CHRIS DUNLAVY
Ched Evans is back – and it raises a fresh challenge to Chesterfield
IMAGINE, for a moment, that Ched Evans hadn’t answered the phone that fateful May night in 2011. That he hadn’t raced across Rhyl. That he’d never entered the Premier Inn, nor laid eyes on the 19-yearold, whose subsequent allegation of rape led to Evans spending two and a half years in jail.
On the day he was convicted, Evans was 23. He’d scored 35 goals in 42 games for Sheffield United and Blades boss at the time, Danny Wilson, admitted he’d be living in ‘Cloud cuckoo land’ to imagine keeping him at Bramall Lane.
United were set for promotion and a hefty return on the £3m they paid Man City for the striker in 2009. And Evans?
A big move to a big club, probably at the top end of the Championship. More goals. More caps for Wales. With only Sam Vokes and Hal Robson-Kanu for competition, who’s to say he wouldn’t have led the line at Euro 2016? Evans certainly lost more than his freedom when the gavel fell and the punishment didn’t stop when the cell door clanged open.
Shredding
Any attempt to find a new club was met with protest, from fans shredding season tickets to sponsors heading for the hills. Sheffield United, Hartlepool, Oldham – all of them recoiled from the spotlight and decided that the Welshman was too toxic to touch. The issue lay in Evans’ continued claims of innocence. The perception was of a man who couldn’t grasp that taking advantage of a young woman was a crime. That a man of such morals could never be a role model. That, without an apology, there could be no forgiveness. Now, of course, that conviction has been quashed. A retrial has been set for October. Fresh evidence will be heard. In the meantime, Evans has been taken on by Chesterfield, now managed by his erstwhile Blades boss Danny Wilson. Were the Spireites wise to offer a deal before the retrial? After all, the conviction may have been scrubbed from the records, but such is his fame that Evans is in the unusual position of being assumed guilty until proven innocent. Last weekend, Evans showed with one swipe of the right boot why they were tempted. His majestic free-kick in the 1-1 draw with Oxford exhibited ability a cut above League One.
Rarely is any manager handed the chance to sign such a class act on a free transfer and, if Chesterfield hadn’t, somebody else would. Grim but true.
But Wilson and Chesterfield also know that a second guilty conviction will unleash a fresh hailstorm of criticism.
Penitence
The gist is this. If Evans is cleared, the vilification must end. The man has already lost two years of his life, his career and reputation irreparably damaged. He must be welcomed back to football with open arms and a clean slate.
If he is guilty, however, he must show penitence. Nothing less than a grovelling apology will do.
Without that, Evans would surely have no place in the game. The question is, if he’s scored ten goals by then, will Chesterfield take the same stance?
Professionally and morally, it is an horrendous corner to be backed into.
Stand by Evans, argue he’s served his time and become a football pariah? Or take a stand on sex crime and lose your best player?
It seems an obvious choice. But, when you’ve got jobs, money and prestige on the line, it must be more complicated.