Steve Evans is, by his own admission, not to everybody’s taste. A larger-than-life presence at any football club, the enigmatic and vastly-experienced coach is very much a take it or leave it kind of character. He makes no apologies for that.
Loud, brash and in your face, Evans’ antics in the public eye – be that in the dugout or in front of a television camera – can often cast an unfortunate shadow over his commendable coaching credentials. He is happy to play the fool or pantomime villain. But you do not earn two promotions into the Football League and a couple more while operating inside the EFL ranks without having a bit of tactical nous.
Renaissance
Gaffer. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/ZuuwttIGpL
— Stevenage FC 🔴⚪ (@StevenageFC) March 24, 2022
Evans may be on the up once more in 2022-3; current charges Stevenage riding high in the League Two table. A place in the third tier of English football is there to be shot at. And Boro have every right to believe they have the perfect leader to get them over that line.
Life is rarely dull where Evans is concerned. There will likely be many more twists and turns, highs and lows to come under his tutelage. He is, however, a manager accustomed to delivering results and upsetting the odds. Whatever your opinion of him, he really is impossible to ignore.
With that in mind, supporters, pundits and tipsters across the country are beginning to take note of a renaissance at the Lamex Stadium. Having been stuck in League Two since 2014, often in the bottom half and casting anxious glances over collective shoulders at a trapdoor that leads back into the non-league, Boro have enjoyed quite the turnaround.
They are now a go-to-option for many seeking to offer expert advice on where to find the best value within a minefield of gambling markets. Not least when turning out on home soil; favour being earned the old fashioned way through grit and determination.
Boro fans are daring to dream once more. And there could be more excitement to come. That is because, with a potential step up in class on the cards, Evans proves himself to be as adept at navigating treacherous transfer waters as he is the weekly pursuit of precious points.
There are some notable names on his recruitment CV too. One of them is a certain World Cup winner from Argentina’s triumphant ranks at Qatar 2022.
Charm
Emi Martinez wins The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2022 🧤 pic.twitter.com/ic78Xcv3xw
— GOAL (@goal) February 27, 2023
Back in 2015, Emi Martinez became available for loan at Arsenal. Rotherham were battling relegation out of the Championship at the time. And they needed a reliable last line of defence to shore them up. Cue Evans and his famous charm when it comes to negotiations. He has said of luring a South American shot-stopper to South Yorkshire: “I asked his girlfriend, ‘Is he difficult if he doesn’t play?’ She says, ‘He’s difficult when he doesn’t play at Arsenal.’ I say, ‘What will he be like if he doesn’t play at West Brom?’ ‘Impossible.’ So I looked at her and said, ‘At West Brom he might play. Come to me? He trains tomorrow, he starts Saturday.’ Emi says, ‘I’m coming’.”
It may be too early to think about enticing future World Cup winners to Hertfordshire, but recent history proves that anything is possible when Evans is calling the shots and making the headlines.