'Thank you': Gareth Evans' emotional tribute to Fratton faithful after long-awaited Portsmouth reunion
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Gareth Evans cherished the chance to finally say farewell to the Fratton faithful - four years following an emotional departure.
And he has thanked Blues fans for a touching welcome back on a wonderfully nostalgic evening at Fratton Park for the launch of Played Up Pompey Four.
Evans reunited with League Two title-winning team-mates Danny Rose and Kal Naismith for Friday’s Q&A event in a packed Victory Lounge, hosted by Ian Darke.
Also attending were Pompey favourites Kit Symons, Mark Chamberlain, Tommy Youlden and Richie Reynolds, with around 400 supporters present.
The evening raised £2,500 to be shared between Pompey In The Community and the Pompey History Society, with Pompey kindly allowing use of the newly-refurbished Victory Lounge at no cost.
And for the ever-popular Evans, it was a first return to the club since leaving for Bradford in September 2020, almost to the day.
He told The News: ‘It was my first time back at Fratton Park for four years, pretty much to the day since I left for Bradford, and to finally get a bit of a farewell was great.
‘At the time I said goodbye on social media, but never really got that opportunity to do it properly. The way my career ended up panning out, I also didn’t get the chance to play at Fratton Park in any playing capacity again.
‘The fans were really, really nice on Friday, as they always have been with me. A lot of them took the opportunity to say thanks for everything I had done for the club and were very complimentary, asking me to sign their books.
‘It was good to mingle and speak with a lot of them. The improvements to the ground also look really good, everything seems very different, even though it was only four years ago.
‘I actually hadn't seen Kal since he left (May 2018), I’ve never come across him in a playing capacity, he has always been so far away playing-wise from wherever I have been based.
‘I used to play golf with him all the time at Skylark, but never had that opportunity since he left the club, although we’ve kept in touch on Instagram and social media.
‘It’s similar with Rosey, we’ve not seen each other since he left (January 2019). It’s nice to meet old team-mates and we were sharing quite a lot of stories from our days at the club together.
‘Everyone leaves the football club and they go off, have their own lives to live, families and clubs and it’s impossible to meet up. So when events like Friday night get organised, it’s great to have the opportunity to see faces and reminisce.’
Evans spent five years on the south coast after arriving in the summer of 2015 under Paul Cook.
Evans, who also attended Saturday’s Pompey’s goalless draw with Sheffield United, added: ‘It’s the second time I've been back to see the city.
‘I previously came down with Hazel one weekend, we just wanted to see some of our neighbours and friends we made in the city. I love coming back - I want to do it more often!’
Played Up Pompey Four is priced £18.99 and available from the Pompey Store and Waterstone’s in Portsmouth, Fareham, Chichester, Petersfield and Whiteley.
It can also be ordered online from Amazon. For copies autographed by Gareth Evans, Kit Symons, Milan Mandaric, Danny Rose, Kal Naismith, Mark Chamberlain, Brett Pitman, Adam Webster, John McLoughlin and Richie Reynolds, email [email protected]
Played Up Pompey (paperback) and Played Up Pompey Three are also still available - email [email protected]