I see the Oldham deal is falling apart - main club sponsor has said they'll pull out if the club signs him

He can't work overseas and no English club will touch him - so he'd better go & work for his girlfriends father

I don't feel sorry for him at all, many seem to forget about the victim. Her life will never be the same, she just can't forget about it and move on.

He is just suffering the consquences of his own behaviour.

"You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"

Stan Laurel

Not prescribing an answer either way here, but would you say that actually we should've treated Lee Hughes, Marlon King etc the same way Ched Evans has been treated, rather than conversely treating Ched Evans by the precedent set by past offenders?

I am tempted to say I don't think he should play football again. Mainly because I think he himself would probably find life easier if he didn't and I'm surprised he still persists with trying to get back into football given the attention it's getting.

If I had a criminal record for anything (doesn't matter what the crime was) I wouldn't be allowed to do my job any more or continue coaching on a voluntary basis at my local running club.

Edited by Part Time James (07 Jan 2015 9.17am)

Edited by Part Time James (07 Jan 2015 9.26am)

Well that's basically what I was asking in the bit you didn't quote. I think I am in agreement with you that the rules should be the same for everyone. For me I think I'm on the side of the fence that says "don't let any of them play" whereas not sure whether everyone would agree with that. And, I'll add, I'm not claiming my opinion is necessarily the right one!

Just a quick point, if we all got banned from working for committing a crime half the population would be out of work. That would include me, what ever happened to the prison reform lot. Not saying that those sort of crimes are ok or anything like that whatsoever. But, at the end of the day we have all got to make a living. Evans trade is football, if he was a brickie he would be able rightly or wrongly, to continue with his life and trade/job. Maybe he will have to give up football and find something else as a job.

South London born and bred
red and blue till im dead.

Actually you do make a valid point Johnny.

I think in some industries, such as banking which I do, it's impossible to gain employment because of perceived security issues (although technically if I shoplifted for example I don't think that's indicative that I would be a potential fraudster).

Although Evans hasn't actually served his sentance (it was 5 years and he has served 2 I think?) I actually think there are two issues here.
Firstly, will there come a point where he can't be bothered trying to gain employment in football where the sponsors and fans can hold the club (rightly or wrongly) to ransom over it? Will he not just decide to work for an employer where it is entirely at emplyer discretion whether or not to hire him?
Secondly, as above really, it is employer discretion whether to hire him or not. Sheffield United backed down because of the sponsorship and supportership they stood to lose as a result of the stigma attached to him. Oldham seem to want to plow on regardless. I respect both of these teams and neither of them are in the wrong for exercising their right to hire who they want to.

That may seem a little contradictory to what I was saying above. I would, however, sign a petition to say I didn't want him at Palace and that'd be purely based on the crime that he has served his time for.