Was Roy Evans That Bad A Manager?

[Harry Squatter]

The worst thing about Roy Evans’ reign was the way he had enough good players at his disposal but was never able to create a team that was competitive. We had Fowler, Mcmanaman, Redknapp (normally injured), David James (allegedly the best young goalkeeper at that time but had one good game in ten, no change there then). Mark Kennedy was supposed to be a great winger when we signed him but ended up fading into obscurity, then Collymore, could have been great but couldn’t be arsed moving up to Liverpool so was never settled from day one. I can remember certain members of the press having orgasms about him joining the Mancs and taking them to the next level when Forest beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford but he ended up signing for Liverpool instead.

 

Imagine if someone like Fabio Capello or Alex Ferguson had these players, do you think Collymore would have got away with not moving to Liverpool and missing training?, you could argue that he wouldn’t have been bought in the first place because his mentality was suspect, he just couldn’t handle playing for anyone bigger than Nottingham Forest where he was the main man, might be the reason why he never liked Robbie Fowler. A tough manager wouldn’t have put up with idiots like Ruddock, probably one of the most unprofessional players ever, David James kept coming up with excuses for his poor form like playing too many computer games but it was probably just the fact that he couldn’t be arsed. Nothing ever got done by him to address his form or the management after he made tons of mistakes. The FA Cup Final Vs the Mancs, Coventry & Paris St. Germain spring to mind the most. He was just allowed to get away with it time and time again because of his “potential”. I don’t know whether I hate him, Collymore or Ruddock the most out of all our ex players.

 

I even remember John Barnes pointing to himself during a 0-0 game at home to West Ham when he was getting subbed (for Collymore) saying “Why are you bringing me off?”, nothing happened to John Barnes after that either, Alex Ferguson would have banished him to the Phantom Zone regardless of what he’d done in the past. When Collymore was left on the bench he moaned to the press along the lines of “If someone in industry bought an asset for £8.5M don’t you think they would have an idea of how to use it?”. Yes Stan, they probably would but if someone got a decent job at the top of their profession you’d think they’d move closer to their job when they could easily afford to and actually be bothered once they got the job. He always used to say his mother was ill and missed training a lot but she could have moved to Liverpool with him, they have hospitals here as well. Robbie Fowler said in his book Stan’s Mum was in hospital that much we all thought she was a nurse”. Just shows he was never committed and would use excuses and blame others for his shortcomings. It was never stamped out by the management and he left without doing anything of note.

 

Like someone said before, the Premiership wasn’t as hard to win then as it is now as only the Mancs were consistently good, Arsenal never really got going until about 1998, Blackburn had peaked and Chelsea were just a cup team but he ended up finishing fourth most seasons with some of the best homegrown players we’ve had for years and spending nearly as much as the Mancs, he even had a poor record in the derbies, Everton could just bully us in most games and get a result even when they had appallingly bad teams.

 

The performance in the 1996 FA Cup final against the Mancs was completely pathetic, it was a bad game yes but there was no effort from the players, even when Cantona scored they hardly reacted, it was probably one of the worst games in Liverpool’s history but could have been the catalyst for a massive change but nothing happened. Liverpool just stumbled on regardless because David Moores didn’t want to start sacking people or change the boot room philosophy, he just carried on thinking someday it would all go back to the way it was previously. Eventually he brought Houllier in, you’d think he would have learned from his mistake that two people in charge don’t work but he made it ten years later. He brought him in so Roy Evans really had no option to leave because he never had the guts to move him on. My mates Dad said about Moores back then “he just sticks his head in the sand and is waiting for the ghost of Shankly to come back and save us all”. Just completely weak leadership from top to bottom.

 

Off the field some of the players were a joke, they always seemed to be out on the ale in town or doing other things like modelling. They would be Davo the lying blue cabbie’s dream if they were playing now I heard countless stories of them being bladdered, flaunting their money and banging anything that moved. If they were playing now, according to Davo all of them would be secretly gay manic depressive gambling drug addicts targeted by gangsters who have kids dotted all over the city.

 

I was in Stamps in Crosby once and Ruddock, McAteer, Redknapp and Babb were all in there, Redknapp and Babb were ok but . Ruddock and McAteer were abusing the bar staff and Ruddock said “Don’t you know who I am?” – this was about the time he had been dropped and went whingeing to the press about it. One of the bar girls didn’t know who he was and he got a cob on so him and McAteer started shouting and swearing at them saying they earned next to nothing and should go and clean the bogs because the place was a dump. They were getting their money out and flashing it about and telling everyone how much they were on. Some lad said “I know who you are but at least I can get a game for my Saturday team, you can’t”. Ruddock didn’t have any shame at all but he just seemed to sum up the attitude of some Liverpool players at that time, they were all on loads of cash and didn’t really care as long as they picked up their money, he only played about 100 games in 5 years as well.

