OTD: CORRY EVANS BORN

Happy birthday to former Sunderland captain Corry Evans!

Before he signed for the Lads, Sunderland fans were of course more familiar with his brother Jonny, who actually persuaded Corry to sign for Sunderland: "Jonny had a great time here, he loved that period of his career and he’ll always have a soft spot for Sunderland, and likewise myself when I was coming and watching games. I remember Jonny’s debut away to Preston. I was sitting in the away fans at Deepdale and then going back to the Stadium of Light in the Premier League. I think I went up and watched Chelsea at home but I remember thinking then, even from a young age, I must have been fifteen or sixteen, I’d love to come back and play here one day with the fans and the stadium, and the size of the club, and luckily that’s happened. But yeah, he was delighted for me and he told me, "You’ve got to go, it’s just a no-brainer” really."

He arrived as a sort of Grant Leabitter replacement - an experienced head who would sit back, protect the defence and retain possession. But after his debut against Wigan Athletic in League One, it became pretty obvious that we’d upgraded on the ageing Grant (although Leadbitter will always be loved here). While Evans never sprayed the ball around the pitch and was reluctant to smash in shots from range, his level-headedness and leadership qualities were crucial in Sunderland making a good start to that season.

He did fall out of favour, and was once booed when subbed off at home during that season though. Lee Johnson was playing him in the wrong position and expected Evans to be much more mobile than he actually was. So when Alex Neil replaced LJ, the first thing he did was surround Evans with runners who could do the dog-work for him. It worked a treat and, as we all know, Corry Evans was one of the many standout performers as we went on a massive unbeaten run and took the League One play-offs by storm.

Like many of that League One squad, many were sceptical about how Corry would manage the physicality of the Championship. He undoubtedly had the quality to play in this league, but could his injury-prone body hold up to the increased workload in midfield? As it turned out, yes - he could manage it. Perhaps he couldn’t play every minute of every game, but whenever he did play he was one of the best players on the pitch. Alongside the likes of Dan Neil, he provided a defensive base that allowed Amad, Roberts and Clarke to flourish at the top end of the pitch.

It was such a shame when Evans got injured and was ruled out for the rest of the 2022/23 season on January 26th 2023. We had been saying throughout the transfer window that we needed a specialised player to cover Corry, as there was nobody in the squad who could do his role as well as he could. Alas, we ultimately signed Pierre Ekwah but the two were certainly not the same player. It is perfectly reasonable to suggest that had Corry Evans not picked up such a serious injury, he could have guided us through that battle at Luton Town and possibly led us to another promotion.

He was out for almost the entirety of the next season too, as we floundered on the pitch and dropped ten positions to finish 16th, had we had a full fit Corry Evans in the middle of the park things could have been different.

In October 2024 he joined League Two Bradford City but only stayed at the club for a matter of months before joining National League Oldham Athletic. He featured in the playoffs for them in 2025 as they beat Halifax Town and York City in the quarter final and semi final respectively and then defeated Southend United at Wembley to get back into the Football League and win the club's first promotion since 1991.