The Millers Reporter
Join us as we count down the top ten worst signings Steve Evans made in his time as Rotherham United manager!
Looking through some of Steve Evans' signings over the years, it was tough to narrow it down to a definitive top ten. Here are five players who did not quite make the list...
Kicking off our top ten is Jordan Bowery. The Millers broke their transfer record to bring Bowery in for around £250,000. Given the effort that was put in to bring Bowery in, there was understandably a lot of expectation on his shoulders. There were a few decent performances scattered in there, but his overall time at Rotherham was a huge letdown. He never really found any consistency for the club in either of his season's playing in the Championship. In total he made 44 appearances in all competitions for Rotherham, scoring just six goals. For the money spent to sign him, the South Yorkshire side would have expected a lot more from him. He was shipped out on loan to Bradford during his second season, before leaving permanently for Oxford United in 2015. Since then he has only played in League One and below, and he currently plays for MK Dons.
Tom Eaves joined Rotherham United on a three-month loan from Bolton Wanderers at the start of the 2013/14 League One season. It proved to be a really poor loan spell for the front man. In total he made nine appearances for the Millers, which included just one league start. His only goal for the club came in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy as Rotherham won 2-1 away at Hartlepool United. He rarely made an impact in games and it proves how uneventful the spell was that his loan was cut short in November after just two months with the Millers. To the surprise of the Rotherham faithful, he has had a career resurgence of late. Eaves became one of the leading strikers in League One with Gillingham, which earned him a move to Championship side Hull City in July 2019.
Mat Sadler was among the mass recruits to join Rotherham ahead of the 2014/15 Championship season. He joined on a free from Crawley Town, after last playing in the 2nd tier for Watford in 2010/11. Sadler never did enough to replace Joe Skarz in being Rotherham United's first choice left-back. He soon faded into insignificance as his only appearance for the club came as they lost 1-0 to Swansea City in the League Cup. In September he was sent back to Crawley Town on loan, before he later joined Oldham Athletic in March 2015 until the end of the season. His time at Rotherham was very forgettable and he proved to be one of a few shocking signings during the 2014/15 campaign...
When Danny Hylton joined Rotherham United, he had the potential to be a very astute signing. He had scored ten-plus goals in all competitions in back-to-back season's for Aldershot Town in League Two. He moved to Rotherham ahead of their League One return on a free. Sadly, his time at the club was short lived and a big anticlimax. In supporter's eyes, he looked out of shape and not adequately prepared for the season ahead. After making just one league appearance for the club, he soon fell down the pecking order at the New York Stadium. Hylton was sent out on loan to Bury and Wimbledon before signing for Oxford United permanently ahead of the 2014/15 season. He has rediscovered his goal scoring touch since then, becoming a regular scorer for Oxford and Luton Town, with most of his goals coming while playing in League Two.
Zeki Fryers is another example of a dismal loan signing for Rotherham United under Evans. He was highly-rated as a youth player, after having spells at Manchester United, Standard Liege and Tottenham Hotspur. He moved to Crystal Palace in 2014 but first-team opportunities were hard to come by, as he found his way to Rotherham. He made his debut for Steve Evans' side on 17 January against AFC Bournemouth. Fryers went onto complete the whole 90 minutes for the next nine games, before Evans lost faith in the left-back after a string of sub-par performances. It was surprising that Fryers remained in the team as long as he did, as his time at Rotherham was not great at all for him personally. He left the club soon after, before heading on loan to Ipswich Town until the end of the season. His career continued on a downward trend after that, but in 2019/20 he helped Swindon Town get promoted to League One. .
Matt Tubbs was linked with a move to Rotherham United constantly throughout Steve Evans' time at the club. The duo enjoyed a lot of success together at Crawley, where Tubbs was Evans' leading goalscorer. Tubbs was prolific on the scoring front pretty much everywhere he went before going to Rotherham. After years of build-up, Evans finally got his man as Tubbs joined on loan from AFC Bournemouth in July 2013. It was somewhat inevitable after all the waiting that Tubbs' time at the club would fall flat. He made 21 appearances in all competitions as Evans continued to keep faith in his favoured striker. Unfortunately in that time he only scored one goal. Tubbs was perhaps the most underwhelming of all Evans' signings at Rotherham United. When his loan came to an end in January 2014, Tubbs rejoined Crawley Town on loan where he scored eight goals from his 18 games.
Ryan Hall's move to Rotherham was one of the most bizarre of Steve Evans' tenure. He joined MK Dons from Bromley on a short-term deal in 2013/14, before joining the Millers on a free transfer ahead of their Championship season. Hall's solitary highlight as a Rotherham player came as he scored the winner as they beat Wolves 1-0. Admittedly, it did come via blocking a clearance, but it counts all the same. Like many of the previous names in this list, it did not take long for Hall to fall down the pecking order under Evans. After his winner against Wolves, he only made two more brief appearances before joining Notts County on a month's loan later in the season. In recent years he has played for multiple non-league clubs including Welling United and Eastbourne Borough.
Kicking off the top three is another winger who signed ahead of Rotherham United's return to the Championship. Febian Brandy joined the Millers on a free from League One side Sheffield United. This was another questionable signing from the get-go. Brandy was coming off an unremarkable season while on loan at Walsall, in which he made just 20 appearances scoring four goals. The Manchester United academy graduate last played in the Championship for Swansea City during the 2008/09 season. It did not take long for Brandy's Rotherham career to go down hill. Both Brandy and Hall had equally poor season's for Rotherham, as each winger failed to earn a regular place in the team. After six months at the club, where he only made one sub appearance, Brandy's contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2015.
In second place we have Danny Collins. The defender joined the club in July 2015 ahead of Rotherham United's second season back in the Championship. He moved on a free after being released by fellow 2nd tier side Nottingham Forest. Collins over the years had an abundance of experience both in the Premier League and the Championship. But when Collins moved to Rotherham, he was 34 and well past his best years. After the first few times watching him, it was easy to tell that he had lost his pace and he was no longer capable of cutting it in the Championship. The intentions of this signing was right and if his experience was used well, it could have done wonders for the club. Sadly, Collins was not up to it and after one shocking season at the club, Collins departed Rotherham United. He signed for League Two side Grimsby Town and played there for three seasons before retiring in December 2019 aged 39.
Finally, at number one we have Kelle Roos. If we are being honest, it could not have really been anyone else. Roos was brought in on a season-long loan from Derby County in July 2015 and his time at Rotherham could not have gone much worse...
In his league debut, Rotherham lost 4-1 at home to MK Dons, which included some awful mistakes from Roos in goal. This saw the fans immediately turn on Roos and they hammered him for the remainder of his short time at the club. He would only make four appearances for the Millers and in those games, Roos conceded 10 goals. After just six weeks at the New York Stadium, Roos was sent back to Derby. Rotherham brought in Lee Camp on a free to replace him, which thankfully turned out to be a much better signing!
Since his shocking time at Rotherham, Roos has had loan spells at AFC Wimbledon, Bristol Rovers, Port Vale and Plymouth. But in the last two seasons, Roos has become a regular starter for Derby. He has made 47 appearances for the Rams in the last two years, and Rotherham will likely lineup against him in the Championship next season!
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