Roy Evans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Roy Evans

Personal information
Date of birth	(1948-10-04) 4 October 1948 (age 76)
Place of birth	Bootle, England
Playing position	Centre-back
Youth career
	Liverpool
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1965–1974	Liverpool	9	(0)
1973	→ Philadelphia Atoms (loan)	19	(2)
Teams managed
1994–1998	Liverpool
1998	Liverpool (with Gérard Houllier)
2000	Fulham (with Karl-Heinz Riedle)
2001	Swindon Town
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roy Quentin Echlin Evans (born 4 October 1948) is an English former footballer. He played as a defender for Liverpool, where he also became a manager. Besides his time at Liverpool, he played briefly in the United States. He also managed other clubs like Fulham and Swindon Town.

Roy Evans' Football Journey

Playing Days

Roy Evans was a talented young player, even representing England as a schoolboy. He played as a defender. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was part of the Liverpool team. However, it was hard for him to get a regular spot in the starting lineup.

In the summer of 1973, he played in the North American Soccer League. He joined the Philadelphia Atoms for a short time. In 1974, he stopped playing professionally. He then became a coach for Liverpool's reserve team. He continued to be part of the coaching staff under many different Liverpool managers.

Leading Liverpool

Taking Charge in 1994

On January 28, 1994, Graeme Souness stepped down as Liverpool's manager. This happened after the team was surprisingly knocked out of the FA Cup by Bristol City. Roy Evans took over as manager. At that time, Liverpool was in the middle of the Premier League table. They were not competing for any major trophies. By the end of that season, they finished 8th.

Building a Strong Team

For the 1994–95 season, Evans worked to make his team stronger. He brought in new defenders like John Scales and Phil Babb. He also signed a young winger named Mark Kennedy.

He gave more chances to talented young players. These included Steve McManaman, Jamie Redknapp, and Robbie Fowler. They were considered some of the most promising young players in English football. Experienced players like John Barnes, Mark Wright, and Ian Rush played well with these new stars.

Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League that season. They also won the Football League Cup. They beat Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the final. Steve McManaman scored both goals. This was Liverpool's fifth time winning that competition, a new record.

Chasing the Title

In the summer of 1995, Evans made a big move. He paid a British record fee for striker Stan Collymore from Nottingham Forest. Many people thought Liverpool would win the Premier League title that season.

Liverpool looked like strong contenders early in the season. However, the title race soon became a battle between Newcastle United and Manchester United. Manchester United eventually won the title. Liverpool finished third in the league. Their hopes of winning the title ended in April after a surprising loss to Coventry City.

They did reach the FA Cup final that year. But they lost 1–0 to Manchester United, with Eric Cantona scoring the winning goal. Since Manchester United won both the league and the FA Cup, Liverpool qualified for the 1996–97 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Close Calls and New Stars

The 1996–97 season was the closest Roy Evans came to winning the Premier League title. He added Czech midfielder Patrik Berger to his team. The team was built around stars like McManaman and Fowler.

Liverpool led the Premier League several times that season. In January, they even had a five-point lead. But they did not finish the season strongly and ended up in fourth place. Manchester United won the title by seven points. Liverpool's journey in the European Cup Winners' Cup ended in the semi-finals. They lost to Paris St Germain.

During this time, the media sometimes called Evans' team the "Spice Boys." This was because of how some players acted off the field. It was felt that their off-field activities sometimes affected their performance in games.

For the 1997–98 season, Stan Collymore left the team. Evans brought in midfielder Paul Ince and German striker Karlheinz Riedle. They were meant to play alongside Robbie Fowler. Liverpool seemed ready for a strong title challenge. However, Fowler got an injury that lasted most of the season. This stopped the team from reaching its full potential. A young striker named Michael Owen became a star that season. He scored 18 goals in 36 Premier League games. Liverpool finished third in the league again.

Sharing the Job

In 1998, Liverpool's long-time coach Ronnie Moran retired. Gerrard Houllier was set to take his place for the 1998–99 season. The club decided that Houllier would become a joint manager with Roy Evans. However, this arrangement did not work well. Roy Evans resigned in November 1998. This left Houllier in charge by himself. Houllier stayed at Liverpool until 2004. During his time, he won one FA Cup, one UEFA Cup, and two League Cups.

His Time After Liverpool

Roy Evans pictured with a fan in 2019.

Roy Evans was out of work for over a year after leaving Liverpool. He was considered for the manager job at Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers, but did not get either position.

In March 2000, he became a joint caretaker manager for Fulham. He worked alongside Karlheinz Riedle for a month. Then, Jean Tigana took over as manager.

In June 2001, Evans became the Director of Football at Swindon Town. This team was in Division Two. Former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock joined as a player-coach. However, they did not help the team get promoted. They were replaced by new manager Andy King in December 2001.

In November 2004, Roy Evans became the assistant manager for the Wales national team. He worked with former Liverpool striker John Toshack, who was the new manager.

In February 2007, he became a part-time assistant manager at Wrexham. This team was struggling in League Two. He helped Wrexham avoid being relegated to a lower league. He continued in this role after the 2006–07 season.

Besides coaching, Roy Evans also works as a co-commentator. He provides live audio commentary for Liverpool matches on their official website. He also helped write his official biography, called Ghost on the Wall, which came out in 2004.

Achievements

Liverpool

• Football League Cup: 1994–95

Individual

• Premier League Manager of the Month: December 1995, January 1996

Managerial Stats