Great player Francis never quite achieved greatness

LONDON : There was so much more to Trevor Francis than becoming British football's first one million pound player but, despite boasting what would be an enviable CV for most players, there was always a feeling that he never quite fulfilled his potential.

It would be unfair to say the record transfer fee was an albatross around Francis's neck, as Clough is reputed to have suggested it might have been when claiming that Forest actually paid 999,000 pounds. "I never realised at the time the significance of it. I smashed, literally smashed, the transfer record. It was just a magical figure – a million pounds," he told the Guardian on the 40th anniversary of the transfer in 2019.By the time of his move Francis had already been toiling at St Andrew's for almost a decade, his mercurial skills somewhat blunted by the club's perennial battles to climb into the old First Division and then fight to stay there.

The following season he scored in the quarter-final and semis but missed the final with an Achilles injury as Forest retained the trophy. The Achilles injury ruled him out of the 1980 European Championship but he was at his best in the 1982 World Cup, scoring in group wins over Czechoslovakia and Kuwait before England went out after the second group stage following 0-0 draws against Spain and West Germany.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Netanyahu says 'doing great' after surgery ahead of key judicial voteNetanyahu thanked his supporters for their concern and the doctors at Sheba Medical Center for their care. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: STForeignDesk - 🏆 4. / 71 Read more »

Surfer survives great white shark attack in AustraliaA man in his early 20s was bitten while enjoying a morning surf near a beach south of Perth. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: STForeignDesk - 🏆 4. / 71 Read more »

Jury out in actor Kevin Spacey's London sexual offences trialLONDON : The jury in U.S. actor Kevin Spacey's sexual assault trial in London retired to consider their verdicts on Monday.Spacey, 63, is standing trial at Southwark Crown Court on nine charges of sexual offences against four men between 2004 and 2013 in Britain, where he worked from 2003 as artistic dire
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

The #1 Most Important Thing To Do Before Drinking Coffee in the Morning, According to an Integrative Medicine DocIf you drink a cup of coffee in the morning before doing anything else, you might want to rethink your morning routine. According to an integrative medicine doctor, there’s something else you’ll want to do first.
Source: YahooSG - 🏆 3. / 71 Read more »

Bol goes sub-52 to fire Budapest warningLONDON : Dutchwoman Femke Bol showed that she is in the hottest form ahead of next month's world athletics championships when she blasted to a European record of 51.45 seconds in the 400m hurdles at the London Diamond League on Sunday.Only American world record holder (50.68) Sydney McLaughlin has gone fa
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »