Ched Evans to Oldham....

So what are peoples thoughts on this?, personally i am in the camp of he has served his time and so should be able to earn a living.

What would be interesting if it was a "Messi" standard of player seeking employment in Evans position, i have no doubt every top club i the world would be quick to give him another chance.

So what are peoples thoughts on this?, personally i am in the camp of he has served his time and so should be able to earn a living.

What would be interesting if it was a "Messi" standard of player seeking employment in Evans position, i have no doubt every top club i the world would be quick to give him another chance.

For League one standard sides Ched Evans is a Messi level player

To be honest I'm not sure, I get what you are saying that he has served his time but on the flip side he has shown no regret or made no apology.
I feel for the girl he raped, Evans isn't a supermarket worker who she never had to see again.. He's plastered all over the press and is going to be playing football again in the public eye, she can't get away from him.

I think if it was my daughter or sister

Plus football fans at times can be fucktards.. The way the Sheffield Utd fans sang for him when they thought he was coming back and chanted sh*t about the girl makes my skin crawl. Let alone the abuse they gave the likes of Jessica Ennis

I think he needs to show regret and say sorry before he gets anywhere near a new club

He's shown no remorse, for rape... A dirty horrible crime

He has served his sentence, he's suffered the punishment given to him by society and has completed his rehabilitation. So I am of the belief he deserves to be working after his prison sentence, and a job as a footballer should be seen as any other occupation.

I think Ched Evans has a right to work.

For League one standard sides Ched Evans is a Messi level player

To be honest I'm not sure, I get what you are saying that he has served his time but on the flip side he has shown no regret or made no apology.
I feel for the girl he raped, Evans isn't a supermarket worker who she never had to see again.. He's plastered all over the press and is going to be playing football again in the public eye, she can't get away from him.

I think if it was my daughter or sister

Plus football fans at times can be fucktards.. The way the Sheffield Utd fans sang for him when they thought he was coming back and chanted sh*t about the girl makes my skin crawl. Let alone the abuse they gave the likes of Jessica Ennis

I think he needs to show regret and say sorry before he gets anywhere near a new club

Agree completely re the actions of football fans, they are truly moronic at times.

I also cannot disagree with your views, as i know this is going to split people. I think this is a reason OLDHAMS sponsors didnt kick up much of a fuss as they are solicitors and have to back the criminal justice system.

Personally i would of waited until his case had been reviewed before making a comeback as it has been fast tracked.

Good signing for Oldham on the pitch. Bad signing off it, but that may fade away if he starts banging in the goals.

For League one standard sides Ched Evans is a Messi level player

To be honest I'm not sure, I get what you are saying that he has served his time but on the flip side he has shown no regret or made no apology.
I feel for the girl he raped, Evans isn't a supermarket worker who she never had to see again.. He's plastered all over the press and is going to be playing football again in the public eye, she can't get away from him.

I think if it was my daughter or sister

Plus football fans at times can be fucktards.. The way the Sheffield Utd fans sang for him when they thought he was coming back and chanted sh*t about the girl makes my skin crawl. Let alone the abuse they gave the likes of Jessica Ennis

I think he needs to show regret and say sorry before he gets anywhere near a new club

He's shown no remorse, for rape... A dirty horrible crime

What if he's innocent mate?

Anyway i heard they only did the deal since Oscar Pistorius refused to sign a contract with them.

Good signing for Oldham on the pitch. Bad signing off it, but that may fade away if he starts banging in the goals.

Banging in whatever that's a bad choice of words.
Wonder how the 19 year old girl he raped feels about his offence being regarded as dismissible.

What if he's innocent mate?

He was found guilty and his appeal was rejected due to lack of evidence to the contrary

I'm imagining there was enough evidence to convict and not grant an appeal



Like I say I'm not sure about him coming back, he should be able to earn a living yes, and maybe if he had shown remorse..

But in a sense it's no different to Hughes or Mcormack back in the game having killed people drink driving.. They came back even if morally it doesn't sit right that they are in the public eye while the families of those people, those children in McCormacks case have to try to rebuild their lives

I also cannot disagree with your views, as i know this is going to split people. I think this is a reason OLDHAMS sponsors didnt kick up much of a fuss as they are solicitors and have to back the criminal justice system.

