Paul Evans (football assistant manager)
Encyclopedia
Paul "Evo" Evans was a football association footballer who played in goal for Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...

 in the 1980s when Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....

 was the First Team Manager, he is most noted in his playing career to be the goalkeeper that was struck with a plank of wood during an FA Cup tie with Leicester City in 1985. His time with Warnock at Burton began a more than 10 year relationship with Warnock in football. He would spend time as Assistant Manager at Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

, then coach at Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

, Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 and Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

. Evans was also known at these clubs as "Warnock's mate" and was seen many times in the dressing room calming Warnock down when he got angry, Evans was also many times seen on the bench sat next to Warnock at these clubs.

Playing career

Evans played in goal for Burton Albion in the 1980s and was part of Northern Premier League Challenge Cup winning team.

However he was most notably known for playing in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 clash with Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 in 1985 when he was struck by a plank of wood thrown from the away end and was knocked out cold, he had recovered but Neil Warnock's protests for the game to be abandoned were ignored so Evans had to return to the goal but was clearly not right, he was physically sick at one point and due to this City won 6–1. However, the FA reviewed the game and a replay was played with a more modest 1–0 defeat to Burton was the result, Evans played in the rematch
Although it is unknown when exactly and how many games that Evans played but it has been established that he left Burton Albion in 1986 as that is when he became assistant manager at Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

.

Burton Albion

When Neil Warnock became the Manager of Burton Albion in January 1981, Evans was his goalkeeper and was part of the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup winning team of the 1982–83 season, this is the first time that Evans worked for Warnock. Little did he know that by 1997 he would have worked at Scarborough, Notts County, Huddersfield Town and Plymouth Argyle and won promotion 5 times and won 1 trophy and come runner up in an Autoglass Trophy Final.

Scarborough

In 1986, Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....

 went to Scarborough
Scarborough F.C.
Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

 as Manager and he took Evans, his former goalkeeper at Burton Albion, with him as his Assistant Manager. Warnock and Evans arrived at Scarborough and quickly signed Cec Podd, Barry Gallagher
Barry Gallagher
Barry Gallagher is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Active in the Football League for three different clubs between 1977 and 1986, Gallagher made 189 career appearances, scoring 49 goals...

 and Paul Kendell from Halifax Town, Mike Brolly
Mike Brolly
Michael Joseph Brolly is a Scottish-born former professional footballer who played for Chelsea, Bristol City, Grimsby Town, Derby County and Scunthorpe United in The Football League in the 1970s and 1980s....

 and Tommy Graham from Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....

, David Kaye
David Kaye
David V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...

 from Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...

 and Andy Harrison and Steve Richards
Steve Richards
Steve Richards is a British TV presenter and chief political columnist for The Independent newspaper.-Early life:Richards was educated at Christ's College, formerly a state grammar school, in Finchley, North London, and graduated in History at the University of York in 1981 before securing a place...

 from Kettering Town
Kettering Town F.C.
Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...

. Warnock also added Stuart Mell who was with Warnock and Evans at Burton Albion. The season started pretty avearage so Warnock signed Ian Bennyworth and Mitch Cook
Mitch Cook
Mitchel Christopher "Mitch" Cook is a retired English professional football player. He played for seven different Football League clubs during a twenty-year career, and had four separate spells at Scarborough, his hometown club...

. With the season still going pretty average; Warnock signed Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Patrick Blackwell is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He has an identical twin, Noel.-Early career:...

 on a months loan from Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

 in November 1986 and this started an upturn in fortunes. After the months loan ended Warnock paid Barry Fry
Barry Fry
Barry Francis Fry is an English football manager. A former Manchester United apprentice as a winger, his playing career involved brief spells with Bolton Wanderers, Luton Town and Leyton Orient, before he retired prematurely due to injury.He has managed Dunstable Town, Bedford Town, Maidstone...

