Christopher Brian Evans (born 13 October 1962) is a Welsh former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, who after playing, has pursued a successful career in professional football coaching. His most recent coaching role was that of

assistant manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

, which ended on 30 March 2012 by mutual consent Evans started his career at Arsenal, before joining Stoke City in 1981. After failing to make any appearances he joined

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

in 1982, where he made over 100 appearances. He joined Darlington in 1985 and played for them until 1987. After joining

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

as Academy manager in 1991, he left in 2007 to become assistant manager at Bolton Wanderers. He had a spell as caretaker manager at Bolton, taking charge for one match in 2010.

Playing career

Born in

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

, Evans and his family moved to Holyhead, Anglesey when he was 9 years old and excelled in schoolboys football before starting his professional football career with Arsenal as an apprentice, before signing a professional contract in June 1980. He moved to Stoke City in August 1981, making no appearances before signing for

in August 1982. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw with

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

on 28 August. He was an ever-present for York during the 1982–83 season, making 52 appearances. He made 22 appearances during the 1983–84 season, with York winning the Fourth Division championship. He lost his place in the team due to injury and after making 113 appearances and scoring one goal, he joined Darlington for a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in cont ...

of £13,000 in October 1985. His career was effectively brought to an end after breaking his leg in 1987, after making 58 appearances and scoring one goal in the league for Darlington. He signed for

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

in 1987.

Style of play

Evans played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Coaching and managerial career

He joined

as Academy manager in 1991, and after 17 years Evans was appointed as

Gary Megson Gary John Megson (born 2 May 1959) is an English former football player and manager. He has previously managed Norwich City, Blackpool, Stockport County, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton Wanderers ...

's new Assistant ''(Performance Director)'' at Bolton Wanderers on 14 November 2007. In October 2009, his former club reported Bolton and Evans to

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

and the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

, alleging that they had acted improperly over the transfer of a teenage defender,

Mark Connolly Mark Gerard Connolly (born 16 December 1991) is an Irish footballer who plays for Derry City. He has previously played for Bolton Wanderers, St Johnstone, Macclesfield Town, Crawley Town, Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Dunfermline Athletic and ...

, to Bolton in August 2009. He was appointed caretaker manager alongside Steve Wigley following the sacking of Megson on 30 December. His only game in charge was a 4–0 victory over Lincoln City in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

third round, before

Owen Coyle Owen Columba Coyle (born 14 July 1966) is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Scottish Championship club Queen's Park. He played as a striker for several clubs in England and Scotland, and made one ...

was appointed manager on 8 January 2010, and on 12 January the club confirmed that Evans had left. In February 2011 he was appointed as assistant manager to Megson at

. Evans took over as caretaker manager when Megson was sacked on 29 February 2012, he took charge of one match, against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 3 March, before Dave Jones took over as permanent

Wednesday Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countrie ...

manager. On 30 March 2012, Evans left Sheffield Wednesday by mutual consent. Under

Steve McClaren Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club. McClaren began his coaching caree ...

, Evans was appointed

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Head of Football Operations (2013–2015) and returned in October 2016 as Technical Director, leaving the club when McClaren was sacked on 12 March 2017.

Career statistics

Source:

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Chris 1962 births Living people People from Rhondda Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players York City F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players English Football League players Welsh football managers Bolton Wanderers F.C. managers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers English Football League managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield Wednesday F.C. non-playing staff