Don't know where you have got that from because they have kicked up a fuss, one sponsor has already walked away and a few more are about to.

He's a convicted rapist and I think every fan has the right to kick off about whether their team is in talks to sign him or do sign him. I know I wouldn't want anyone like that anywhere near our club. Time served or not.

Don't know where you have got that from because they have kicked up a fuss, one sponsor has already walked away and a few more are about to.

He's a convicted rapist and I think every fan has the right to kick off about whether their team is in talks to sign him or do sign him. I know I wouldn't want anyone like that anywhere near our club. Time served or not.

Carter solicitors the kit sponsors came out and said they would continue with the club if he signed couple of days ago.

Think the whole thing has been handled badly myself. 

I know he's not apologised or expressed any remorse towards his victim, which he can't do because of the review as legally that would imply he's guilty, so keep out of the limelight until after the review and if he gets his wish for an appeal then he has the opportunity to prove his innocence.  If his appeal is upheld then he's free to get on with his life.

However he came out to a fanfare, then issues a statment on tv barely acknowledging the victim after he's had at least one review turned down due to lack of new evidence.

At this moment in time, he's a convicted rapist who is out on licence till he's served his sentence or new evidence is unearthed to allow a review and subsequent appeal.

Don't know where you have got that from because they have kicked up a fuss, one sponsor has already walked away and a few more are about to.

He's a convicted rapist and I think every fan has the right to kick off about whether their team is in talks to sign him or do sign him. I know I wouldn't want anyone like that anywhere near our club. Time served or not.

According to BBC report ''he is in the process of appealing the verdict''.
He has appealed and was subsequently jailed, he raped a girl and it could have been your daughter, sister or wife, would anyone be as detached in that case, would he deserve another chance?

Carter solicitors the kit sponsors came out and said they would continue with the club if he signed couple of days ago.

What?! Sports Direct are the main shirt sponsor mate and clubs do have more than one sponsor

"Oldham’s main sponsor is Sports Direct, whose chairman is the Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, though the company has yet to comment on the issue."

Verlin Rainwater Solutions - "Craig Verlin, a director of Verlin Rainwater Solutions which sponsors a stand at Boundary Park, said in a statement: “After receiving the news regarding the imminent signing of Ched Evans it is with great regret that Verlin Rainwater Solutions will no longer be associated with Oldham Athletic."


Zen Office - "A statement from the company said: “This partnership has been based on mutual respect as OAFC did share the same values as ZenOffice, based on family and community.

“ZenOffice do not agree that the current path OAFC are embarking on espouses these values. Therefore it is with much regret that ZenOffice would like to confirm that we will end our association with Oldham Athletic Football Club if the move goes ahead to sign Ched Evans.”


Mecca Bingo - Mecca Bingo, another Oldham sponsor, threatened earlier in the week to withdraw its support. In a tweet Mecca Bingo said: “We can confirm [we] will be ending our association with @OfficialOAFC if they sign Ched Evans.”


This isn't a case of sponsors not "kicking up a fuss".

The club has many sponsors like you said, but if you believe the media they are "all" jumping ship which is the point i was making. This is not a thread for arguments but debate as like i said previous there are two very strong viewpoints.

As for the "if it was member of your family argument " of course anybodies stance would be different, and i would ask what would you feel if a member of your family was killed like Lee Hughes did drink driving? is that worse? You also state that you wouldnt like anyone like that at our club, again i cannot argue with this but did you complain when we signed Pennent? who but for luck could of killed someone like Hughes did!!

The club has many sponsors like you said, but if you believe the media they are "all" jumping ship which is the point i was making. This is not a thread for arguments but debate as like i said previous there are two very strong viewpoints.

As for the "if it was member of your family argument " of course anybodies stance would be different, and i would ask what would you feel if a member of your family was killed like Lee Hughes did drink driving? is that worse? You also state that you wouldnt like anyone like that at our club, again i cannot argue with this but did you complain when we signed Pennent? who but for luck could of killed someone like Hughes did!!

It's not a case of believing what the media says mate because they are quotes from the sponsors themselves.

I didn't say anything about the second part of your post so are you asking me or Stuey?

For what it's worth I wouldn't have had Lee Hughes at the club either and I was glad to see the back of Pennant too like.

