[Bierzo Baggie]

With apologies to Beefy 1965 who I suspect was going to choose the same player ..

Stewart Evans; The end of an era.

Generations of Albion fans had been inspired by a succession of wonderful goalscorers. Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Astle, Brown and Regis… looking back we had been spoilt over the years.

Then in the mid-80s something changed. I remember watching Stewart Evans in horror and with an impending sense of doom. This was a tall, gangly man made of spare deck chair parts. Think Peter Crouch with a perm. And a lot less footballing ability. After just 90 minutes watching our new striker I realized we were really in the shite, perhaps for many years to come.

In fairness, Goodman, Super-Bob and Hughes came along to ease the pain and Stewart Evens may well have been an effective target man for his previous club (Wimbledon) but I repeat… Ronnie Allen, Derek Kevan, Astle, Brown and Regis, ALL England internationals at some point. Seeing Stewart Evans at that time in an Albion shirt was a shock to the system and a sign of dark days to come.

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.