Mickey Evans

Plymouth Argyle

Evans originally joined Plymouth Argyle in December 1987 as an associate schoolboy. He made his first team debut in December 1990 at the age of 17, and signed his first professional contract in March 1991. He was a member of Neil Warnock's Plymouth side which won promotion from the Third Division via the play-offs in 1996. Following that success, in March 1997 he was signed by Graeme Souness at Southampton for £650,000.

Southampton

Souness signed Evans to add a bit of muscle to the forward line as Southampton entered the final lap of a desperate fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League in the 1996–97 season. He was a big and brave striker and scored four crucial goals as Saints beat the drop, finishing in 16th position. His greatest game in a Saints shirt came at Nottingham Forest's City Ground, where he scored a brace. For the second goal, he sprinted from the half-way line, taking a pass from Eyal Berkovic to beat goalkeeper Mark Crossley who could only half block the shot. He followed this up with two more goals against West Ham United and Coventry City, and his form in April 1997 was such that he was awarded the Premiership Player-of-the-Month Trophy. Evans became somewhat of a cult figure amongst Southampton fans which many of them making a tongue-in-cheek reference to his West Country roots by wearing straw hats and having straw hanging from their mouths as well as donning fake versions of Evans' then trademark bushy…

Evans' only cap for the Republic of Ireland national football team was against Romania in a 1998 World Cup Qualifier at Lansdowne Road on 11 October 1997. He came on in the 85th minute to replace Tony Cascarino.

Evans attended St Boniface's Catholic College and played Junior football for Prince Rock Youth during his schools days. He is nicknamed "Trigger" after a character from Only Fools and Horses. During his second spell with his hometown club he set up his building company MJ Evans. In 2007 and 2008, having retired from playing, Evans was involved in a series of testimonial events to raise money for five local charities. In July 2012, the company filed for administration.

Plymouth Argyle

Football League Second Division: 2003–04 Football League Third Division: 2001–02; play-offs: 1996 Individual

Premier League Player of the Month: April 1997 Plymouth Argyle Player of the Year: 2003–04