If a club signs Evans then that's up to then but if it was down to me and a lot of other people, he wouldn't be signing for anyone.

Football seemingly has no shame when it comes to these sorry episodes. The whole footballing world seems to live in an alternative world from the rest of us, and the sports media are partly to blame also.

If a player has been done for racism (John Terry) or is involved in some tawdry sex scandal (Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand) or convicted of GBH (Joey Barton), the sports media revel in trivialising it - a 40 yard screamer into the top right hand corner of the net is enough for the player to 'redeem' himself and thus saint-like status is reclaimed.

But forgetting the shoddy journalism for a minute, football squads need to take a long hard look at themselves and the culture that surrounds them. This macho, 'lad' culture that predominates football always steps into dangerous territory, creating a comfort zone where sexism is postively encouraged rather than scorned until it is taken too far when some innocent young girl is humiliated - or in this case - assaulted. And the worrying thing is - many of them can't see what they've done wrong, seeing no difference between what is seen as 'being a lad' and rape.

It looks likes Ched Evans is guilty of falling into this trap like so many others. People like Evans are part of the problem, and his actions are not just merely an isolated incident in football, but indicative of a wider problem in the sport.

Whether or not you think he was guilty is irrelevant - the bottom line is the courts found him guilty and, anyway, his treatment of the girl was disgraceful whether you think he was guilty or not. He hasn't shown remorse for his disgraceful actions anyhow and thinks he's done absolutely nothing wrong. The guy should never be allowed to play football again - it would at least send out a message as to how serious a problem this is, and for a start, might make other footballers consider their actions.

It's not a case of believing what the media says mate because they are quotes from the sponsors themselves.

I didn't say anything about the second part of your post so are you asking me or Stuey?

For what it's worth I wouldn't have had Lee Hughes at the club either and I was glad to see the back of Pennant too like.

If a club signs Evans then that's up to then but if it was down to me and a lot of other people, he wouldn't be signing for anyone.

Apologies as two replies merged into one re the Pennant issues.

For what its worth I agree with you but i am just a massive hypocrite as i believe in the criminal justice system as well, but i wouldnt have them anywhere near our club either., but again I would of forgiven Suarez "again" for yet another bite grrrrr sometimes its impossible to take a stance.

I think reddebs point is a good one like i said earlier i think he should of waited on the outcome of his legal challenge before he resumed his trade.

Apologies as two replies merged into one re the Pennant issues.

For what its worth I agree with you but i am just a massive hypocrite as i believe in the criminal justice system as well, but i wouldnt have them anywhere near our club either., but again I would of forgiven Suarez "again" for yet another bite grrrrr sometimes its impossible to take a stance.

I think reddebs point is a good one like i said earlier i think he should of waited on the outcome of his legal challenge before he resumed his trade.

No worries pal. In fairness, biting an opponent is no where near the level of rape or death due to drink driving.

And yeah, I'm surprised the FA would even let him join a club with that going on.

Banging in whatever that's a bad choice of words.
Wonder how the 19 year old girl he raped feels about his offence being regarded as dismissible.

I imagine she doesn't mate. Unfortunately it's the world we live in now I think.

Obviously I'm not saying I'm going to look at him and think anything other than rapist... However I'm certainly not wrong in saying there'll be plenty who think of his 'goal at the weekend' first.

The guy should never be allowed to play football again - it would at least send out a message as to how serious a problem this is, and for a start, might make other footballers consider their actions.

And where would you draw the line and who decides upon it?

Although some people may think he has been punished enough, I think that he should serve some sort of community service, to at least put something back into society. As a covicted rapist who has served half his sentence, he has to be made well aware of his wrong doing, rather than immediately left back into the public eye. Mind you this is only my view as a 60 year old.

Someone provide a breakdown of where he is at? He got released but he is appealing some decision? Ive only read loose bits of info.

Either way, if he is appealling some decision after jail time then he shouldnt really be in a position to walk in to employment i would think.

I think if it was my daughter or sister

I look at it from this perspective, and he is an absolute scum and vile. If I had it my way, I would have him serve a 20 year prison time in Brazil, Thailand or somewhere that's considered to have a brutal reputation for criminals.

However, as much as I dislike him, I believe he has the right to work in the field he specializes in, just hope he'll never be associated with us and will never be called up by Wales!