 

I used to go to Formby a lot in the mid nineties and you would always see Ruddock in the Grapes with that samehead bird he was seeing behind his wife’s back, he was always quite open about it in public being all over her in the pub. In the press he denied it before finally coming clean after smashing his Porsche up, then this bird did an interview in the press about how much in love they were etc. It probably lasted until he was skint after his divorce or he packed in after his arse got too fat for his shorts. Every time I see Ruddock I just think of the big fat racist guy out of the Football Factory, I still can’t believe he is only 40 as well. The Nineties were a very bad time to be a Liverpool supporter.

[silverlining]

 

I used to go to Formby a lot in the mid nineties and you would always see Ruddock in the Grapes with that samehead bird he was seeing behind his wife’s back, he was always quite open about it in public being all over her in the pub. In the press he denied it before finally coming clean after smashing his Porsche up, then this bird did an interview in the press about how much in love they were etc. It probably lasted until he was skint after his divorce or he packed in after his arse got too fat for his shorts. .

 

Great post overall.

 

Plus I went to school with that slag.

 

Fiona Robinson.

[hamstrung]

This is most starkly highlighted in the sacrifice of Niclas Anelka a somewhat leisurely player but gifted with explosive pace and could (can) finish, for El Hadj Diouf a workhorse with limited ability, but what ever his other faults were he ran & ran. Think of Dirk without the intelligence.

 

I don't think he chose Diouf because of that. He just thought he was better.

 

He isn't a "workhouse" in the sense of the word you are using. He's supposed to be a technical, skillful player. He's just pretty crap at it.

[aws]

Great post overall.

 

Plus I went to school with that slag.

 

Fiona Robinson.

 

turn you down, did she?

[redrosetints]

Didn't one of the Spice boys have a modelling job come up during a training session ? Evans told him he'd be fined for leaving training, so he wrote a cheque out on the spot, gave it to Evans and fucked off to the modelling ? Always assumed it was David James, but i dont know.

 

EDIT: thinking of your comment on Barnes pointing to himself about a substitution, wasn't it common knowledge, or at least thought, that Barnes picked the team ?

Edited November 11, 2008 by redrosetints

[Harry Squatter]

Didn't one of the Spice boys have a modelling job come up during a training session ? Evans told him he'd be fined for leaving training, so he wrote a cheque out on the spot, gave it to Evans and fucked off to the modelling ? Always assumed it was David James, but i dont know.

 

EDIT: thinking of your comment on Barnes pointing to himself about a substitution, wasn't it common knowledge, or at least thought, that Barnes picked the team ?

 

Yep, it was David James modelling for Armani.

 

That would explain why nothing happened to him, he was able to keep his place a long time in centre mid too!

[Furmedge]

I don't agree with that, that Barnes picked the team. Regardless of how nice a fella Evans is, I think he would rather have walked than allow that to happen.

 

I would say Barnes had an input and as captain that would be normal, but not to have the say on who's in and who's out.

[redrosetints]

I don't agree with that, that Barnes picked the team. Regardless of how nice a fella Evans is, I think he would rather have walked than allow that to happen.

 

I would say Barnes had an input and as captain that would be normal, but not to have the say on who's in and who's out.

 

Thats a fair point, I dont know if it was true or not, it was merely rumour.

[Reckoner]

Heard Evans talk tonight at Waterstones in Liverpool, Q and A session. Everyone drinkin, relaxed, very honest man. Thoroughly decent lad, no bullshit. When

he started talking about the houllier/ Evans period his eyes welled up. 

He talked about everything, an amazing night.

[KMD7]

16 minutes ago, Reckoner said:

Heard Evans talk tonight at Waterstones in Liverpool, Q and A session. Everyone drinkin, relaxed, very honest man. Thoroughly decent lad, no bullshit. When

he started talking about the houllier/ Evans period his eyes welled up. 

He talked about everything, an amazing night.

Nice one mate. 

[Bjornebye]

20 minutes ago, Reckoner said:

Heard Evans talk tonight at Waterstones in Liverpool, Q and A session. Everyone drinkin, relaxed, very honest man. Thoroughly decent lad, no bullshit. When

he started talking about the houllier/ Evans period his eyes welled up. 

He talked about everything, an amazing night.

Lovely man. Loves the club. Just lacked that bit of being a bit of an arsehole. 

[Baltar]

A true Liverpool FC man and a gent. Just too nice to succeed as a manager of Liverpool, sadly. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

21 minutes ago, Baltar said:

A true Liverpool FC man and a gent. Just too nice to succeed as a manager of Liverpool, sadly. 

He came from an age when footballers could be treated like adults and would respond accordingly.  It was his misfortune to manage a bunch of coin-passing cunts.

[Johnlj]

Excellent coach by all accounts. Manager not so much. Lovely football, absolutely horrible defence. And his purchasing of players was not to good either. Still better than souness though, not quite up to hammering the spice boys of the field antics. Gentleman of the highest order. Gave his all for Liverpool football club, and will always be held in regard for that from me personally.

