Trevor Francis - Misplaced Pages

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Trevor John Francis (born April 19, 1954 in Plymouth, England), was educated at Plymouth's Public Secondary School for Boys and was a noted footballer and England's first £1 million player.

Francis, an agile and skilful forward, joined Birmingham City as a schoolboy and quickly rose in status, making his debut appearance for its first team in 1970, aged just 16. His talent was noted when, before his 17th birthday, he scored four goals in one game. He ended his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games.

Birmingham City was an average team in the 1970s, reaching the occasional domestic semi-final but failing to make a great impact in the First Division championship, so the ability and achievements of Francis were made more notable as a result.

In 1976 he scored one of Birmingham's most famous goals, when he turned away from the touchline and cut inside four QPR defenders, constantly being forced backwards, before suddenly unleashing a 25-yard shot which caught the goalkeeper off guard. In the same year, he was given his first England cap by Don Revie. England were beaten 2-0 by Holland.

Francis negotiated a secondment from Birmingham in 1978 to play for the Detroit Express in the fledgling North American Soccer League (NASL), before returning home to the Midlands. However, in February 1979 came the moment which would define his career and leave his name permanently in football folklore.

Nottingham Forest, the reigning League champions and League Cup holders managed by Brian 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, and the deal was sealed, with Francis famously being introduced to the media by a manager impatient to play squash - Clough was in his white gym kit and carrying a racquet as he addressed the press conference.

While widely recognised as the first million pound player the actual transfer fee for the player was £999,999 - £1 short of the million mark as Brian Clough want to ensure this milestone mark didn't go the player's head.

Nottingham Forest retained the League Cup shortly afterwards (though Francis was ineligible), and made progress in the European Cup to the extent that they reached the semi-finals, at which point Francis was permitted by registration rules to take part. They won their semi-final, and in May 1979 Forest took on Swedish side Malmö in the final in Munich, and a major instalment of the huge investment money was repaid just before half time.

The ball was spread to Forest's lugubrious but skilful winger John Robertson wide on the left and he took on two defenders at once to reach the byline and curl an awkward, outswinging cross towards the far post. Francis had already begun to sprint into position, but even he had to increase his pace 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. Forest won the match 1-0 and footage of the goal was used in the opening titles to Match 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's stadium. Even though the season ended there, Francis duly headed back to Detroit for another summer playing in the NASL.

Francis arguably did not achieve his full potential as a Forest player. This may partly be due to Clough frequently playing Francis on the right wing, rather than in his preferred position as a central attacker. He was in the side which lost the League Cup final to Wolves in 1980 but missed the European Cup final against Hamburg SV due to an injury to his Achilles tendon. Somehow the success of his Forest career never quite reflected his huge fee, he scored only 14 league goals in the 1979-80 season and six in the eighteen games that he played for Forest in the next. Although still a regular for England (his Achilles injury prevented him being in the squad for the 1980 European Championships), his scoring record in club football was not spectacular.

Francis' injury kept him out of the game for over six months, and after playing fewer than twenty more games for Forest, he was sold to Manchester City in 1981 (again for £1 million - the fee had become commonplace after the initial purchase opened the floodgates), where he scored 12 goals in 26 games and made the squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He duly scored goals in the group games against Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, but when England needed goals in the second group phase, he and the other strikers hit a barren spell. England was eliminated after two goalless draws.

Later that summer, Francis was approached by Italian giants Sampdoria, who paid Manchester City £700,000 for his services. He helped win the Coppa Italia in 1985 before joining Atalanta for £800,000, where he played in many games but only managed one goal. In 1986, he made his 52nd and final appearance for England in a victory over Scotland. He had scored eleven goals for the national side.

Francis returned to Britain in 1987 and joined Rangers F.C. under Graeme Souness, as part of his self-styled "English invasion" at Ibrox. Francis cost just £75,000 and won the Scottish Cup in 1988 before moving to London to become player-manager of Queens Park Rangers (QPR).

Though still an outstanding player with QPR, Francis was criticised for his management style, with players claiming he was too strict a disciplinarian - he once famously tried to ban one player from attending the birth of his first child because QPR were due to play an important game. The player went to his wife's side anyway, and Francis fined and publicly criticised the player, which earned him widespread condemnation.

Francis left QPR in 1990 to play for Sheffield Wednesday, winning the League Cup in 1991 as a non-playing substitute, prior to promotion back to the top flight. He later took over as manager after the departure of Ron Atkinson and guided Wednesday to an excellent third place finish in 1992. The following year, Wednesday reached the FA Cup and League Cup finals, losing both to Arsenal, the former after a replay. In 1994, Francis finally retired as a player.

After leaving Wednesday, Francis spent time working as a television pundit (something which he had done throughout his career and at which he excelled) before going back to his spiritual home of Birmingham City as manager in 1996, aiming to regain their position as a top team. They continued to reach the play-offs but failed to be promoted. They also lost a League Cup final in 2001 to Liverpool. Francis left later that year.

He had a short spell in charge of Crystal Palace, the only notable moments of which was when he smacked his reserve goalkeeper Alexandrs Kolinko after the player had laughed when Palace conceded a goal, and in February 2003, when Palace pulled off a major coup by beating Liverpool in an FA Cup fourth round replay, at Anfield. Francis was dismissed by ruthless chairman Simon Jordan, shortly afterwards.

Francis, who is married to childhood sweetheart Helen, is now working once again as a pundit with Sky Sports.

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