Albert Evans

Career Player Following a spell at his hometown team, non-league Barnard Castle, Evans was signed for Aston Villa by secretary George Ramsay on the advice of player Bob Chatt (also from Barnard Castle) in August 1896. Evans signed some exciting new players such as Jerry Best and Jimmy Dougall but the 1920–21 season, City's second in the Football League, was largely unsuccessful. They spent most of it in last place and were saved only through a run of six wins and two draws in their final nine games. Eighteenth- and nineteenth-place finishes followed in the subsequent two seasons and in 1924–25 and, facing their sixth relegation battle in a row, Coventry finally succumbed and were relegated to the Third Division North. It looked for a while as if they would stage another dramatic escape, climbing out of the relegation zone in March, Evans travelled overseas between 1924 and 1950, finding employment as he travelled, including sheep farming and gold prospecting in Canada. FA Cup: 1896–97

19 0 3 0 22 0 1908–09 18 0 0 0 18 0

37 0 3 0 40 0

215 0 27 0 242 0