's Barnet £2,000 for Blackwell's services. On 13 December Scarborough went top of the league following Barnet's loss to Maidstone United
Maidstone United F.C.
Maidstone United Football Club is an English football team from Maidstone, Kent.The current club is a continuation of the old Maidstone United, which was a member of the Football League between 1989 and 1992. The club was forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the...

. However, a week after this the club was knocked sideways as the chairman; Barry Adamson died of a heart attack at an FA Trophy game against Morecambe
Morecambe F.C.
Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...

. At one point in April, Scarborough were seven points clear at the top of the GM Vauxhall Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

, and due to Barnet losing at Stafford Rangers
Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...

 Scarborough won the title and were subsequently promoted to the Fourth Division. Basically, Warnock and Evans had brought instant success with Scarborough winning the Football Conference in 1987. Warnock and Evans remained at Scarborough until they moved on to Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 in 1989 after Warnock had fallen out with chairman Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond
Geoffrey Richmond was a football chairman of Bradford City from 1994 to 2002, and previously chairman of Scarborough.-Biography:Richmond was born and raised in Leeds, where he attended Roundhay Grammar School...

.

Notts County

In January 1989, Warnock arrived at Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

 and Warnock took Evans, physio Dave Wilson and Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Patrick Blackwell is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He has an identical twin, Noel.-Early career:...

 with him to Meadow Lane
Meadow Lane
Not to be confused with The Meadow, home of Southern Football League Premier Division football team Chesham UnitedThe Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England...

 and would signal a start to a very exciting and successful era at Notts County. Evans joined as part of Warnock's backroom staff which consisted of Johnny Newman(Assistant Manager) and Dave Wilson (Physiotherapist). Then at the end of the 1988–89 season, Johnny Newman left Notts County and Mick Jones joined as Warnock's assistant. County won the 3rd Division Play Off Final in 1990 at Wembley, and as always Evans was on the bench with Warnock.

Then the 2nd Division Play Off Final was won in 1991 and Notts County were subsequently promoted to Division 1 (now The Premiership). However, after only one season County were relegated and Warnock was sacked in January 1993 after two play off wins.

Huddersfield Town

Warnock took over at Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

 in March 1993 and it wasn't until Warnock left Plainmoor in May and then in July 1993 Warnock take over at Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 and Evans, Jones (Assistant Manager), Blackwell (Youth Development Officer/Sub Goalkeeper) and Wilson (Physiotherapist) joined him.

However the 1993–94 season was a relegation battle from the start but a trip to Wembley Stadium was ensured thanks to the Autoglass Trophy where Town appeared in the Final against Swansea City, however Town lost 3-1 on penalties. This season was also the last ever season at Town's stadium Leeds Road
Leeds Road
Leeds Road may refer to:* Leeds Road, former football and rugby league stadium in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England* A660 road, West Yorkshire, England, between Golden Acre Park and the Otley bypass...

 and Evans was a small part of this historic season. and the following season (1994–95) Town won two trophies. Early on in the 1994–95 season Town beat Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

 to claim the Yorkshire Electricity Cup
Yorkshire Electricity Cup
The Yorkshire Electricity Cup was a short-lived pre-season tournament featuring football teams from around the Yorkshire region of England. The first tournament was in 1990 and the last 1995.-List of winners:...

 which became the first silverware to be lifted at The Kirklees Stadium
Galpharm Stadium
The Galpharm Stadium, formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, is a multi-use sports in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town and Super League side, Huddersfield Giants.-The Stadium:...

 and the first since Town had won the 1979–80 Fourth Division Championship. Then Warnock's men won the Play Off Final at Wembley on 28 May 1995 against Bristol Rovers with a 2–1 scoreline with Andrew Booth
Andy Booth
Andrew David "Andy" Booth is a retired professional footballer. Whilst at Huddersfield he announced his retirement on 22 April 2009, but remains at the club as an ambassador.-Huddersfield Town:...

 and Chris Billy scoring.
However, Warnock resigned 8 days later, so Jones, Blackwell and Evans followed him to Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, but Dave Wilson stayed on as physiotherapist at Huddersfield Town. Unfortunately Dave Wilson died in 1996 after a long illness that had already forced him to retire earlier on in 1996, Wilson had worked with Warnock and Evans since 1986 when he was physiotherapist with Scarborough, then after Warnock tracked him down in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 Warnock recruited him to the backroom staff at Notts County and then in 1993 at Huddersfield.

