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Trevor Francis (born Plymouth, England, April 19,
1954) was a noted football (soccer)|footballer who
is in the English game's history books as the
first one million pound player.

Francis, a nippy and skilful forward, joined
Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City as a
schoolboy but was quickly into the first team,
making his debut in 1970, aged just 16. His talent
was  noted when, before his 17th birthday, he
scored four goals in one game. He ended his first
season with 15 goals from just 22 games.

Birmingham City were an average side in the 1970s,
reaching the odd domestic semi-final but never
making great shakes in the Football League
Championship|First Division championship, so the
ability and achievements of Francis were made more
notable as a result.

In 1977 he scored one of Birmingham's most famous
goals, when he turned away from the touchline and
cut inside four Queens Park Rangers F.C.|QPR
defenders, constantly being forced backwards,
before suddenly unleashing a 25 yard shot which
caught the goalkeeper off guard. In the same year,
he was given his first England national football
team|England cap by Don Revie. England were beaten
2-0 by Holland national football team|Holland.

Francis negotiated a secondment from Birmingham in
1978 to play for the Detroit Express in the
fledgling North American Soccer League|NASL in
1978, before returning home to the Midlands.
However, in February 1979 came the moment which
would define his career and leave his name
permanently in football folklore.

Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest, the
reigning League champions and League Cup holders
managed by Brian Clough, put in a bid for Francis
which totalled just over one million pounds. No
player had ever been sold between English clubs
for a seven-figure fee before, and the deal was
sealed, with Francis famously being introduced to
the media by a manager impatient to play squash -
Clough was in his white gym kit and carrying a
racquet as he took the press conference.

Forest retained the League Cup shortly afterwards
though Francis was ineligible, and made progress
in the European Cup to the extent that they
reached the semi-finals, at which point Francis
was permitted by registration rules to take part.
They won their semi-final, and in May 1979 Forest
took on Sweden|Swedish side Malmö FF|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 lugubrious but
skilful winger John Neilson Robertson|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 was sprinting into position but even he
had to up the pace 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 the goal was used in
the opening titles to Match of the Day for 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 stadium.
Even though the season ended there, Francis duly
headed back to Detroit for another summer playing
in the NASL.

Francis never fully got into the groove as a
Forest player. He was in the side which lost the
League Cup final to Wolverhampton Wanderers
F.C.|Wolves in 1980 but then retained the European
Cup against Hamburger SV|Hamburg SV, yet somehow
his Forest career never took off in the way such a
huge fee would demand. He scored 14 goals that
season and just six the next. Although still a
regular for England (though he wasn't in the squad
for the 1980 European Football Championship|1980
European Championships because of injury), his
club football was not hitting heights.

He was sold to Manchester City F.C.|Manchester
City in 1981 (again for a million pounds - the fee
was now commonplace after the initial purchase
opened the floodgates) where he scored 12 goals in
26 games and made the squad for the Football World
Cup 1982|1982 World Cup in Spain. He duly managed
goals in the group games against Czechoslovakia
national football team|Czechoslovakia and Kuwait
national football team|Kuwait but when England
needed goals in the second group phase, he and the
other strikers hit a barren spell. England went
out after two goalless draws.

Later that summer, Francis was courted by
Italy|Italian giants U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria, who
paid Manchester City 700,000 pounds for his
services. He won the Coppa Italia in 1985 before
joining Atalanta B.C.|Atalanta for 800,000 pounds
where he played plenty of games but only managed
one goal. In 1986, he made his 52nd and final
appearance for England in a victory over Scotland
national football team|Scotland. He had scored
eleven goals.

Francis returned to Britain in 1987 and joined
Rangers F.C. under Graeme Souness, as part of his
self-styled "English invasion" at Ibrox. Francis
cost just 75,000 pounds and won the Scottish Cup
in 1988 before moving to London to become
player-manager of QPR.

Though still an outstanding player with QPR,
Francis was blasted for his management style, with
players claiming he was too strict a
disciplinarian - he once famously tried to ban one
of his players from attending the birth of his
first child because QPR were due to play an
important game. The player went to his wife's side
anyway and Francis fined and publicly slammed the
player, which earned him enormous criticism.

Francis left QPR in 1990 to play for Sheffield
Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday, winning the
League Cup in 1991 as a non-playing substitute
(soccer)|substitute, prior to promotion back to
the top flight. He later took over as manager
after the departure of Ron Atkinson and guided
Wednesday to an excellent third placed finish in
1992. The following year, Wednesday reached the FA
Cup and League Cup finals, losing both to Arsenal
F.C.|Arsenal, the former after a replay. In 1994,
Francis finally retired as a player.

After leaving Wednesday, Francis spent time
working as a television pundit (something which he
had done throughout his career and at which he
excelled) before going back to his spiritual home
of Birmingham City as manager in 1996, aiming to
get them back into the top flight. They continued
to reach the play-offs but failed to get
promotion. They also lost a League Cup final in
2001 to Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool. Francis left
later that year.

He had a short spell in charge of Crystal Palace
F.C.|Crystal Palace, the only notable moment of
which was when he smacked his reserve goalkeeper
Aleks Kolinko after the player had laughed when
Palace conceded a goal.

Francis, who is married to childhood sweetheart
Helen, is now working once again as a pundit.