_-_Trevor_Francis.jpg) Francis in 1980 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Trevor John Francis | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-04-19)19 April 1954 | ||
| Place of birth | Plymouth, England | ||
| Date of death | 24 July 2023(2023-07-24) (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | Marbella, Spain | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1969–1970 | Birmingham City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1979 | Birmingham City | 280 | (118) |
| 1978 | →Detroit Express (loan) | 19 | (22) |
| 1979–1981 | Nottingham Forest | 70 | (28) |
| 1979 | →Detroit Express (loan) | 14 | (14) |
| 1981–1982 | Manchester City | 26 | (12) |
| 1982–1986 | Sampdoria | 67 | (17) |
| 1986–1987 | Atalanta | 21 | (1) |
| 1987–1988 | Rangers | 18 | (1) |
| 1988–1990 | Queens Park Rangers | 32 | (12) |
| 1988 | →Wollongong City (loan) | 3 | (2) |
| 1990–1994 | Sheffield Wednesday | 76 | (5) |
| Total | 626 | (231) | |
| International career | |||
| 1971–1972 | England Youth[2] | 10 | (4) |
| 1973–1976 | England U23[3] | 5 | (0) |
| 1977–1986 | England[4] | 52 | (12) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988–1989 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1991–1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 1996–2001 | Birmingham City | ||
| 2001–2003 | Crystal Palace | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an Englishfootballer who played as aforward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player following his transfer fromBirmingham City toNottingham Forest. He scored the winning goal for Forest in the1979 European Cup final againstMalmö. He won the European Cup again with the club the following year.[5] At international level, he played forEngland 52 times between 1976 and 1986, scoring 12 goals, and played at the1982 FIFA World Cup.
Between 1988 and 2003, Francis wasmanager ofQueens Park Rangers,Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City andCrystal Palace.
Trevor John Francis was born on 19 April 1954 inPlymouth,Devon.[6][7][8] His father, Roy, was a shift foreman with the localgas board and played football semi-professionally, his mother, Phyllis, did part-time sewing andtailoring, and he had two younger siblings.[9][7] Francis was educated at Pennycross primary school and Plymouth's Public Secondary School for Boys.[10] As a schoolboy, he was a prolific goalscorer;[7] at 14, he attended aFootball Association course at theNational Sports Centre atBisham Abbey, and he joinedBirmingham City as a 15-year-old school-leaver.[10]
Francis quickly rose in status, making his debut for Birmingham City's first team in 1970, aged just 16. His talent was noted when, before his 17th birthday, he scored four goals in a match againstBolton Wanderers.[9] He ended his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games.[11] Birmingham City manager at the time,Freddie Goodwin, compared Francis to bothJimmy Greaves andDenis Law.[12]
On 30 October 1976, he scored one of Birmingham's most famous goals, when he turned away from the touchline and cut inside twoQueens Park Rangersdefenders, constantly being forced backwards, before suddenly unleashing a 25-yard (23 m) shot.[13]
Francis negotiated a loan from Birmingham in 1978 to play for theDetroit Express in theNorth American Soccer League (NASL),[14] where he scored 22 goals in 19 league matches and was named in the NASL first XI alongsideFranz Beckenbauer andGiorgio Chinaglia before returning home to theMidlands.[15]
Nottingham Forest, thereigning First Division champions andLeague Cup holders managed byBrian Clough, put in a bid for Francis which totalled just over £1 million. No player had ever been sold between English clubs for a seven-figure fee before (the erstwhile record was less than half), and the deal was sealed, with Francis famously being introduced to the media by a manager impatient to playsquash; Clough was in his red gym kit and carrying aracquet as he addressed the press conference.[16][17]
While recognised as the first British million-pound player,[18] the actual transfer fee for the player was £1,150,000, including 15% commission to the Football League. Clough wrote in his autobiography that the fee was £999,999, as he wanted to ensure the million-pound milestone did not go to the player's head; although Francis says that was atongue-in-cheek remark by Clough.[19][20]
Nottingham Forest retained theLeague Cup shortly afterwards without thecup-tied Francis,[21][22] and made progress in theEuropean Cup to the extent that they reached the semi-finals,[23] although Francis was not eligible to play in the competition until the final.[24] They won their semi-final, and in May 1979 Forest took on Swedish clubMalmö inthe final inMunich, and a major instalment of the huge investment money was repaid just before half time.[25]
The ball was spread to Forest'swingerJohn Robertson wide on the left and he took on two defenders at once to reach the byline and curl an awkward, outswingingcross towards the far post. Francis had already begun to sprint into position, but even so he had to increase his pace in order to reach the cross as it dropped, and ended up throwing himself low at the ball. He connected with his head and the ball diverted powerfully into the roof of the net.[26][27][28] Forest won the match 1–0 and footage of the goal was used in the opening titles toMatch of the Day for some years afterwards. A giant picture of Francis stooping to head the ball remains on display in the main entrance and reception area of Forest'sCity Ground stadium.[29]
