Francis Lee

[Nails]

Franny is the reason a Surrey-born boy like me supports City. Nothing to do with his goalscoring, his bullishness, or his brilliant penalty-taking. As a 5-year-old I was given my first two football cards. Frank Large of Northampton and Franny. I liked Lee's wavy hair and that's why I support City. I've had a season ticket since 1984. FFS, it could've been Northampton!

 

[supercity88]

Franny is the reason a Surrey-born boy like me supports City. Nothing to do with his goalscoring, his bullishness, or his brilliant penalty-taking. As a 5-year-old I was given my first two football cards. Frank Large of Northampton and Franny. I liked Lee's wavy hair and that's why I support City. I've had a season ticket since 1984. FFS, it could've been Northampton!

Glory hunter ; )

 

[Nails]

Glory hunter ; )

Haha, yeah. I clearly remember the Tueart overhead winner but thereafter it was decades of misery. No glory hunter should have had to endure that.

 

[s1ty m]

Lee scored 17 or 18 pens in one season. The myth started by that other lot is franny got them by diving. From what i remember and have read lee only won one of those penalties.

13, I think. Maybe still a record. But yes, he only won one of them. Terrific player.

 

[supercity88]

Haha, yeah. I clearly remember the Tueart overhead winner but thereafter it was decades of misery. No glory hunter should have had to endure that.

You should have done what others in Surrey did and switch to the rags, before then switching to Chelsea.

 

[Mike N]

Sadly, I never saw Franny play for us. He looked a fantastic footballer and he obviously terrified United defenders.

I remember an interview he gave on the radio when the takeover happened. He was totally positive about the future at the time correctly predicted the ‘serial winners’ we turned into.

 

[Franny's toilet roll]

Franny could handle himself no doubt about that. I thought he put Hunter in his place but it could be viewed that he was just swinging and missed. Either way Hunter knew he couldn't fuck with him. Mike Doyle was certainly tough but as a youth his mum wouldn't let him train if it was raining

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Franny was fantastic. At his peak (World Cup 1970) he was world-class. The nearest modern day player I can think of would be Tevez. In my view he was unfairly branded a diver. He was always being hacked down and the season he got the most pens (72 I think) alot of the decisions were because of fouls on other players. Lee Won Pen was just a good headline so the story stuck.

 

[Baggins.mcfc]

Franny was fantastic. At his peak (World Cup 1970) he was world-class. The nearest modern day player I can think of would be Tevez. In my view he was unfairly branded a diver. He was always being hacked down and the season he got the most pens (72 I think) alot of the decisions were because of fouls on other players. Lee Won Pen was just a good headline so the story stuck.

Even United would be happy with 72 pens in one season.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

At school, I knew a lad from around Knutsford, and he told me he once got a lift from him. I don't know what the connection was, but this lad came from a moneyed family, and maybe Franny lived nearby in Cheshire at the time, so the two families sort of knew each other. This was when Franny was at the height of his powers as a player, by the way. About ’69. He told me that he got talking in the car with him, and at one point, he said to him, “Do you get kicked a lot?”. Franny just pulled up a trouser leg to about the knee, and, according to this lad, it was black and blue with bruises. This lad had no reason to lie to me, and if he was anything he was a bit of a rag fan.
They were tough cookies in them days, and Franny was one of the toughest.