They`ve Played For Your Club…..Evesham United

Continuing the series on players who have represented the current clubs in the Southern Football League.

It`s easily forgotten that Evesham United have been a member of the Southern League since winning the Midland Combination in 1992.

Perhaps that`s due to the fact that apart from 5 seasons in the Premier Division, the rest of the 29 campaigns (including the last two abandoned seasons) have been spent in the Midland/Division One West/Division One South West.

The first of United`s best years in the Southern League came under former Coventry City defender David Busst, who took over in November 2003 with the club in mid-table in Division One West.

But the man who had to give up playing due to a horrific leg break against Manchester United, turned things around and season 2004/05 saw Evesham take their place in the Premier Division for the first time after a tense play-off campaign when over 800 squeezed into Common Road to witness United romp to a 4-0 win over neighbours Bromsgrove Rovers.

Alongside Busst in the dug-out as his assistant at the time was Paul West.

The Birmingham-born defender started his career at Midland Combination side Alcester Town.

His potential was soon spotted, and he was snapped up by Port Vale as a professional in 1991.

He moved on to Bradford City a year later, but it wasn’t until he joined Wigan Athletic during the 1993/94 season that he finally made his Football League debut.

He played 3 times for the Latics but was hampered by injury and moved to then-Conference side Morecambe at the start of the 1996/97 season.

He went on to play 51 times for the Shrimps before leaving to return to the West Midlands in 1997.

He signed for Evesham and went on to make almost 400 appearances for the Robins.

He was appointed as Busst`s assistant in 2005 and when the former Coventry City defender resigned as manager, West took over, initially as caretaker and then on a more permanent basis in March 2006.

It was too late to save them from a rapid return to the lower division, but West led Evesham back into the Southern Premier Division in 2008/09.

He tendered his resignation in November 2011, citing that he felt he had taken the club as far as he could.

After taking a step back from football for almost a year, West successfully completed his UEFA B Pro license and returned briefly to management to help Jed McCrory and assisted Edwin Stein at Southern Premier Division side Banbury United in September 2012 for one game only.

West was offered the role of director of football at Evesham. However, with joint-managers Matt Clarke and Rob Elms departing due to poor results there was a fear of Evesham suffering back-to-back relegations and West agreed to return as manager on a short-term basis.

He helped steer the club back to the safety of 14th place by the end of the 2012/13 season and although being offered the manager's job on a permanent basis, declined but did, however, take up the offer to join the Board and return to his original role of director of football.

However, after only one month in the position, West resigned, citing differences with the chairman and Board.

He also got more involved in a football consultancy company that he originally helped set up in 2004 with the late Dean Richards, the former Wolves and Spurs defender.

The company specialises in assisting young professional and semi-professional football players with various and wide-ranging issues such as legal and expertise in various areas.

Nowadays, Sam Bowen will probably be best known as the father of West Ham United`s Jarrod Bowen!

However, the Premier League star`s `old man` wasn`t a bad player himself as a striker.

Sam began to create attention for himself as a youngster playing for Hereford-based Westfields, then playing in the West Midlands (Regional) League.

He initially turned down all overtures to move until the summer of 1996 when he decided to give Southern League football a try with Midland Division side Moor Green.

However, he failed to settle at the Moorlands and returned to Westfields a few months later.

He then answered a call by Merthyr Tydfil boss Colin Addison to play in a cup game with the Martyrs` squad stretched through injuries.

Bowen impressed so much that he was immediately snapped up by the Welsh club in February 1997 and marked his Southern League Premier Division debut by scoring 5 goals against Gravesend & Northfleet.

Whilst with the Martyrs, Bowen went to His son`s current club, West Ham United, for a trial when Harry Redknapp was the manager.

He impressed the mercurial Redknapp, who wanted to sign him, But apparently, the Martyrs asked for too much money for an untried non-League player and the deal fell through.

Sam went on to have spells with Worcester City, Forest Green Rovers, Bromsgrove Rovers, Newport County and Welsh Premier side Newtown.

