Ian Evatt
Encyclopedia
Ian Ross Evatt is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 footballer who currently plays for Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

.

He began his professional career in 1999 at Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

 and has also played for Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 (on loan), Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 and 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...

.

Early life

Evatt was born in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

. As a child he supported hometown club Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

.

Derby County

When he was ten years old, Evatt played for the district side in his hometown and was scouted by Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

. He started with them from the age of 11 years old. He signed his first professional contract on his seventeenth birthday in 1998. His first appearance in the Derby team came in the last match of the 2000–01 season
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...

, on 19 May 2001 at Pride Park
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium is an all-seater football stadium located on the Pride Park business park on the outskirts of Derby, England. It is the current home of Football League Championship club Derby County, who moved to the stadium from the Baseball Ground upon its opening in 1997...

, when he replaced Þórður Guðjónsson
Þórður Guðjónsson
Þórður Guðjónsson, also known as Doddi Gudjonsson, is a retired Icelandic footballer.Although Þórður is his proper name, he is often known as Þórður Guðjónsson.-Club career:...

 in the 78th minute. In the 2001–02 season he spent two months on loan with Division Two
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...

 club Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

, from 10 August to 10 October 2001, playing in eleven League games. His next appearance for Derby came in April 2002 when he came on for Rob Lee
Rob Lee
Robert Martin "Rob" Lee is a retired English footballer who played the majority of his career for Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.-Charlton Athletic:...

 against Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

, then on the last day of the 2001–02 Premier League season he made his full debut against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

, playing the full 90 minutes of a 1–1 draw at the Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

. Derby were relegated and the following season, under new manager John Gregory, Evatt was a regular starter in the side.

On 9 September 2002, Evatt scored the Rams' third goal as they beat Division Two club Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...

 3–1 in the Worthington Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

. In the following round against Oldham Athletic, Evatt found himself having to play in goal when Mart Poom
Mart Poom
Mart Poom is an Estonian former football goalkeeper. He retired after Estonia's 0–0 draw against Portugal on 10 June 2009 to focus on his job as goalkeeping coach at Arsenal and the Estonian national team, as well as other more "personal" projects....

 got sent off.

He started out as a centre-midfielder, before being moved to central defence. Evatt said of the move, "I started off my career in midfield. I played a few games in the Premier League and, as I got bigger, I moved backwards but I enjoyed it. They saw the potential for me to be a better centre-half." Evatt suffered an injury in March 2003. Then, just before George Burley
George Burley
George Elder Burley is a Scottish football manager and former player and manager, formerly the manager of Crystal Palace Football Club. Burley had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player making 628 appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps...

 was appointed as manager to replace John Gregory, who had been sacked in March, Evatt had to have a double hernia operation and he did not feature much for Derby afterwards.

He made a total of 34 League appearances for the Rams, including some in the Premier League, but was released by George Burley at the end of the 2002–03 season
2002-03 in English football
The 2002-03 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in England.-Most Memorable rise:*Wigan Athletic marked their 25th season of Football League membership by winning the Division Two championship and reaching the league's second tier for the very first time.-Most Memorable...

.

Chesterfield

Evatt signed for Division Two club Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

 in July 2003, with Spireites manager Roy McFarland
Roy McFarland
Roy Leslie McFarland is an English football manager who was also a player, notably at Derby County where he played 434 league games helping him to earn 28 caps for England.-Playing career:...

 saying that Evatt was his number-one target to take to the club. Initially he played in midfield, where he struggled, before being moved by McFarland into central defence, where his performances improved. He went on to become the club captain and he won the Player of the Season award for the 2003–04 season
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....

. However, in the summer he needed a further hernia operation as the operation the previous year while he was with Derby did not fix the problem.

On 26 August 2004, Evatt signed a contract extension with the club to the summer of 2007, saying that it took him just five minutes to make the decision to sign, as he felt the club were "going in the right direction". In February 2005, Chesterfield turned down an offer for Evatt from Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...

. He was also attracting interest from other clubs, including 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...

.

At the end of the 2004–05 season
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...

, Evatt won the SIFA Player of the Season Award and was runner-up in the CFSS Player of the Season Award. He made a total of 84 League appearances, scoring nine goals for the Spireites.

Queens Park Rangers

On 2 June 2005, Evatt signed a three-year contract with Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

 club 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...

  for a fee of £150,000, under a clause in his contract at Chesterfield that allowed him to move if a six-figure bid was made. On 3 December 2005, during an away match against Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 at the Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...

, Evatt was assaulted by a Stoke fan. When a Stoke City player was sent off, resulting in a penalty being awarded to QPR, a young Potters fan ran onto the pitch and jumped at Evatt from behind, knocking him to the floor, where he was also alleged to have punched Evatt. The youth was arrested and subsequently charged with assault. He was banned from attending football matches for three years and at trial pleaded guilty to assault.

Evatt made 27 League appearances for the Hoops. On 1 August 2006 he was sent on a six-month loan to Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

, who were then in League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

. He made 26 appearances for the Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

 club.

Blackpool

QPR terminated Evatt's contract, enabling him to join Blackpool on a permanent basis on 5 January 2007, during the transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...

. He signed an 18-month contract, with the League One club having an option for a further year.

