Trevor Francis RIP

[nw42]

It was Neville Southall….and I’m not sure he even connected….but Southall went down like he had been shot.

It was Billy Wright

 

[plattlanebenches]

Met him just after he signed. He was working for Cheshire building society and if you opened an account you got a pic with him. Long time ago now but I remember he was a really nice fella.

 

[Mikejl]

I remember him being sent off after headbutting someone at Maine Road?

That and his lobbed goal at home to Wolves are my only real clear memories of him.

Everton that, was in a very a unhappy Kippax, 1-1 I recall, only remember glimpses of him but a special player

 

[Ribble73]

That game sticks in my memory too, simply due to the ridiculously negative tactics Leeds employed. For some years after that, whenever a team tried to do the same, the Kippax chant was ' You're worse than Leeds United' :)

Absolutely -I reckon only Terry Connor up front for them crossed the half way line all afternoon -seriously

 

[Zabbasbeard]

I've got a vague memory of him scoring a late winner against L***s sometime around the end of the year ('81?). The banjo players had parked the bus for the entire game, but Trevor scored at the Platt Lane end (IIRC).

It was Kevin Reeves scoring a last minute winner that day against boring, ultra defensive Leeds. Remember it well because it was my 2nd game at Maine Road and the celebrations were brilliant when that went in.

 

[Zabbasbeard]

Absolutely -I reckon only Terry Connor up front for them crossed the half way line all afternoon -seriously

That's right. They were literally 9 outfield players behind the ball all match and Terry Connor on his own. Even he was behind the ball. Just desserts for Alan Clarke's ultra defensive tactics.

Even teams that come to the Etihad now are not quite as defensive as them.

 

[Deedee2]

It was Kevin Reeves scoring a last minute winner that day against boring, ultra defensive Leeds. Remember it well because it was my 2nd game at Maine Road and the celebrations were brilliant when that went in.

Yes.He chested it down and volleyed it. Dad and me were sat in the Platt.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Was speaking to a Walsall supporting mate, who is really good pals with Jasper Carrott who he told me is devastated by this. Jasper and Trevor were seriously good mates. Had been for many years.

My mate said he’d met Trevor several times and he was a lovely man.

From my point of view, I only ever heard him say positive things about his time here and the supporters. In several different articles and/or interviews.

He sometimes got some grief from posters on here when commenting on our games, which I never got. Anyway, all water under the bridge.

He lit up a very ordinary side and made it really special. Those first six months he played for us, were so exciting to experIence. We episodically looked like contenders for the title in the first half of the 1981-2 season. Thanks to Trevor Francis. What a thing to contribute in your first half season!

RIP.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

That set us back God knows how many years. We finished one point behind the all conquering Liverpool team in the 76/77 season. And that was without the King (if he'd played that season, we'd have strolled the league). 18 months or so later, Allison was re-appointed. And tore that team apart. There is an argument to be had that we never truly recovered until the 2010/11 season.

We flirted with being a good side in the early 90s.

Finished level on points with United in 1989-90, finished above United in 5th in 1990-91, finished above Liverpool in 5th 1991-92…

It was at this point where a few decent signings would have seen us overtake the likes of Villa and Norwich (yes, they really were United’s main challengers in the first Premiership!). But instead it was Blackburn Rovers who were the club to make the right investments and go on to win the league a few years later. I reckon we really were that close to doing the same, then it really did fall apart.

A decade earlier, Trevor Francis should have remained a City player for the entire time he ended up in Italy (five years), making it half a dozen with City. Instead we put the money we should have invested into the team into other things, sold Francis to Sampdoria for pittance. We spent £1m on a roof. We’d have been better off removing the roof, having no roof and investing that money into the team, built around Francis. Again, a missed opportunity to become a decent side.

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

We flirted with being a good side in the early 90s.

Finished level on points with United in 1989-90, finished above United in 5th in 1990-91, finished above Liverpool in 5th 1991-92…

It was at this point where a few decent signings would have seen us overtake the likes of Villa and Norwich (yes, they really were United’s main challengers in the first Premiership!). But instead it was Blackburn Rovers who were the club to make the right investments and go on to win the league a few years later. I reckon we really were that close to doing the same, then it really did fall apart.

A decade earlier, Trevor Francis should have remained a City player for the entire time he ended up in Italy (five years), making it half a dozen with City. Instead we put the money we should have invested into the team into other things, sold Francis to Sampdoria for pittance. We spent £1m on a roof. We’d have been better off removing the roof, having no roof and investing that money into the team, built around Francis. Again, a missed opportunity to become a decent side.

Not forgetting we were relegated the season after we sold Francis - how much did that cost us?