He often returned to Westfields in between and went on to be player-manager of West Midlands (Regional) League sides Leominster Town and Kington Town.

Another striker, Simon Brain also had a father who had made a name for himself much earlier.

Simon`s dad Sid is still down in the record books as being Evesham`s highest goalscorer and now there`s a third-generation, Sean, who is making his mark as an attacker with Worcester City!

Simon was born in Evesham and started his career playing for Malvern Town in the West Midlands (Regional) League and Moreton Town in the Hellenic League.

He was then signed by home-town club Evesham before moving to Conference side Cheltenham Town for £4,000 in 1990.

At Whaddon Road he played alongside the former Everton and Aston Villa striker Andy Gray, and after continuing his goalscoring form, was signed by Colin Addison at Division Three outfit Hereford United in late 1990 for a fee of £10,000.

He gave up as his job as a toolmaker to become a full-time professional and
broke into the starting line-up and scored his first Hereford goal in a 2-1 defeat at Gillingham in February 1991.

The goals continued to flow, and he had scored 8 by the end of the season. This included the 1st in a 2-0 win over Cardiff City.

John Sillett then came in as manager and Brain had his best season at Edgar Street and finished as the top scorer.

Peter Heritage and Brain gelled as a striking partnership, and between them scored around 30 league and cup goals for the Bulls. But Heritage left to join Doncaster Rovers and the new Hereford boss Greg Downs brought in Owen Pickard to be Brain’s strike partner.

Brain struggled for goals during the 1992/93 season and by early February 1993 he had only scored two.

Due to Hereford not having a reserve side and picking up an injury, Brain was loaned to Conference side Bromsgrove Rovers to gain some first team experience.

He scored an early goal on his debut against Staybridge, but later that game a crunching tackle ended up with him having a broken leg.

He spent nearly eight months on the injury list but returned late September 1993 coming on as a sub against Premier League Wimbledon in the League Cup at Selhurst Park.

Brain was then back in the first team, but tragedy struck in October 1993 during a Welsh Cup match with Mostyn when Brain broke his leg again.

This time he wasn’t able to recover to a level to play full-time and left the Bulls at the end of the 1993/94 season.

However, he still proved he knew where the net was back in non-League football with Bromsgrove Rovers, Malvern, Pershore Town, Littleton and back at Evesham.

In 1992, Evesham shelled out what remains as their official record fee of around £2,000 to sign `competitive` midfielder >strong>Colin Day.

Day, known as ‘Daisy’, joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Hayes from local football at the age of 21 and worked at Thorn-EMI, for whom he turned out in the works team.

He made over 100 appearances for the Missioners between 1990 and 1992, and scored 11 goals, including the first in the FA Cup victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage in 1991.

He re-located to the Midlands and finally joined Evesham after prolonged transfer discussions.

He later had a spell in the Hellenic League with Moreton Town before returning to London where he was snapped up by his former Hayes boss Harry Manoe for Isthmian Premier outfit Harrow Borough in the summer of 1996.

Another midfielder, Phil Preedy began his playing days with local Herefordshire League side Ledbury Swifts.

As a youngster, he had trials with Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa and then turned out for another Herefordshire League outfit, Hereford Lads Club before being signed as a YTS by Hereford United.

He made his first-team debut for the Bulls in the opening day of the 1993/94 Division Three season at Edgar Street against Scarborough – but at left back rather than his more usual midfield role.

Unfortunately, Preedy broke his collar bone and had four months out but, ironically, his return to the senior side came in December 1993 – away at Scarborough!

Preedy was then offered a two-year full-time contract at the end of the season.

The 1994/95 campaign didn`t start well for the new professional as he was sent-off for two bookings against? – Scarborough!

In the 1996/97 season, Preedy found himself out of the Hereford side and was sent out on loan to Southern League Merthyr Tydfil, then managed by Hereford legend Colin Addison.

Preedy played alongside future Evesham team-mate Sam Bowen at Penydarren Park

Whilst Preedy was at Merthyr, Hereford were relegated from the Football League and he was released by Graham Turner.

