Trevor Francis

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. At international level, he played for England 52 times between 1976 and 1986, scoring 12 goals, and played at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Between 1988 and 2003, Francis was manager of Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace.

Early life and education

Trevor John Francis was born on 19 April 1954 in Plymouth, Devon. His father, Roy, was a shift foreman with the local gas board and played football semi-professionally, his mother, Phyllis, did part-time sewing and tailoring, and he had two younger siblings. Francis was educated at Pennycross primary school and Plymouth's Public Secondary School for Boys. As a schoolboy, he was a prolific goalscorer; at 14, he attended a Football Association course at the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey, and he joined Birmingham City as a 15-year-old school-leaver.

Club career

Birmingham City

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 against Bolton Wanderers. He ended his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games. Birmingham City manager at the time, Freddie Goodwin, compared Francis to both Jimmy Greaves and Denis Law.