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Mickey Evans (footballer, born 1973)

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For other people named Michael Evans, see Michael Evans (disambiguation).

Mickey Evans
Personal information
Full name Michael James Evans[1]
Date of birth (1973-01-01) 1 January 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Plymouth, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1987–1991 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1997 Plymouth Argyle 163 (38)
1992 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 0 (0)
1997 Southampton 22 (4)
1997–2000 West Bromwich Albion 63 (6)
2000 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 2 (1)
2000–2001 Bristol Rovers 19 (3)
2001–2006 Plymouth Argyle 221 (34)
2006 Torquay United 14 (1)
Total 504 (87)
International career
1997 Republic of Ireland 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael James "Mickey" Evans (born 1 January 1973) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He spent most of his career with Plymouth Argyle, for whom he scored 73 goals in 384 appearances in the Football League. He also played in the Premier League for Southampton and the Football League for West Bromwich Albion, Bristol Rovers and Torquay United. Born in England, Evans earned one cap for the Republic of Ireland at full international level.

Club career

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Plymouth Argyle

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Evans originally joined Plymouth Argyle in December 1987 as an associate schoolboy. He made his first team debut in December 1990 at the age of 17,[1] and signed his first professional contract in March 1991.

He was a member of Neil Warnock's Plymouth side which won promotion from the Third Division via the play-offs in 1996.[1] Following that success, in March 1997 he was signed by Graeme Souness at Southampton for £650,000.[1]

Southampton

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Souness signed Evans to add a bit of muscle to the forward line as Southampton entered the final lap of a desperate fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League in the 1996–97 season.

He was a big and brave striker[3] and scored four crucial goals[4] as Saints beat the drop, finishing in 16th position. His greatest game in a Saints shirt came at Nottingham Forest's City Ground, where he scored a brace. For the second goal, he sprinted from the half-way line, taking a pass from Eyal Berkovic to beat goalkeeper Mark Crossley who could only half block the shot.

He followed this up with two more goals against West Ham United and Coventry City, and his form in April 1997 was such that he was awarded the Premiership Player-of-the-Month Trophy.[3][4]

Evans became somewhat of a cult figure amongst Southampton fans which many of them making a tongue-in-cheek reference to his West Country roots by wearing straw hats and having straw hanging from their mouths as well as donning fake versions of Evans' then trademark bushy sideburns. Saints fans attributed their Premier League survival solely to Evans' goals and performances during that period.

The following season, Souness had been replaced as Saints' manager by Dave Jones and Evans lost his place to Kevin Davies. Although he was to make a handful of appearances in the 1997–98 season, his career at The Dell only lasted just over six months and in October 1997 he moved on to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £750,000.[1]

A few days before his transfer to The Hawthorns, he won a Republic of Ireland cap against Romania.[3]

West Bromwich Albion and Bristol Rovers

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Evans made his Albion debut on 29 November 1997, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 defeat away at Middlesbrough. Used mainly as a substitute during 1997–98, it took him 12 games to register his first goal for the club, scoring in a 2–0 win at Swindon Town on 7 February 1998. Evans' time at West Brom was frequently blighted by injury and illness.[1] It wasn't until his later return to Plymouth when it was discovered that Evans had an asthmatic-related complaint which had contributed to his lack of form and fitness. He was loaned out to Bristol Rovers, a successful spell which led to a £250,000 permanent deal being struck in September 2000.[5]

Back to Argyle

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After an unsuccessful spell at Bristol Rovers, Evans then returned to Plymouth Argyle as one of the first signings of Paul Sturrock, joining on transfer deadline day 2001 for £30,000.[6]

Although not a prolific goalscorer, after the diagnosis of his condition, the now healthier Evans played an important role in the Pilgrims' recent success; in particular his hold-up play and lay-offs created numerous goalscoring opportunities for his teammates. He scored the opening goal in Argyle's 4–1 Third Division Championship match sealing victory at Darlington in the 2001–02 season.[1]

He was named Argyle's "Player of the Year" during their title-winning Division Two campaign in 2003–04. He scored the opening goal in the 2–0 home victory over Q.P.R which was decisive in confirming Plymouth Argyle as that season's Division Two champions.[1]

The 33-year-old Plymothian announced his decision to leave Plymouth Argyle, saying "the time is right for me to move on", with effect from the Pilgrims' final Championship game of the season on 30 April 2006.