Colin Addison wanted to take him back to Merthyr on a more permanent basis but Preedy instead joined their league rivals Gloucester City under Tim Harris.

Harris then ended up going down to the new Newport AFC club and Preedy followed him and had a couple of seasons back in south Wales.

He then signed for Evesham, where he again played alongside former Merthyr team-mate Sam Bowen for several seasons.

He later wound-down his playing days with West Midlands (Regional) League sides Malvern Town and Ledbury Town, who later managed and also took on a general manager`s role.

Striker Mark Owen is perhaps best known for being a prolific marksman for Worcester City in the Southern League Premier Division.

However, he also had two good spells with Evesham.

After beginning his career as a trainee with Wolverhampton Wanderers, before joining Southern League Premier Division Worcester City in the summer of 1998.

He scored over 100 goals for City before leaving for Moor Green in January 2005.

He then joined Evesham for the first time in the summer of 2006 after making a comeback from a serious hip injury to top score for Malvern Town in the West Midlands (Regional) League.

He helped Evesham to promotion to the Southern Premier Division before making a surprise return to United`s ground tenants Worcester on the eve of the 2008/09 campaign.

However, the move did not work out and he returned to Evesham just 6 games later.

Then in December 2008 Owen took a player-coach role at then-Southern Midland Division Stourport Swifts.

Another return to Evesham in the summer of 2009 was followed by a short spell with Bromsgrove Rovers, managed by former Worcester team-mate John Snape.

He hung up his boots in February 2010 having been on the books at the emerging Bromsgrove Sporting, then members of the Midland Combination Division Two.

In October 2014, Owen joined Midland League Division Two outfit Droitwich Spa as joint manager with Wayne Oliver – Owen had been managing Worcester`s under-18s.

He also ran a football academy, based at the Heart of Worcestershire College, which works in partnership with his former club, Worcester City.

He later took charge of a now-West Midlands (Regional) League Droitwich Spa side before quitting in October 2020, suggesting he had taken them as far as he could.

Mark Owen struck up a successful partnership in attack at Evesham with Richard Ball.

Ball was on the books at West Bromwich Albion from the age of 14 and later went through their YTS scheme.

After being released by the Baggies, Ball had a spell under Fred Davies at Southern Premier Division Weymouth.

However, he became homesick on the Dorset coast which meant he returned to the Midlands and he quickly grabbed the headlines with Stourport Swifts and then Bromsgrove Rovers.

He had chances to return to the professional ranks after Yeovil Town and then Exeter City offered him trials.

And though Exeter were keen to sign him, a one-year deal was too much of a gamble to take to move home and family.

He had several spells with Evesham, the first coming in 2003.

He finished as leading scorer with 19 goals in the Southern Premier Division and was voted as player of the year on 2005/06 – the season Evesham suffered relegation back to the Midland Division.

He left for Redditch United at the end of the 2006/07 season and a torn anterior cruciate ligament threatened to scupper his career whilst he was on loan with former club Bromsgrove from Redditch.

He needed a rigorous pre-season with Redditch to erase any nagging fitness concerns.

He returned to home-town club Evesham again and also had spells with Sutton Coldfield Town, Oldbury United and Blakenall.

Another local boy and Evesham High School pupil Grant Pinkney eventually went on to spent seven seasons or so with his home-town club, making almost 200 appearances.

After spending two years at Evesham as a youth, Pinkney joined Badsey Colts from where he signed up with the School of Excellence at Swindon Town.

He then moved to Birmingham City for four years but decided to leave after the daily travelling was hindering his A-Level work at Evesham High School.

He was then offered a place at Lincoln City and combined his football career with an NVQ course in Sports Science at the local college.

In December 2000, Pinkney made his senior debut when he came off the substitute's bench to help the Imps defeat Isthmian League Division Three minnows Bracknell Town in the First Round of the FA Cup.

He was released by Lincoln after spending two years as a professional and returned home to sign for Evesham.

He later turned out for Badsey Rangers in the Midland League Division Three and was later the club`s secretary before their demise.

