A
change of tact from Steve Evans?
Earlier
in the week I read some comments from Evans that made me wonder if he was
trying to bury the hatchet he held with the Bantams and yet when he spoke about
just how well Bradford had done this season and how it was to be expected as
they possess great players. It just all felt a bit well. False.
Evans
is the wind up merchant supreme, a man who revels in turmoil and controversy
that opposition supporters love to despise. His card has been marked with the
Bantams ever since he brought his Crawley side to Valley Parade and after
defeating the hosts late on. The final whistle brought unbelievable scenes of a
mass brawl involving multiple players and resulting in numerous red cards and
further F.A sanctions. Evans’s lack of condemnation to the way his player’s
behaved that day still rankles. The fact he applauded the togetherness of his
players after the game was the polar opposite of Phil Parkinson who rightly was
furious of how the club’s name would be dragged through the mud by the
resulting press coverage.
A
few months later Evans left that Crawley side to take over the reins at
Yorkshire rivals Rotherham. Crawley were promoted, Evans stayed in league 2
another year, spending big and talking big in equal measures. Over that summer
he dismissed suggestions his side should be certs for promotion, instead
turning the tables on City saying that they had blown The Millers out the
proverbial water in the summer in terms of wages over 3 potential signings
notably Nathan Doyle, Alan Connell and Gary Thompson.
The
tension continued to grow.
The
two sides met at the N ew York stadium a
fair few weeks into the course of the 2012/13 season and The Bantams good form
counted for nothing as they were blown away in the first half by The Millers.
The enormous travelling contingent looked on in horror as Evans wildly
celebrated his team’s success. The jibes directed at him by the away fans
wouldn’t have hurt him as much as the loss did to us.
A
quiet period followed after the initial taunts of the Rotherham fans on various
social networking sites and fans forums. City were distracted by a certain cup
run and Rotherham by their impressive league form.
The
two sides met again towards the back end of the season with both having
glimpses of automatic promotion in their sights. Another frustrating affair
ensured City were beaten again after a controversial affair where Gary Thompson
was wrongly ruled offside after netting and an incredibly harsh penalty awarded
to Rotherham after a clear push on Michael Nelson led to the ball landing on
his arm after an aerial tussle. A late breakaway goal sealed the points for
Rotherham and Evans jigged his way down the touchline lapping up the adoration
from the visiting fans and City fans were left with a sour taste in their
mouths yet again.
His
future comments about how Bradford would end up with nothing that season surely
served as the inspiration behind the storming end to the season which saw the
club promoted via the playoffs. Maybe we should be thankful to Evans after all?
The
two sides’ meet this season in a higher division the first affair is an F.A cup
tie in which both will likely ring the changes but nonetheless both are intent
on winning. The game doesn’t quite hold the lustre that the forthcoming Boxing
Day clash holds. However Phil Parkinson will be hoping to finally get the
better of his rival and Evans will be hoping to continue his winning streak;
whilst fulfilling his customary role as the pantomime villain.
