Obituary
The first £1million footballer, and the first to be transferred twice for £1million when Cloughie lost patience with him and his injuries and flogged him to Manchester City in 1981.
5 years in Italy and then signed for Rangers – he might have been slower than his peak, but was still the most gifted player on the pitch most of the time.
Never did complete my 1980 Panini Book as my friend refused to swap the Trevor Francis sticker for Mick Mills, Phil Neal, and the Everton badge
Also, the only footballer to get a mention in a sitcom theme tune (some mush in Shepherds Bush was flogging Trevor Francis tracksuits)
Great player. I always enjoyed watching that Forest team. What a shame.
Barry Davies plus Trevor Francis. What a player he was. RiP
Having spent a million quid on him, why did Cloughie insist on playing him on the right wing rather than centrally? Trevor Francis versus Garry Birtles – Trev wins surely
His passing has really saddened me.
Obviously a tremendous player & in some ways a link between the old school no nonsense Brilcreem days when players lived on estates amongst the public & the modern fancy Dan crazy money we take for granted now.
That wasn’t of his making, it goes without saying & I’m sure there were many BCFC supporters who wondered what might have been for their club as the wunderkind departed in search of the ‘big’ time. He achieved pretty much the lot, European Cup, playing for England before a top career in Italy.
I’ll always associate him with European games on a warm summer evenings on a mate’s TV in the days before shirt sponsors. A couple a lagers & no stake in the match, just the desire for a good game.
Godspeed.
Lovely man from what I saw of him on the TV.
A good looking chap with a great smile, footballing talent and no ego.
They do still exist amongst the current crop but are much rarer I fear.
Wednesdayite here. Tricky Trevor joined Wednesday after relegation from the top flight in 1990 and helped them to go straight back up again, whilst winning the League Cup along the way. When Ron Atkinson left, he was the obvious choice as replacement and became Wednesday’s first and so far only player-manager, before hanging up his boots and taking us to a 3rd place league finish one season and two cup finals the next. Fondly remembered by all at Hillsborough. A great player and a true gent. Can you imagine a double European Cup winner nowadays choosing to end his playing career in the Championship? Those days are gone. RIP Trev.
Although he only won one European Cup, the oft-maligned Wayne Rooney finished his career in England with a season in the Championship with Derby, did he not?
P.S. Trev’s fondly remembered at my club QPR, and bringing him back into the England team was Roy Race’s first act during his stint as England manager.,
Fair point well made!
I saw his Wednesday make mincemeat of my lot (Chelsea) in that glorious season, including a couple of exquisitely worked free kicks.
It was clear to see that his side were working like clockwork & at that time they would have walked through walls for him.
Brilliant football to witness, regardless of my partisan angle.
Wow.
That is a shock.
RIP, Mr F
A great football player.
A great human being.
Go in peace Trevor Francis.
Great player and manager…assembled a fantastic team at Wednesday with the likes of Woods, Waddle, Hirst and Bright.
Owls fans will also be saddened by the premature passing of a midfielder from a later era, Chris Bart-Williams at only 49.
CBW also played for Notts Forest
Converted Centre Half Paul Warhurst into an England striker as well
RIP, very young. Always seemed to be a real nice guy based on his radio and TV analysis. Excellent footballer, but perhaps didn’t quite achieve as much in his playing career as once seemed inevitable
This article puts that viewpoint into perspective. A combination of injuries and eccentric/perverse management by Clough set him back when he was at his peak. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jul/24/trevor-francis-brian-clough-nottingham-forest-england?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Lifelong BCFC supporter and season ticket holder. Trevor Francis was always Blue – have no doubts about that He played 330 games for us – significantly more than for any other club. After his playing career he took us to our first cup final in many years as a manager -,we were robbed by Liverpool at the Millenium stadium. He also took us to 3 play offs in 3 consecutive years. I met him on a couple of occasions and he was a lovely guy. Also a massive music fan and Jeff Lynne has his photo on top of his grand piano. When he left Blues the funds from his transfer funded a great Birmingham team led by Jim Smith that included Colin Todd, Archie Gemmill and Frank Worthington.
He also scored a hat trick against Aston Villa as player manager of QPR. What a player.
I’m surprised no-one has mentioned Only Fools And Horses. In decades to come Trev’s name will be kept in the public mind by endless OFAH repeats..