in second place". Boston United F.C. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  30. 1 2 3 "It's 354 and out for Evans". Boston United F.C. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  31. ↑ "Crawley appoint Evans as new boss". BBC Sport. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  32. ↑ James, David (3 August 2008). "Crawley manager Steve Evans shows Joey Barton how it's done". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  33. ↑ "Steve Evans and Paul Raynor agree new Crawley contracts". BBC Sport. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  34. ↑ "Crawley duo in frame for gongs". Sky Sports. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  35. ↑ "Evans named Manager of the Month". The Football League. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  36. ↑ "Rotherham appoint Crawley Town boss Steve Evans as manager". BBC Sport. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  37. ↑ "Rotherham manager Steve Evans hit with stadium ban and £3,000 fine". The Guardian. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  38. ↑ "Rotherham promoted to League One". BBC Sport. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  39. ↑ "Millers thrash lifeless County". BBC Sport. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  40. ↑ "Rotherham promoted to Championship after penalty win over Leyton Orient". The Guardian. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  41. ↑ "Steve Evans: Rotherham United boss signs new deal". BBC Sport. 29 May 2014.
  42. ↑ "Rotherham manager Steve Evans arrives at Elland Road wearing shorts, flip-flops and a sombrero before his side draw with Leeds". Daily Mail. 2 May 2015.
  43. ↑ "Millers part company with Steve Evans and Paul Raynor...".
  44. ↑ "Neil Redfearn: Rotherham United appoint ex-Leeds head coach". BBC Sport. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  45. ↑ "Steve Evans Appointed United Head Coach". Leeds United F.C. 19 October 2015.
  46. ↑ "Steve Evans: Leeds appoint new boss as Massimo Cellino banned". BBC Sport. 19 October 2015.
  47. ↑ "REPORT: SPOILS SHARED AT PRESTON". Leeds United Official Site. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  48. ↑ "Watford 1-0 Leeds: Scott Wootton's comical own goal sees Quique Sanchez Flores' high-flying side reach the FA Cup quarter-finals". Daily Mail. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  49. ↑ "Leeds owner Massimo Cellino to decide Steve Evans future in the summer". Sky Sports. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  50. ↑ "Steve Evans future at Leeds United in doubt after fresh outburst from Massimo Cellino". Sky Sports. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  51. ↑ "Leeds United: Tearful Steve Evans expects to depart Elland Road". Yorkshire Evening Post. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  52. ↑ "Karl Robinson: MK Dons boss turns down Leeds United managerial offer". BBC Sport. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  53. ↑ "Leeds United rebuffed as Darrell Clarke signs lucrative new deal with Bristol Rovers". Yorkshire Evening Post. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  54. ↑ "Steve Evans: Leeds United boss keen to stay but wants future resolved". BBC Sport. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  55. ↑ "Steve Evans: Leeds United sack head coach". BBC Sport. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  56. ↑ "Garry Monk: Leeds United appoint former Swansea City boss". BBC Sport. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  57. ↑ "Evans has just returned from China, where he spent three days in talks over a managing a club there". Telegraph & Argus. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  58. ↑ "Steve Evans: Club Statement". Oldham Athletic. 21 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  59. ↑ "Steve Evans: Mansfield Town appoint former Leeds boss as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  60. ↑ "Boston United Squad 2003/2004". Fox, Ken. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  61. ↑ "Crawley manager Steve Evans gets his wish as his team are drawn against the might of Manchester United". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  62. 1 2 3 4 "Steve Evans". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 April 2011.

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