Even though the season ended there, Francis duly headed back to Detroit for another summer playing in the NASL, where once again he was named to the first XI alongsideJohan Cruyff (Los Angeles Aztecs) andGiorgio Chinaglia (New York Cosmos),[30] despite playing only half the season. In his brief NASL career, Francis scored 36 goals in 33 regular season matches and had 18 assists.[31]
At Nottingham Forest Clough frequently played Francis on theright wing, rather than in his preferred position as acentral attacker.[13][32] Francis was in the side which lost the1980 League Cup Final toWolverhampton Wanderers, but missed theEuropean Cup Final againstHamburg due to an injury to hisAchilles tendon.[11][33] Somehow the success of his Forest career never quite reflected his huge fee:[17][13] he scored only 14 league goals in the1979–80 season and 6 in the next 18 games that he played for Forest.[11] Although still a regular for England, his Achilles injury prevented him being in the squad for the1980 European Championships.[33]
The injury kept Francis out of the game for over six months. He was sold toManchester City in September 1981, this time for £1.2 million.[34] The deal caused behind-the-scenes friction at Manchester City. During negotiations City chairmanPeter Swales informed managerJohn Bond that the club could not afford the transfer fee. Bond then issued an ultimatum: if Francis did not sign, Bond would resign.[34] Francis made a promising start at the club, scoring two goals againstStoke City on his debut, but over the course of the season he was frequently injured.[35] In total he scored 12 goals in 26 games and made the England squad for the1982 World Cup.[12]
Back at his club, financial problems were again an issue. Francis' contract gave him a salary of £100,000 plus bonuses, which the club could no longer afford to pay to a player who regularly sustained injuries.[36]
Later that summer, Francis was approached by Italian clubSampdoria, who paid Manchester City £700,000 for his services.[37] He helped win the1984–85 Coppa Italia, in the same team asScotland midfielderGraeme Souness, by scoring 9 goals in 11 games (top scorer of the Cup). It was the first time that Sampdoria had won the competition.[38]
Francis joinedAtalanta in 1986. He played 21 league games and scored once inhis only season, but added two goals in nine games in theCoppa Italia; Atalanta lostthe final toNapoli. He was the second Englishman at theBergamo-based club afterGerry Hitchens, and by the time of his death their only other English-born player wasAdemola Lookman.[39]
Francis returned to Britain in September 1987 to joinRangers under Graeme Souness. Numerous English players were brought to the Scottish club by Souness as English clubs had been banned from European competition since theHeysel disaster.[40] Francis cost just £75,000, signed on a "pay-as-you-play" basis, and won the1987–88 Scottish League Cup, scoring a penalty in the shootout.[41]
Francis signed forQueens Park Rangers on a free transfer in March 1988 and helped the team finish fifth in the First Division.[42] He scored 10 goals from 26 appearances in the first half of the 1988–89 season and took over as player-manager in December 1988 whenJim Smith moved toNewcastle United, but a knee injury in January 1989 put an end to his playing season.[42] He marked his return to the field in September 1989 with a hat-trick againstAston Villa,[42] but was replaced as manager byDon Howe in November 1989 and his playing contract was paid up a few days later.[43]
In March 1989, QPR playerMartin Allen left the preparations for a game away atNewcastle United in order to witness the birth of his son. Francis fined him two weeks' wages, a decision that was condemned by the British press and discussed in Parliament. Francis expressed remorse, but never recovered the trust of Allen, who left for West Ham at the end of the season.[44][45]
During his time at Queens Park Rangers, Francis completed a brief loan in 1988 with an AustralianNational Soccer League team,Wollongong City, as part of businessmanHarry Michaels' attempt to market football in Australia. Michaels had previously funded the loans ofAlan Brazil andPaul Mariner, whom Francis was to replace, and had discussions withNorman Whiteside,Nigel Clough andMichel Platini about playing for theNew South Wales-based team.[46][47]
Francis left QPR in February 1990 to play forSheffield Wednesday; despite gaining a good reputation amongst supporters, he could not help the club avoid relegation to the second tier under managerRon Atkinson for the1990–91 season.[48] However, that season he helped Wednesday win theLeague Cup, although he was a non-playingsubstitute in the final, and also gained promotion back to the top flight.[49][11]
Francis played forEngland 52 times between 1977 and 1986 and scored 12 goals.[8] In 1977, he was given his first England cap byDon Revie, in a 2–0 loss against theNetherlands.[8] After missing out onEuro 1980 due to an Achilles injury,[50] Francis was named in the England squad for the1982 World Cup in Spain. In the first round of the tournament, he scored in the group games againstCzechoslovakia andKuwait.[8] England were eliminated after goalless draws against both thehost nation andWest Germany.[51] In spring 1986, he made his 52nd and final appearance for England in a victory overScotland, and was subsequently not selected for the1986 World Cup in Mexico.[8]
