Liverpool FC Forum

[laza]

Interesting reading the except of Evans bio on LFC TV that he wanted to sign Teddy Sheringham but it was blocked

Six years after calling time on his illustrious Liverpool career Roy Evans has admitted that he should never have agreed to the joint managerial partnership with Gerard Houllier. 
In his soon to be published authorised biography - Ghost On The Wall - Evans reflects on his 44 years at Anfield and lifts the lid for the first time on his ill-fated working relationship with Houllier.
 
Extensively researched and written by exiled Scouser and bootroom expert Derek Dohren, 'Ghost On The Wall' provides a comprehensive account of the footballing life and times of a man who will forever be remembered as one of this club's favourite sons.

Having rose through the ranks from bit-part player to highly successful reserve team boss and then assistant to Graeme Souness, Bootle-born Evans fulfilled a long-standing dream when he was appointed the club's 9th post-war manager in January 1994, 30 years since he joined the Reds as a schoolboy star.
 
And it's the insightful chapters that cover his management years that will most demand the attention of Liverpool fans.
 
Recalling the arrival of Houllier, Evans admits: "In hindsight I should never have agreed to the whole thing. Initially, I understood Gerard was coming in to replace Ronnie Moran who had retired in the summer. We'd talked about getting in another coach and we'd discussed the possibilities of having some foreign input but it soon became clear that Gerard was here to be more than a coach.
 
"I'd had a few doubts about it back in the summer when it was first put to me but I had just flown back from holiday and perhaps wasn't in the best frame of mind to make that sort of decision."
 
Evans goes on to explain how the partnership deteriorated and how it was on a plane home from Valencia, following an incident-packed UEFA Cup tie that he finally decided to walk away from the club he loves.
 
His spell in the Anfield hot-seat may be remembered more as the infamous era of the 'Spice Boy' but it must be stressed that Evo's record during this time stands comparablewith that of any other English manager in the Premiership.
 
The two third and two fourth place finishes he achieved would have reaped greater rewards in the modern game and it's not surprising that he lists missing out on the title as his biggest regret.
 
With a few more experienced players Evans believes he may have had a team capable of landing the holy grail that is the Premiership title and he cites missing out the capture of three individuals in particular as a major blow to those hopes.
 
He reveals: "I wanted Teddy Sheringham to come and play in the area behind Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore, but the board blocked the deal saying he was too old. We also tried to get the French guys Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly but we couldn't attract them. If they came to England it was only ever going to be to a London club."
 
Of the aforementioned three, it's hard to imagine Teddy Sheringham running out at Anfield with a Liver Bird proudly emblazoned across his chest. The then Tottenham and England striker went on to sign for Manchester United and we'd rather not repeat what happened next but it's interesting to think how the course of history may have changed had Evans got his way eight years ago!
 
Another startling revelation from this period involves former player and manager Kenny Dalglish, and how he almost made a sensational return to the club.
 
"The board raised the idea of enticing Kenny to come back as director of football. It was just before he took the job as Newcastle manager. The board were keen on it and I think Kenny was up for it if everyone could agree. Kenny and I have always got on well and we sat down and talked it through together but I wasn't really happy about it."Theway I saw it was that if we lost a couple of games, the fans would have seen Kenny sitting in the stands, and a clamour for him to come back as manager would have started. That would have put unnecessary pressure on everyone, I think."
 
Unfortunately, the arrival of a certain Frenchman just a few months later was to have the same affect and signal the beginning of the end for Roy Evans at Anfield.

LFC TV

[lurd]

Yeah, just read that. Sounds like it will be a good read, certainly find out what was going on behind the scenes in the "Spice boys" era

[jonnymac1979]

Yeah, i'll be buying this when it comes out.

[Leonmc0708]

Yeah, i'll be buying this when it comes out.

Ditto...

[106-1093504160]

Yeah, i'll be buying this when it comes out.

Ditto...

ditto also

[Paul C]

Yeah, i'll be buying this when it comes out.

Ditto...

ditto also

You'll be queing behind me 

[lurd]

I'll be taking my sleeping bag outside smith's the night before

[kazza]

Wish him well.

[Red_Si]

 
 
 
we'd rather not repeat what happened next but it's interesting to think how the course of history may have changed had Evans got his way eight years ago!
 

So the Liverpool FC board were responsible for manure winning the European Cup!! W@nkers!!

[Redrider]

Interesting reading the except of Evans bio on LFC TV that he wanted to sign Teddy Sheringham but it was blocked

Where were the Board when it came to blocking some of the GH purchases ?

[Sean]

I've always felt that Roy Evans was hard done by.  He inherited a mess from Souness but quickly created a very entertaining team.

When Evans took over in '94 the players wages boom was just beginning and suddenley he had to deal with young players that were becoming millionaires quickly.  Unfortunately, it wasn't in Evans' nature and personality to adopt the Alex Ferguson style autocratic leadership to deal with this.

David James left Evans down in '96 and '97.  John Barnes' winner against Southampton in January '97 put us top of the league.  Only for James' clangers we would have stayed there. 

While having plenthy attacking options we lacked a dominant centre half.  Scales, Ruddock, Wright and especially Babb (laugh) were not good enough.

Evans' teams played entertaining football but the results didn't match the standards set by the Shankley to Dalglish eras to which his teams were constantly compared.  France won the world cup in '98 and a french manager inspired Arsenal to the double.....the Liverpool board put 2 + 2 together and got....Houllier.

A "tough" assistant should have been appointed to replace Ronnie Moran and Roy Evans should have been given more time.