Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward 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 from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. He scored the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmö. He won the European Cup again with the club the following year. As a schoolboy, he was a prolific goalscorer; He ended his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games.
On 30 October 1976, he scored one of Birmingham's most famous goals, when he turned away from the touchline and cut inside two Queens Park Rangers defenders, constantly being forced backwards, before suddenly unleashing a shot.
Detroit Express
Francis negotiated a loan from Birmingham in 1978 to play for the Detroit Express in the North American Soccer League (NASL), where he scored 22 goals in 19 league matches and was named in the NASL first XI alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia before returning home to the Midlands.
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest, the reigning First Division 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 (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 play squash; Clough was in his red gym kit and carrying a racquet as he addressed the press conference.
While recognised as the first British million-pound player, 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 a tongue-in-cheek remark by Clough.
Nottingham Forest retained the League Cup shortly afterwards without the cup-tied Francis, and made progress in the European Cup to the extent that they reached the semi-finals, although Francis was not eligible to play in the competition until the final. They won their semi-final, and in May 1979 Forest took on Swedish club 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 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 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. 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 City Ground stadium.
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 alongside Johan Cruyff (Los Angeles Aztecs) and Giorgio Chinaglia (New York Cosmos), despite playing only half the season. In his brief NASL career, Francis scored 36 goals in 33 regular season matches and had 18 assists.
At Nottingham Forest Clough frequently played Francis on the right wing, rather than in his preferred position as a central attacker. Francis was in the side which lost the 1980 League Cup Final to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but missed the European Cup Final against Hamburg due to an injury to his Achilles tendon. Somehow the success of his Forest career never quite reflected his huge fee: The deal caused behind-the-scenes friction at Manchester City. During negotiations City chairman Peter Swales informed manager John Bond that the club could not afford the transfer fee. Bond then issued an ultimatum: if Francis did not sign, Bond would resign. In total he scored 12 goals in 26 games and made the England squad for the 1982 World Cup.
Sampdoria
Later that summer, Francis was approached by Italian club Sampdoria, who paid Manchester City £700,000 for his services. He helped win the 1984–85 Coppa Italia, in the same team as Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness, by scoring 9 goals in 11 games (top scorer of the Cup). It was the first time that Sampdoria had won the competition.
Atalanta
Francis joined Atalanta in 1986. He played 21 league games and scored once in his only season, but added two goals in nine games in the Coppa Italia; Atalanta lost the final to Napoli. He was the second Englishman at the Bergamo-based club after Gerry Hitchens, and by the time of his death their only other English-born player was Ademola Lookman.
Rangers
Francis returned to Britain in September 1987 to join Rangers under Graeme Souness. Numerous English players were brought to the Scottish club by Souness as English clubs had been banned from European competition since the Heysel disaster. Francis cost just £75,000, signed on a "pay-as-you-play" basis, and won the 1987–88 Scottish League Cup, scoring a penalty in the shootout.
Queens Park Rangers
Francis signed for Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in March 1988 and helped the team finish fifth in the First Division. 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 when Jim Smith moved to Newcastle United, but a knee injury in January 1989 put an end to his playing season.
In March 1989, QPR player Martin Allen left the preparations for a game away at Newcastle 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.
During his time at Queens Park Rangers, Francis completed a brief loan in 1988 with an Australian National Soccer League team, Wollongong City, as part of businessman Harry Michaels' attempt to market football in Australia. Michaels had previously funded the loans of Alan Brazil and Paul Mariner, whom Francis was to replace, and had discussions with Norman Whiteside, Nigel Clough and Michel Platini about playing for the New South Wales-based team. However, that season he helped Wednesday win the League Cup, although he was a non-playing substitute in the final, and also gained promotion back to the top flight. Francis was named in the England squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain. In the first round of the tournament, he scored in the group games against Czechoslovakia and Kuwait. In spring 1986, he made his 52nd and final appearance for England in a victory over Scotland, and was subsequently not selected for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. 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, shortly before his 40th birthday. Wednesday also reached the semi finals of the League Cup that season. He was dismissed as manager a year later after Wednesday finished 13th in the Premiership.
In January 1992, Francis brought former French international Eric 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 on AstroTurf, Francis requested an extension to the trial to see whether Cantona could play on grass. An outraged Cantona walked out on The Owls and was signed (without a trial) by Leeds 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, and Michel 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.