After the departure ofRon Atkinson, Francis took over as manager of Sheffield Wednesday with popular support from club and supporters. He guided Wednesday to third-place finish in 1992.[52] The following year, Wednesday reached theFA Cup andLeague Cup finals, losing both toArsenal, the former after a replay.[53] In 1994, Francis finally retired as a player, shortly before his 40th birthday.[54] He was dismissed as manager a year later after Wednesday finished 13th in the Premiership.[55]
In February 1992, Francis brought former French internationalEric Cantona back from a poor discipline enforced hiatus in his career by inviting him for a trial at Sheffield Wednesday. However, as the snowy conditions meant that he could only evaluate Cantona onAstroTurf, Francis requested an extension to the trial to see whether Cantona could play on grass.[56] An outraged Cantona walked out on The Owls and was signed (without a trial) byLeeds United, inspiring first them and then Manchester United to success. In a 2012 interview Francis said that he had agreed to take Cantona on as a favour to Francis' former agent, Dennis Roach, andMichel Platini, who he knew from his time playing in Italy, when they approached him about taking on Cantona, and that it was intended as an opportunity for Cantona to put himself in the "shop window": Wednesday had only recently been promoted back to the top flight, with most of the squad still being on Second Division-level wages, and the club could not afford to sign him.[57]
Francis was hired by Birmingham City as manager in 1996, with the club in the First Division (the equivalent of the old Second Division, now known as the EFL Championship). He guided Birmingham to 10th- and 7th-place finishes in his first two seasons, missing out on the playoffs on goal difference in the latter. Finishes of 4th, 4th and 5th in the next three seasons resulted in playoff entry, losing each time.[58]
Francis led Blues to the2001 League Cup Final, in which they lost on penalties toLiverpool. He was dismissed in October that year.BBC Sport wrote "Francis the player was legendary. Francis the manager is the nearly man".[58]
Francis was manager ofCrystal Palace from November 2001 to April 2003.[59][60] He was appointed by Crystal Palace chairman,Simon Jordan to replaceSteve Bruce who had resigned as Crystal Palace manager with the intention of taking the manager's role at Birmingham City. Litigation had followed with Bruce being placed on "gardening leave".[61] Of the appointment Jordan said, "The last two or three weeks have not been easy. I'm bored of Steve Bruce and Birmingham and what I'm interested in is Trevor Francis and Crystal Palace." At the time Francis said that he had turned down four jobs before accepting the role at Crystal Palace.[59] Under his managership, Palace defeated aGerard Houllier-managedLiverpool in an FA Cup fourth round replay atAnfield in February 2003[62] and beat Palace's main rivals,Brighton & Hove Albion, 5–0 in October 2002.[63] However, after the team's second failure to achieve promotion to the Premier League, Simon Jordan dismissed him, stating: "People know I am very unhappy with the selection of our players under Francis. We have a very strong squad and we should have done a lot better this season – a lot of lessons need to be learned from injury prevention and transfer policy."[60]
Francis married Helen Allcard in 1974.[10] The couple had two children, Matthew and James.[10] On 5 April 2017, it was reported that Helen Francis had died.[64]
On 13 April 2012, Francis was reported to be recovering in hospital from a suspectedheart attack.[65]
Francis died of a heart attack at his home nearMarbella, Spain, on 24 July 2023. He was 69.[7][66][67]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Birmingham City | 1970–71[11] | Second Division | 22 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 15 | ||
| 1971–72[11] | Second Division | 39 | 12 | 6[c] | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 1 | 48 | 15 | ||
| 1972–73[11] | First Division | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 37 | 8 | |||
| 1973–74[11] | First Division | 37 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | 3[e] | 1 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 1974–75[11] | First Division | 23 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[e] | 1 | 28 | 14 | ||
| 1975–76[11] | First Division | 35 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 18 | |||
| 1976–77[11] | First Division | 42 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 45 | 21 | |||
| 1977–78[11] | First Division | 42 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[f] | 2 | 48 | 29 | ||
| 1978–79[11] | First Division | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 11 | 4 | |||
| Total | 280 | 118 | 20 | 6 | 19 | 4 | — | 10 | 5 | 329 | 133 | |||
| Detroit Express (loan) | 1978[68] | NASL | 19 | 22 | — | — | — | 3[g] | 3 | 22 | 25 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 1978–79[11] | First Division | 20 | 6 | — | — | 1[h] | 1 | — | 21 | 7 | |||
| 1979–80[11] | First Division | 30 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6[i] | 3 | — | 44 | 17 | ||
