Ex Files - Wayne Evans Friday, 27th Jul 2007 21:16
Wayne Evans is one of our all time leading appearance makers.
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Player Profile: Wayne Evans |
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Name |
Wayne Evans |
Position |
Right Back |
Date of Birth |
25th August 1971 |
Born |
Abermule |
Height |
5'10 |
Weight |
12'02 |
Signed for Dale |
Walsall - 02.07.99 |
Fee |
Free transfer |
Debut |
Cheltenham 0 Dale 2 - 07.08.99 |
Other Clubs |
Welshpool
Walsall
Kidderminster |
Left Spotland |
09.05.05 | | | Dale Stats
| | League | Cup | Total | Season | App | Sub | Goals | App | Sub | Goals | App | Sub | Goals |
2003-2004 |
41 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
0 |
0 |
2003-2004 |
45 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
0 |
0 |
2002-2003 |
40 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
47 |
0 |
0 |
2001-2002 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
51 |
0 |
0 |
2000-2001 |
45 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
0 |
2 |
1999-2000 |
46 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
56 |
0 |
2 |
Total |
260 |
0 |
3 |
38 |
0 |
1 |
298 |
1 |
56 | |
As footballers go, full backs don't
really tend to attract attention. Indeed, its only if they have the
world's most ridiculous moustache, like a certain Gary Neville, that
anyone even notices them.
Certainly at Dale, if you ask any supporter to reel off a list of Dale
full backs, and it will be a list of players who should have been
investigated by the Fraud Office for pretending to be footballers. It's
always the bad ones that we remember at Spotland.
But that's there role in life. Full backs are the footballing equivalent
of being a drummer. They fill a purpose, and you only notice their
mistakes. You could take it a stage further and and say that their only
purpose is to make the opposition wingers seem better than they actually
are. How many times have you walked away from the game, and said anything
positive about an opposition full back?
More often than not though, it's been our own full backs who get the full
treatment. And the right back slot was one where we had especially
suffered over the years, and to list the chief culprits would simply
exonerate those not mentioned.
And then along came Wayne Evans....
His career had been pretty unspectacular. He was discovered playing Welsh
football and signed for Walsall. He spent six years at the Bescot Stadium,
until an injury hit final season saw him released after 229 appearances
for the Saddlers, all of which were at a higher level.
Then new manager Steve Parkin was quick to make Evans his first signing
for the club, and at a stroke, twenty odd years of right back nightmares
disappeared immediately.
The Abermule born defender went on to spend six seasons at Spotland, and
wasn't far off being an ever present throughout that time. Without any
doubt, he became the first name to be on the team sheet, such was his
reliability.
His first season saw him play every game, and almost uniquely for a player
in his position, he scooped the lot at the Player of the Season do at the
end of season, with a number of trophies.
And so his time at Spotland continued. He may not have gathered many more
awards, but he carried on being Mr Reliable at Spotland.
His strength was being in the right place at the right time. He was solid
in the tackle and typically no nonsense. And he was flexible enough to
fill in as a central defender as and when required. There's a recurring
memory of Evans, face full of panic, somehow appearing in the box as the
last man, making up for a centre half's error and somehow rescuing Dale
when all looked lost.
Goalscoring was not his strength with just four goals to his name
throughout, and two of them had more than a touch of fortune about them,
after a forty yard shot with all the ferocity of a back pass was too much
for Carlisle keeper Glennon in our 6-0 thumping of the Cumbrians, and
another at Darlington saw it rebound off a post, a defender and a keeper
on the way in. Guess they all count.
His final game saw him almost add to that tally, as a McCourtesque run saw
Evans stumble his way through the Oxford defence, and with just the keeper
to beat, he narrowly put it wide to much laughing from his team mates.
But his total of 298 appearances puts him well up with the greats in terms
of longevity with the club, and throughout that time, he never let us
down. | | |
Photo: Action Images
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