Birmingham City
12 months after being sacked by Sheffield Wednesday, Francis returned to Birmingham City as manager in May 1996, with the club having just finished 15th in Division One (the equivalent of the old Second Division, now known as the EFL Championship). Among his first signings were a host of former top division title winners - Steve Bruce, Mike Newell and Gary Ablett, as well as former FA Cup winner Barry Horne and club record signing Paul Furlong.
After a disappointing start in 1996-97, Francis lifted the Blues away from the relegation battle to finish 10th. His second season brought a seventh place finish, with the Blues only missing out on the playoffs on goals scored. The next three seasons saw the Blues finally make the breakthrough into the playoffs, only to lose in the semi finals each time.
Francis led Blues to the 2001 League Cup Final, in which they lost on penalties to Liverpool. He was dismissed in October that year. BBC Sport wrote "Francis the player was legendary. Francis the manager is the nearly man". 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. and beat Palace's main rivals, Brighton & Hove Albion, 5–0 in October 2002. 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."
Francis never returned to management after his exit from Selhurst Park.
Personal life
thumb|200px|Francis in 2009
Francis married Helen Allcard in 1974.
On 13 April 2012, Francis was reported to be recovering in hospital from a suspected heart attack.
Francis died of a heart attack at his home near Marbella, Spain, on 24 July 2023. He was 69.
Career statistics
Club
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan=2|Club
!rowspan=2|Season
!colspan=3|League
!colspan=2|National cup
!colspan=2|League cup
!colspan=2|Europe
!colspan=2|Other
!colspan=2|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="10"|Birmingham City
|1970–71
|Second Division
|22||15||2||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||26||15
|-
|1971–72
|NASL
|19||22||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||3||3||22||25
|-
|rowspan="5"|Nottingham Forest
|1978–79
|Serie A
|21||1||9||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||30||3
|-
|Rangers
|1987–88
|Scottish Premier Division
|18||0||1||0||2||0||4||0||colspan="2"|—||25||0
|-
|rowspan="4"|Queens Park Rangers
|1987–88
|National Soccer League
|3||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||3||2
|-
|rowspan="6"|Sheffield Wednesday
|1989–90
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan=10|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
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!52!!12
|}
:Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Francis goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Trevor Francis
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|24 May 1978
|Wembley Stadium, London, England
|
|style="text-align:center"|3–0
|style="text-align:center"|4–1
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|rowspan=2|17 October 1979
|rowspan=2|Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
|rowspan=2|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center"|5–1
|rowspan=2|UEFA Euro 1980 qualification
|rowspan=2|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|style="text-align:center"|3–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|26 March 1980
|Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
|
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6
|27 April 1982
|Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|1981–82 British Home Championship
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|7
|20 June 1982
|Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|1982 FIFA World Cup Group stage
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|8
|25 June 1982
|Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|1982 FIFA World Cup Group stage
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|9
|rowspan=2|22 September 1982
|rowspan=2|Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark
|rowspan=2|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center"|2–2
|rowspan=2|UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
|rowspan=2|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|10
|style="text-align:center"|2–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|11
|27 April 1983
|Wembley Stadium, London, England
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|12
|19 June 1983
|Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–1
|Friendly
|
|}
Managerial statistics
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: left"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan="2"|Team
!rowspan="2"|From
!rowspan="2"|To
!colspan="5"|Record
|-
!!!!!!!!!
|-
|Queens Park Rangers
|14 December 1988
|27 November 1989
|-
|Sheffield Wednesday
|17 June 1991
|20 May 1995
|-
|Birmingham City
|10 May 1996
|15 October 2001
|-
|Crystal Palace
|30 November 2001
|18 April 2003
|-
!colspan="3"|Total
|}
Honours
Player
Birmingham City
- Football League Second Division runner-up: 1971–72
Detroit Express
- American Conference Central Division: 1978
- European Super Cup: 1979
Rangers
- Scottish League Cup: 1987–88
- Onze d'Argent: 1979
- Coppa Italia top scorer: 1984–85 (9 goals)
Manager
Sheffield Wednesday
- FA Cup runner-up: 1992–93
- Football League Cup runner-up: 1992–93