| 1980–81[11] | First Division | 18 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1[j] | 0 | 1[k] | 0 | 26 | 11 | |||
| 1981–82[11] | First Division | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 70 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 37 | ||
| Detroit Express (loan) | 1979[68] | NASL | 14 | 14 | — | — | — | 2[g] | 0 | 16 | 14 | |||
| Manchester City | 1981–82[11] | First Division | 26 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 14 | ||
| Sampdoria | 1982–83[citation needed] | Serie A | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 19 | 8 | |||
| 1983–84[citation needed] | Serie A | 15 | 3 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||||
| 1984–85[citation needed] | Serie A | 24 | 6 | 11 | 9 | — | — | — | 35 | 15 | ||||
| 1985–86[citation needed] | Serie A | 14 | 1 | 11 | 1 | — | 3[l] | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| Total | 67 | 17 | 34 | 13 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 104 | 30 | ||||
| Atalanta | 1986–87[69] | Serie A | 21 | 1 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||
| Rangers | 1987–88[70] | Scottish Premier Division | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[h] | 0 | — | 25 | 0 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 1987–88[11] | First Division | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| 1988–89[11] | First Division | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | — | 1[m] | 0 | 26 | 10 | ||
| 1989–90[11] | First Division | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 5 | |||
| Total | 32 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | 42 | 15 | |||
| Wollongong City (loan) | 1988[47] | National Soccer League | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1989–90[11] | First Division | 12 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 1990–91[11] | Second Division | 38 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | — | 1[n] | 0 | 48 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92[11] | First Division | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 22 | 3 | |||
| 1992–93[11] | Premier League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[o] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1993–94[11] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 76 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 9 | ||
| Career total | 626 | 231 | 79 | 29 | 44 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 783 | 282 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1977 | 7 | 1 |
| 1978 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1980 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1982 | 10 | 5 | |
| 1983 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 52 | 12 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 March 1977 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Luxembourg | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification | [72] |
| 2 | 24 May 1978 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  Hungary | 3–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | [73] |
| 3 | 17 October 1979 | Windsor Park,Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 5–1 | UEFA Euro 1980 qualification | [74] |
| 4 | 3–1 | ||||||
| 5 | 26 March 1980 | Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain |  Spain | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [75] |
| 6 | 27 April 1982 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1981–82 British Home Championship | [76] |
| 7 | 20 June 1982 | Estadio San Mamés,Bilbao, Spain |  Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1982 FIFA World Cup Group stage | [77] |
| 8 | 25 June 1982 | Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain |  Kuwait | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1982 FIFA World Cup Group stage | [78] |
| 9 | 22 September 1982 | Idrætsparken,Copenhagen, Denmark |  Denmark | 1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification | [79] |
| 10 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 11 | 27 April 1983 | Wembley Stadium, London, England | Hungary | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualification | [80] |
| 12 | 19 June 1983 | Olympic Park Stadium,Melbourne, Australia |  Australia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | [81] |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Queens Park Rangers | 14 December 1988 | 27 November 1989 | 48 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 031.3 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 17 June 1991 | 20 May 1995 | 216 | 89 | 68 | 59 | 041.2 |
| Birmingham City | 10 May 1996 | 15 October 2001 | 290 | 139 | 70 | 81 | 047.9 |
| Crystal Palace | 30 November 2001 | 18 April 2003 | 78 | 28 | 22 | 28 | 035.9 |
| Total | 632 | 271 | 177 | 184 | 042.9 | ||
Birmingham City
Detroit Express
Nottingham Forest
Sampdoria
Rangers
Sheffield Wednesday
Individual
Sheffield Wednesday
Birmingham City
Individual
Francis is still remembered as the man who went for a million, yet never quite lived up to his billing.
Forest are still involved in the European Cup but he will not be able to play for them until the final. An FA spokesman explained: 'He had to be signed by January 15 to play in the semi-finals.'
'The £1m man puts his name on the score sheet, and returns a great deal of the cheque,' said commentatorBarry Davies after Francis headed home.
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |