‘It was awful’: Steve McManaman says Liverpool treated one of their managers absolutely ‘terribly’

Liverpool have had some remarkable managers over the years, and, more often than not, these managers go down as legends on Merseyside.

Indeed, Liverpool fans are always so appreciative of their great managers. Bob Paisley, Bill Shankly and Joe Fagan are absolute legends at Anfield, while Rafa Benitez and Jurgen Klopp are still adored on The Kop to this day.

However, according to Steve McManaman, there is one manager from Liverpool’s history who was treated badly by the club – Roy Evans.

Evans was a great manager for Liverpool, helping the likes of Robbie Fowler become stars at the club, and while he didn’t pick up much silverware, he was a local lad who was adored by the fans all the same.

Speaking on the Aldo Meets Podcast, McManaman has been discussing Roy Evans’ departure at Liverpool.

Evans left the Reds under something of a dark cloud as Gerard Houllier was brought in as a joint-manager behind his back, before getting the post as the sole head coach just a few months later.

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Steve McManaman says Roy Evans was treated terribly

McManaman spoke about Evans and how he was treated by Liverpool.

According to the winger, Evans was treated really badly by Liverpool, with McManaman labelling the situation with Houllier as ‘awful’.

“Roy Evans, of course, Gerard Houllier came in as joint manager, which Roy Evans didn’t know and I thought Liverpool treated him terribly actually at the time,” McManaman said.

“I just thought it was, you know, I adore Evo and he’s done a lot for my career, him and Ronnie Moran and people like that, and Doug Livermore and stuff who was around at that time. And I didn’t associate my club with dealing with people like that, because Evo had been at the club longer than all of us, put together.

“He deserves that respect,” The host said.

“Yes, and I thought it was awful.”

Roy Evans record as Liverpool manager

McManaman says that Evans was treated unfairly by Liverpool, and he has a point here.

Indeed, Liverpool, up to that point, had been very respectful of their managers, especially managers who had strong connections to the club.

However, bringing in Houllier as a joint manager was a move that simply undermined Evans, and, make no mistake about it, it was a ploy to replace him without immediately sacking him.

There’s a reason joint-managers haven’t been utilised all that much in the Premier League over the years, it’s a system that simply does not work.

Evans’ record as Liverpool manager wasn’t even that bad either.

Of course, Houllier did come in and take the Reds to new heights, winning a treble in 2001, but this whole situation could’ve been handled with a lot more dignity and respect.

Houllier didn’t get on with everyone at Liverpool, but, ultimately, he did prove himself as a top manager at Anfield and he went on to become a legend in his own right.

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