Trevor Francis RIP

[Pete’s Picture Palace]

I appreciate this is late but the obituary didn't appear till Friday (4th) and I wanted to include it in my tribute to a truly great player and, by all accounts, a genuinely nice man. Though one or two players, such as Martin "Mad Dog" Allen may not have concurred when Trevor refused him permission to attend the birth of his first son. But I digress.

He burst on the scene at Birmingham, becoming the youngest ever player to score 4 goals in a game when he was just about 17. After nearly a decade at the Blues Brian Clough signed him for £1m and within weeks Trevor scored the winning header for Forest in the European Cup. He won 52 caps but scored only 12 goals, I would suggest that both figures are too low for a man of his ability. He journeyed round Britain and Europe (and briefly, Australia) as a player and then manager at 3 of his old clubs and my own, Crystal Palace, where, it should be said, he had only fleeting success at a difficult time for the club.

The obituary follows plus a selection of the photos I have at my disposal.

RIP Trevor. A real football star.

(Right click on icons and open in new files)



At Birmingham, early in career



At Nottingham Forest, with cup and teammates, 1979



At Sampdoria, in bed with Liam Brady, 1982



For England c1980



In action for QPR 1988



In action for Sheffield Wednesday - at QPR (Paul Parker) 1990



And finally as a manager, at QPR, late 80's