'Difference maker' to 'same journey' - Ian Evatt makes feelings clear on standout Blackpool greats
Ian Evatt has named his Blackpool Mount Rushmore from the players he featured alongside at Bloomfield Road.
Blackpool head coach Ian Evatt featured alongside his fair share of notable players throughout his time as player in Tangerine.
The 44-year-old, who has been in charge at Bloomfield Road since October, earned legendary status for what he did on the pitch at Bloomfield Road between 2006 and 2013.
After initially making the move to the Fylde Coast on loan from QPR, the defender’s stay was swiftly made permanent.
Across 254 appearances for the club, he scored 10 goals and providing 12 assists, as well as forming part of the sides who won promotion to both the Championship and the Premier League.
Looking back on Evatt’s stint playing for Blackpool, we asked him to name his Mount Rushmore comprised of his former teammates.
Here’s who he picked:
Wes Hoolahan
“That 2007 team, Wes (Hoolahan) would be the first one really, in terms of being a difference maker.
“He could do things that the rest of us in the should couldn’t, but we could do things that he couldn’t, and it all matched up together.
“I wouldn’t say we played for Wes to give him that freedom, but a lot of the hard yards was done by the others, and we knew he would create us something.
“He was probably the first one where we had a player who could do different things to the rest of us, and win us games by himself at times.”
Keith Southern
“I’d definitely put Keith in there because he was the one that was on the same journey as I was. He played through that successful era from the very start in 2007 until it came to a premature end.
“We were the ones that tried to integrate every new player into our culture. We understood what this club was, and we understood what it meant to play for this football club.
“It was our job to bring that consistency throughout the spine of the team and to add pieces around us that understood what we were, but also improve us.”
Charlie Adam
“Charlie because of the promotion season and the Premier League season. Similar to Wes, he could just do different things to others.
“I wouldn’t say the team played for him, but we understood what he could give us and what he couldn’t. We tried to do the things he couldn’t, and vice versa.”
Final pick?
“I couldn’t name a fourth because there’s probably too many to mention to be honest. I could probably give you 20 names that could be number four, but those three are the ones that standout in my mind that made a difference to that era of the football club and my journey.”