[VladimirIlyich]

2 hours ago, Johnlj said:

Excellent coach by all accounts. Manager not so much. Lovely football, absolutely horrible defence. And his purchasing of players was not to good either. Still better than souness though, not quite up to hammering the spice boys of the field antics. Gentleman of the highest order. Gave his all for Liverpool football club, and will always be held in regard for that from me personally.

I disagree with you regarding his signings,I thought most were pretty good but he was let down by his players who didn't treat playing for the club as the honour it should be. He also changed our formations at the time and used three centre halves,wing backs,defensive midfielders etc and was pretty innovative for the time. Needed to be a massive twat more often but the players were at fault for that as much as him.

[Stickman]

Was a really nice bloke just wasn't cut out to be a manager of such a gang of mainly wasters who couldn't be arsed showing him the fans nor the club any respect.

 

I was going to say nice guys don't finish first but Paisley did again and again

[VladimirIlyich]

1 hour ago, Stickman said:

Was a really nice bloke just wasn't cut out to be a manager of such a gang of mainly wasters who couldn't be arsed showing him the fans nor the club any respect.

 

I was going to say nice guys don't finish first but Paisley did again and again

To be fair to Bob,he struggled at first but his players respected both him and the club so much that they refused to let him fail as they saw themselves as failures if that happened too. Evans reign also coincided with the winfall of finances into the game and it didn't help him much either.

[Strontium]

There was always something of the Peter principle about his appointment as manager, and he should have walked away when Houllier was appointed instead of enduring the drawn-out humiliation of the joint manager debacle. Nevertheless he merits the utmost respect for what he achieved as part of a coaching team of unparalleled brilliance.

[Trumo]

His teams played on the front foot, and Fowler, McManaman and even Redknapp were at their very best when he was the manager. It was also his idea to utilise Barnes in a central midfield role because of his ability to retain possession and build up play, taking Barnes' loss of pace out of the equation.

 

It was the side's soft underbelly and the unprofessionalism that he couldn't stop from creeping in that undid him. Interestingly, Souness before him had jettisoned a number of players from our glory years whom he felt were past it, but it's those players who might have prevented the Spice Boys culture from really taking root and help nip the unprofessional 'pass the pound' stuff in the bud. I can't see trophy-winning players like McMahon, Beardsley or Houghton going for that sort of thing.

[Captain Howdy]

Wasn’t up to it unfortunately 

[RobbieOR]

Funny thing if he delivered the league finishes now that he did he would be looked back on a lot differently because he’d have had us playing CL football. Think that team is hugely underrated in the context of what he inherited. 

[Anubis]

On 9/27/2018 at 10:25 PM, Bjornebye said:

Lovely man. Loves the club. Just lacked that bit of being a bit of an arsehole. 

 

On 9/27/2018 at 11:24 PM, Baltar said:

A true Liverpool FC man and a gent. Just too nice to succeed as a manager of Liverpool, sadly. 

 

On 9/28/2018 at 6:13 AM, Johnlj said:

Excellent coach by all accounts. Manager not so much. Lovely football, absolutely horrible defence. And his purchasing of players was not to good either. 

 

9 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

Wasn’t up to it unfortunately 

 

 

[Dicko]

Michael Thomas.

Our best midfielder, we go on a 20 odd game unbeaten run. Redknapp gets fit Thomas is dropped, a midfield of Barnes and Redknapp promptly gets had off by everyone and Liverpool blow the league.

 

David James mistake after mistake undroppable until pressure becomes too much. Brad Freidel replaces him, one mistake against Utd from Scholes he's never seen again.

 

I have no idea what was going through his mind at this time, but they are amongst the poorest decisions of any Liverpool manager I can think of.

[RobbieOR]

On 9/29/2018 at 8:25 PM, Dicko said:

Michael Thomas.

Our best midfielder, we go on a 20 odd game unbeaten run. Redknapp gets fit Thomas is dropped, a midfield of Barnes and Redknapp promptly gets had off by everyone and Liverpool blow the league.

 

David James mistake after mistake undroppable until pressure becomes too much. Brad Freidel replaces him, one mistake against Utd from Scholes he's never seen again.

 

I have no idea what was going through his mind at this time, but they are amongst the poorest decisions of any Liverpool manager I can think of.

 

Didn't Thomas run the two games against United in 95/96 (I've seen the game at OT, he set up Fowler's second with a great ball) but then was dropped for the cup final?

[VladimirIlyich]

I remember Thomas seeming to struggle for consistency and with one or two injury niggles as well. The Friedel situation was a tricky one due to work permit and player quota issues as Evans admitted later that he'd like to have kept Friedel but couldn't. Don't believe we'd have won the league as we just weren't anywhere near United at the time. Harsh to blame Evans for that after inheriting our worst squad in decades from Souness.