Evatt scored his first goal for the Seasiders in the fourth round of the 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...

 against Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

 on 27 January 2007. His equaliser took the tie to a replay at Carrow Road
Carrow Road
Carrow Road is a football stadium in Norwich, England, and is the home of Norwich City Football Club. The stadium is located toward the easterly end of the city, not far from Norwich railway station and the River Wensum....

.

On 19 March 2007, Evatt was named in the Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...

's League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

 "Team of the Week". In May 2007 he was part of the Blackpool team that won promotion to the Championship in the 2006–07 Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...

.

After two-and-a-half months out with a medial knee ligament injury Evatt returned to action on 8 December 2007, as a 65th-minute substitute for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (footballer)
Michael James Jackson is a retired English professional football defender.-Career:Jackson started his career as a trainee at Crewe Alexandra in 1992. During his development at Crewe, Jackson went on to play for his home town club Runcorn FC, during a loan spell and played several key games for...

 in the West Lancashire derby
West Lancashire derby
The West Lancashire derby is a local derby in English football, between Lancashire neighbours Blackpool F.C. and Preston North End F.C. The derby has taken place across all four tiers of the Football League, but not yet in the Premier League...

 against Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...

. However, he was out of action again in early 2008 when he suffered back and hamstring injuries.

Evatt scored his first League goal for Blackpool on 25 October 2008 at Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

 when he headed their second equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

.

He made his 100th League appearance for Blackpool on 24 January 2009, in a 2–0 victory over Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 at Bloomfield Road. On 2 April 2009, Evatt signed a new two-year contract with Blackpool, with an option for a further year.

Evatt scored his second goal for the Seasiders, and his first in the League, on 15 August 2009, in Blackpool's first home game of the 2009–10 season
Blackpool F.C. season 2009–10
The 2009–10 season was Blackpool F.C.s 103rd season in the Football League. It was also their third consecutive season in The Championship, the second tier of English football. The club won promotion, via the play-offs, to the Premier League for the first time, their 28th overall season in the top...

, a 1–1 draw at Bloomfield Road against Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

. His 300th career appearance was as a 36th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw with Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...

 at the Liberty Stadium
Liberty Stadium, Swansea
The Liberty Stadium is a purpose-built sports stadium and conferencing venue in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium is all-seated, with a capacity of 20,532 making it the largest purpose-built venue in Swansea and the third largest stadium in Wales after the Millennium Stadium and the...

  on 24 October. He was named in The Championship "Team of the Week" following his performance and goal in Blackpool's 4–1 home win over 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....

 on 7 November.

After Blackpool's promotion to the Premier League, he was sent off half an hour into their second fixture, a 6–0 reversal at Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 on 21 August 2010.

Evatt was named in the "Team of the Week" for week fourteen of the campaign, sharing the centre-back role with Aston Villa's Ciaran Clark
Ciaran Clark
Ciaran Clark is an English-born Irish professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national football team...

.

Evatt was Blackpool's only ever-present player in their 38 Premier League matches during the 2010–11 season. This included one substitute appearance against Aston Villa at Villa Park
Villa Park
Villa Park may mean:United Kingdom* Villa Park, an association football stadium in Birmingham, EnglandUnited States* Villa Park, California, a small city in Orange County* Villa Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County...

 on 10 November 2010.

Career statistics

|-
|2000–01||Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

||Premier League||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2001–02||Northampton Town
Northampton Town F.C.
Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

 (loan)||Second Division
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...

||11||0||colspan="2"|-||2||0||13||0
|-
|2001–02||rowspan="2"|Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

||rowspan="1"|Premier League||3||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||3||0
|-
|2002–03||rowspan="1"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||30||0||1||0||2||1||33||1
|-
|2003–04||rowspan="2"|Chesterfield
Chesterfield F.C.
Chesterfield Football Club is an English football club based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. The club currently plays in Football League One, the third tier of English football. Despite being the fourth oldest Football League club in England, they have spent most of their existence in the lower...

||rowspan="2"|Second Division
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...

||43||5||1||1||1||0||47||6
|-
|2004–05||41||4||1||0||1||0||43||4
|-
|2005–06||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...

||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||27||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0||28||0
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="6"|Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

||rowspan="1"|League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

||44||0||5||1||1||0||54||1
|-
|2007–08||rowspan="3"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||29||0||1||0||2||0||32||0
|-
|2008–09
Blackpool F.C. season 2008–09
The 2008-09 season was Blackpool F.C.s 102nd season in the Football League. It was also their second consecutive season in The Championship, the second tier of English football. They finished sixteenth.D. J...

||33||1||1||0||1||0||35||1
|-
|2009–10
Blackpool F.C. season 2009–10
The 2009–10 season was Blackpool F.C.s 103rd season in the Football League. It was also their third consecutive season in The Championship, the second tier of English football. The club won promotion, via the play-offs, to the Premier League for the first time, their 28th overall season in the top...

||39||4||1||0||1||0||41||4
|-
|2010–11||Premier League
||38||1||0||0||||0||38||1
|-
|2011–12||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...


||10||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
348||15||11||2||13||1||372||18
Notes:
a. 3 league play-off appearances for Blackpool in 2007 (included in 2006–07 total)

a. 3 league play-off appearances for Blackpool in 2010 (included in 2009–10 total)

c. All 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...

 results are included in totals

Honours

Blackpool
  • League One
    Football League One
    Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

     play-off final winner:
    2006–07
  • Championship
    Football League Championship
    The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

     play-off final winner:
    2009–10

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK