A tribute to the Million Pound Man, Trevor Francis.
Trevor John Francis was born on 19 April, 1954.
Educated in his hometown of Plymouth, Devon, he joined Birmingham City as a schoolboy, making his first-team debut in 1970, aged just 16.
Francis caught the eye almost immediately in the early stages of his time with the Blues, scoring four goals in a match against Bolton Wanderers before he had even turned 17.
In 1977, Francis made his England debut, given his first cap by Don Revie in a 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands. During his career, he would go on to play 52 times for his country, scoring 12 goals.
Francis, a skilful and agile forward, would go on to play over 320 times for Birmingham, scoring 133 goals.
After a lengthy spell with the club, which included a loan move to Detroit Express in 1978, Francis’ time in the West Midlands came to an end.
In 1979, Francis signed for Nottingham Forest, famously becoming the first British player to cost one-million pounds.
His first season at The City Ground was a truly memorable one. On 30 May, 1979, Francis famously scored the winning goal as Forest won its first ever European Cup in a 1-0 victory over Malmö FF in Munich.
On the stroke of half-time, the forward was picked out by John Robertson’s cross to head in at the far post – a goal which goes down as one of the most iconic in the club’s history.
After heading on loan to Detroit Express – a club which he joined on loan during his time with Birmingham – Francis returned to Trentside.
Despite battling problems with an Achilles injury, Francis was a key player during the 1979/80 season. The forward scored important goals in the run-up to the 1980 European Cup final, including a brace against BFC Dynamo in the second leg of the quarter-final, and the opening goal against Ajax in the first leg of the semi-final.
Although he missed the final through injury, Francis was undoubtedly a key player in a squad which famously won back-to-back European Cups following a 1-0 win over Hamburg in Madrid on 28 May, 1980.
Francis departed the club for Manchester City in September 1981. He would also go on to have spells with Sampdoria, Atalanta, Rangers, Queens Park Rangers, Wollongong City and Sheffield Wednesday.
He made his management bow in 1988 with Queens Park Rangers, before taking charge of Sheffield Wednesday in 1991, Birmingham City in 1996, and Crystal Palace in 2011.
On Monday, 24 July 2023, Francis sadly passed away. His legacy at Nottingham Forest will never be forgotten.