Trevor Francis RIP

Everyone at Plymouth Argyle is saddened to hear of the death of footballing legend Trevor Francis. 

Trevor made 52 appearances for England, scoring 12 goals, and was famously the first player to transfer between British clubs for more than a million pounds, when he moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in 1979. 

Francis was born in Plymouth in April 1954, and grew up in the city, attending Plymouth Secondary School for Boys, in a building which is now on the University of Plymouth’s footprint. Trevor and his family spent time living in the Pennycross and Ernesettle areas of the city. 

Sadly for Argyle, the prodigious talents of Francis meant he was snapped up by Birmingham City, aged just 15, and moved to England’s second city. He made his Blues debut while still just 16, and over nine years, played 280 times for Birmingham scoring 118 goals. 
 

In February 1979, Francis’ move to Nottingham Forest smashed the British transfer record. Only the previous month, David Mills’ switch to West Bromwich Albion, from Middlesbrough, had made Mills the first player to move for £500,000, but Francis went for double that. 

In Forest, Trevor was heading to the reigning First Division champions, managed by Brian Clough, and in the midst of one of English football’s most enduring stories. 

At the conclusion to that season, Francis scored the only goal in the European Cup final, a magnificent diving header into the roof of the net, as Forest beat Malmo 1-0 in Munich. 

Forest would win the European Cup again the following season, although Francis missed out on that final because of injury, a factor that would end up plaguing his time at the City Ground. 

Francis moved to Manchester City in 1981, and played for England in the World Cup in 1982 in Spain. Playing up front with Argyle legend Paul Mariner, Francis scored in two of England’s group-stage wins. 

After the World Cup, Francis moved to Italian side Sampdoria and would go on to also play for Atalanta in Serie A. He moved to Rangers in 1987, for one season, before returning to England, at Queens Park Rangers. 

It was at Loftus Road, whilst still a player, that he made his moved into management, taking on a player/manager role at QPR, before doing similarly at Sheffield Wednesday. 

At Hillsborough, took the Owls to an FA Cup and League Cup final in the same season, a year after finishing third in the top flight. He continued to play until he was 39, meaning he had sustained a playing career at a very high level for 23 years. 

After leaving Sheffield Wednesday, Francis went on to be manager of his first club, Birmingham, for five years, and also had 18 months as boss of Crystal Palace, which turned out to be his last management job. 

A hugely respected and liked figure in football, Francis was also recognisable as a co-commentator and pundit for many years on ITV and Sky, and was a close friend of Argyle director Trevor East, who brought Francis along as a guest at Home Park on several occasions in recent years. 

Our sympathies are with all of Trevor’s family and friends. He will go down as one of the finest sporting talents that the city of Plymouth has ever produced.