Evans scored the winning goal with a diving header in his last appearance for Plymouth Argyle against Ipswich Town, to secure the club a 14th-place finish in the Football League Championship (the highest finish for the club in two decades) and forever sealing his status as a Plymouth Argyle "legend" amongst the club's fans.

Final year and retirement

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On 18 May 2006, Evans signed on a free transfer for local rivals Torquay United,[7] where he scored once against Bury.[8] On 24 November 2006, he decided to retire from professional football,[9] a decision coinciding with a period of deep unrest among Torquay United's players.

International career

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Evans' only cap for the Republic of Ireland national football team was against Romania in a 1998 World Cup Qualifier at Lansdowne Road on 11 October 1997. He came on in the 85th minute to replace Tony Cascarino.[10]

Personal life

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Evans attended St Boniface's Catholic College and played Junior football for Prince Rock Youth during his schools days.[citation needed] He is nicknamed "Trigger" after a character from Only Fools and Horses. During his second spell with his hometown club he set up his building company MJ Evans.[citation needed] In 2007 and 2008, having retired from playing, Evans was involved in a series of testimonial events to raise money for five local charities.[11][12] In July 2012, the company filed for administration.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Plymouth Argyle 1990–91 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
1991–92 13 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 14 1
1992–93 23 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 27 1
1993–94 22 9 2 0 1 0 0 0 25 9
1994–95 23 4 3 0 2 0 1 0 29 4
1995–96 45 13 3 0 1 0 5 1 54 14
1996–97 33 12 3 3 2 0 3 0 41 15
Total 163 39 12 3 9 0 10 2 194 44
Southampton 1996–97 12 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 4
1997–98 10 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 13 1
Total 22 4 0 0 3 1 0 0 25 5
West Bromwich Albion 1997–98 10 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
1998–99 20 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 22 3
1999–2000 33 3 2 1 4 1 0 0 39 5
Total 63 6 4 1 6 2 0 0 73 9
Bristol Rovers 2000–01 21 4 0 0 2 0 3 2 26 6
Plymouth Argyle 2000–01 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 4
2001–02 38 7 3 0 1 0 1 0 43 7
2002–03 42 4 4 1 1 0 1 1 48 6
2003–04 44 11 1 0 1 1 1 1 47 13
2004–05 42 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 44 4
2005–06 45 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 47 4
Total 221 34 10 1 5 1 3 2 239 38
Torquay United 2006–07 14 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 17 1
Career total 504 88 27 5 26 4 17 6 574 103

Honours

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Plymouth Argyle

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mickey Evans". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  2. ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  3. ^ a b c Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 510. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  4. ^ a b Smyth, Rob (29 August 2008). "The Joy of Six: inspired football transfers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  5. ^ "Rovers complete Evans move". BBC Sport. 7 September 2000. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  6. ^ "Transfer deadline moves". BBC Sport. 22 March 2001. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  7. ^ "Gulls sign veteran striker Evans". BBC Sport. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Bury 0–1 Torquay". BBC. 9 September 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Veteran target man Evans retires". BBC Sport. 29 November 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  10. ^ "Republic of Ireland 1 – 1 Romania". Soccerscene.ie. 11 October 1997. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  11. ^ "The Events". Mickey's Testimonial Year. Archived from the original on 8 January 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Ex-Plymouth Argyle striker Mickey Evans tackles city course for charity". The Herald. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Mickey Evans: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
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