Plymouth Argyle

In 1995 Warnock became Plymouth manager after resigning from the same post at Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 after a fall-out with the chairman, which was Terry Fisher. When Warnock joined Plymouth Argyle his backroom staff (Paul Evans, Mick Jones, Kevin Blackwell) followed suit, apart from Dave Wilson, who styaed on at Huddersfield Town. However, Mick Jones, Paul Evans and Kevin Blackwell were brought to Home Park and they all brought instant success at Home Park
Home Park
Home Park is an all-seater football stadium in the Central Park area of Plymouth, England, and is the home of Football League Two club Plymouth Argyle. The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Greens by the club's supporters, has been Argyle's permanent residence since 1901...

 with Plymouth winning the Division 3 Play Off Final in 1996. However, Warnock left in February 1997 after falling out with the chairman and Evans also chose to leave. However, Mick Jones stayed on as Caretaker Manager and Blackwell as Caretaker Assistant Manager. Jones and Blackwell eventually got the jobs full time and Jones subsequently fell out with Warnock and they did not speak for some years. However they did eventually make up and to this day Mick Jones is still Warnock's assistant manager now at Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

. It is unknown why Evans did not join Warnock at his next club Bury
Bury F.C.
Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

.

Warnock's spat with Bean

On the last game of the 2006–07 season, where Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 had just been relegated when Evan's best friend Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock
Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....

 was in charge he was waiting in Warnock's office with Warnock's tearful wife and son, due to Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...

 bursting into Warnock's office and shouting and swearing at them. When Warnock found out he was livid and wanted to go and find him, but Evans told him not to waste his time, again Evans calming Warnock down.

Current life

Paul Evans now works as a solicitor in Worksop. Evans is still Neil Warnock's best friend.

As a coach

  • 1986–87: Conference
    Football Conference
    The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

     winners (promotion to Division 4
    Football League Fourth Division
    The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

    ) – Scarborough
    Scarborough F.C.
    Scarborough Football Club was an English football club based in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire. They were one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879, before they were wound up on 20 June 2007, with debts of £2.5 million.In the 2006–07 season...

     (Assistant Manager)
  • 1989–90: Division 3
    Football League Third Division
    The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

     Playoff winners (promotion to Division 2
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

    ) – Notts County
    Notts County F.C.
    Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

     (Coach)
  • 1990–91: Division 2
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

     Playoff winners (promotion to Division 1
    Football League First Division
    The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

    ) – Notts County
    Notts County F.C.
    Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...

     (Coach)
  • 1994–95: Division 2
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

     Playoff winners (promotion to Division 1
    Football League First Division
    The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

    ) – Huddersfield Town
    Huddersfield Town F.C.
    Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

     (Coach)
  • 1993–94: Football League Trophy
    Football League Trophy
    The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...

     finalist – Huddersfield Town
    Huddersfield Town F.C.
    Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

     (Coach)
  • 1994–95: Yorkshire Electricity Cup
    Yorkshire Electricity Cup
    The Yorkshire Electricity Cup was a short-lived pre-season tournament featuring football teams from around the Yorkshire region of England. The first tournament was in 1990 and the last 1995.-List of winners:...

     winners - Huddersfield Town
    Huddersfield Town F.C.
    Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

     (Coach)
  • 1995–96: Division 3
    Football League Third Division
    The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

     Playoff winners (promotion to Division 2
    Football League Second Division
    From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

    ) – Plymouth Argyle
    Plymouth Argyle F.C.
    Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

     (Coach)

External links

  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/6475419.stm
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