| Tom Evans | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Raymond Evans[1] |
| Birth Date: | 31 December 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Doncaster, England |
| Position: | Goalkeeper |
| Youthyears1: | –1995 |
| Youthclubs1: | Sheffield United |
| Years1: | 1995–1996 |
| Clubs1: | Sheffield United |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 1996–1997 |
| Clubs2: | Crystal Palace |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 1996 |
| Clubs3: | → Harrow Borough (loan) |
| Years4: | 1997 |
| Clubs4: | → Coventry City (loan) |
| Caps4: | 0 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 1997–2006 |
| Clubs5: | Scunthorpe United |
| Caps5: | 245 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2006–2008 |
| Clubs6: | York City |
| Caps6: | 81 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2008–2009 |
| Clubs7: | Alfreton Town |
| Caps7: | 16 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2009 |
| Clubs8: | → Gainsborough Trinity (loan) |
| Caps8: | 4 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Years9: | 2009–2010 |
| Clubs9: | Boston United |
| Totalcaps: | 346 |
| Totalgoals: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2003 |
| Nationalteam1: | Northern Ireland B |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
Thomas Raymond Evans (born 31 December 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in England, he played for the Northern Ireland B team.
Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Evans started his career with the Sheffield United youth system as a trainee before signing a professional contract on 3 July 1995.[1] He made no appearances for the side before joining Crystal Palace on a free transfer on 14 June 1996,[1] and was loaned out to Isthmian League side Harrow Borough in August.[2] Evans later made a loan move to Premier League side Coventry City in March 1997, but failed to make any appearances.[3]
Palace released him after his first season at the club and on 22 August 1997 he signed for Scunthorpe United.[1] [2] Evans played for Scunthorpe in their 1–0 victory over Leyton Orient in the 1999 Third Division play-off final at Wembley Stadium. He had surgery on a hand injury in May 2005, having suffered a problem with one of his knuckles on his index finger that had troubled him in previous seasons.[4] This operation led to him missing the first two months of the season, but returned to the line-up in early December.[1] He kept his place in the team for three months and after another spell on the sidelines he played in Scunthorpe's last six matches of the season.[1]
He was released by Scunthorpe in May 2006 and joined Conference National club York City on 31 July after making a good impression on manager Billy McEwan during several weeks on trial.[5] [6] He said that he believed promotion could be achieved for York with 20 clean sheets.[7] He was sent off in the 16th minute of an away match against Crawley Town on 9 September 2006 after fouling Dannie Bulman outside the penalty area, which York lost 3–0 with second choice goalkeeper Arran Reid brought on to replace him.[8] He was offered a new contract by York at the end of 2006–07.[9]
At the beginning of York's 2007–08 season, Evans came under-fire for poor performances by his manager, Billy McEwan and was later replaced by on-loan Bristol City goalkeeper Stephen Henderson.[10] [11] Evans kept his place in the side after Henderson's recall back to Bristol City but was released at the end of the season.[12] [13]
He signed for Alfreton Town in the Conference North in July 2008.[14] Evans found himself dropped from the Alfreton team at the beginning of December 2008 and in March 2009 Evans joined Gainsborough Trinity on a one-month loan, debuting in 1–1 away draw with Redditch United on 21 March 2009.[15] At Gainsborough, he made four appearances. He finished 2008–09 with 24 appearances with Alfreton and he was released by the club,[16] after which he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division team Boston United on 23 July 2009.[17] He was released by Boston on 9 May 2010 after helping them win promotion to the Conference North after beating Bradford Park Avenue 2–1 in the 2010 Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off final.[18] [19] He later returned to former club Scunthorpe to coach the youth team's goalkeepers.[20]
Evans played Northern Ireland at youth level and won his only cap for the Northern Ireland B team in a 2–1 defeat to Scotland on 20 May 2003.[3]
After retiring from professional football, Evans earned qualifications as a financial adviser and worked for Lloyds Bank before joining Paul Kerr Associates, the organisation of former player Paul Kerr.[21] He has a son called Bobby and a daughter called Molly
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Scunthorpe United | 1997–98 | Third Division | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Third Division | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Second Division | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Third Division | 46 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Third Division | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Third Division | 46 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Third Division | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | League One | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| Total | 245 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 291 | 0 | |||
| York City | 2006–07[22] | Conference National | 45 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 50 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08[23] | Conference Premier | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |||
| Total | 81 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | 97 | 0 | ||||
| Alfreton Town | 2008–09[24] | Conference North | 16 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Gainsborough Trinity (loan) | 2008–09[25] | Conference North | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 346 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 416 | 0 | |||
Scunthorpe United
1998–99
Boston United