He then joined the management team at then-Midland League Division One outfit Littleton.

Forward or defender Gary Stevens moved to Hereford from Birmingham when he was a youngster, and he started his playing career in the Herefordshire Premier League with Hereford Lads Club.

He then had a season for Hinton in the Worcester League before signing for Evesham, who were then in the Midland Combination.

Stevens had three successful seasons with Evesham, scoring 30 goals in each campaign.

Plenty of scouts from a higher level were flocking to Common Road and in the summer of 1978, he joined Division Two side Cardiff City for a £4,000 fee.

He went on to make over 150 appearances for the Bluebirds, scoring 44 goals.

Stevens left Cardiff in 1982 and joined Shrewsbury Town for £20,000.

He spent four seasons at Gay Meadow, making another 150-plus appearances and scoring 30 goals before joining Brentford in 1986.

He played 32 times for the Bees, with 10 goals before coming `home` to sign for Hereford United in the Spring of 1987.

Stevens played 45 out of 46 league games in the 1987/88 season as Hereford finished 19th in the league.

He was often switched between playing as a centre-half or a striker.

Stevens made 33 appearances during the 1988/89 season but became something of a fringe player the following campaign and spent most of that season out on loan for the likes of Telford United, Merthyr Tydfil, Kidderminster Harriers and Worcester City.

He then started helping out with the youth and reserve sides at Hereford before being released by the club in the summer of 1990.

Stevens joined local West Midlands (Regional) League side Westfields and then took over as player-coach with Mid-Wales League side Knighton Town.

He later managed at Westfields but departed in the late 1990s before returning to Hereford, then managed by his former Shrewsbury team-mate Graham Turner and helped set-up a link with a local college to make a Hereford youth team.

The youth set-up delivered a number of players for the Bulls` first team and also saw one of their products, Andy Williams, make the club £100,000 after being sold to Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2007.

Now a part-time teacher for Horizon Training, Stevens was recently manager of Midland League side Wellington until quitting last season.

Goalkeeper Nathan Vaugham had a five-year spell with Evesham during their groundshare at Worcester City`s St Georges Lane.

A quality keeper, he actually started his career at Plymouth Argyle.

Unable to break into the senior side, he returned to his native West Midlands and signed for Southern League side Willenhall Town in 2001.

He spent almost four seasons at Noose Lane before signing for then-Southern Premier side Newport County.

A year in Wales, with a loan at Chippenham Town included, was followed by a short spell with Redditch United before signing for Evesham towards the latter part of the 2005/06 season.

He spent five seasons with Evesham before having his first spell with Kidderminster Harriers.

He joined Leamington in January 2012 following his brief spell with Kidderminster, and quickly became a favourite of the Brakes supporters as he helped the team overcome a sticky patch to finish the season 12 games unbeaten.

He was all set to start the following campaign as Leamington`s number one until Kidderminster came calling again.

He helped Harriers` finish runners-up in the Conference in 2012/13 and seventh the following season before moving to rivals and neighbours Worcester City.

He became an instant City legend thanks to his club history-making penalty save during the 2-1 win at The Ricoh Arena against Coventry City in the First Round of the FA Cup in 2014.

He took centre stage in the FA Cup record-breaking penalty shoot-out at home to Scunthorpe United in the Second Round when the score ended 14-13!

In 2017/18 Vaughan made a name for himself by scoring for Solihull Moors in an away win at Torquay United in August 2017.

It led to him to winning the National League player of the month award.

Spells with Bromsgrove Rovers and a second, short time back at Solihull and time back at Kidderminster as keeper coach was followed, in June 2018, by taking up another keeper coaching role at another former club, Solihull, before swiftly moving on to Stratford Town as a player.

It was actually a return to Stratford, having made one appearance for the club back in August 2016 - a performance that earned him the man-of-the-match award in a 3-2 win over Hitchin Town.

Then, in August 2020, new Hereford FC boss Josh Gowling brought in Vaughan as the Bulls` keeper coach.

Evesham United Web Site