Simon_Francis_(footballer)

Simon Francis (footballer)

Simon Francis (footballer)

English footballer

Simon Charles Francis (born 16 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who is assistant first-team technical director at Premier League club AFC Bournemouth.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

As a player he was a defender who most notably played in the Premier League for AFC Bournemouth, which was the final team he played for. He spent eight years with the club, five of which were in the top flight. Before joining the Cherries, he played for Bradford City, Sheffield United, Southend United and Charlton Athletic, as well as spending loan spells with Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers. He earned international caps for both England U18 and England U20.

Playing career

Born in Nottingham and whilst playing for local side West Bridgford Colts Francis was rejected as a youngster by both of the city clubs: Notts County[3] and Nottingham Forest.[4] Instead he joined Bradford City as a trainee in 2002 after being spotted playing for South Nottingham College.[5] He made his debut for Bradford on 16 November 2002 against Nottingham Forest days after he came on as a substitute for England under 18s against France.[4][6] He made more than 50 starts for the Bantams, scoring his first career goal in a game against Crystal Palace,[7] before being sold for £200,000 by the administrators in 2004.[8] Bradford received offers from Sunderland and Sheffield United, with Francis choosing the latter to be nearer his home in Nottingham and link up with manager Neil Warnock.[9][10]

Competition for places meant that Francis was never quite able to hold down a regular place at Bramall Lane, restricting him to just 15 appearances for the Blades during his two-year sojourn. He spent most of the 2005–06 season on loan with Grimsby Town[11] and then Tranmere Rovers[12] (where he scored once against Swansea City).[13] His final appearance for Sheffield United was as a late substitute at Luton in the penultimate game of the season.

On 13 June 2006, Francis transferred to newly Promoted EFL Championship side Southend United for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[14]

In June 2008, he was initially transfer listed by Southend United after failing to agree a new contract, but two weeks later he signed for another two years with Southend.[15]

In January 2010, Southend accepted an offer for Francis from Peterborough United but he failed to agree personal terms.[16][17] Following Southend's relegation in to League Two, Francis stated that he had no desire to leave the relegated club.[18] Three weeks later, Southend accepted a £150,000 offer for Francis from Brentford.[19]

On 8 July 2010, new Southend manager Paul Sturrock agreed to cancel the defender's contract, allowing him to find a new club as a free agent. On 30 July, Francis signed for Charlton Athletic.

On 7 November 2011, Francis signed on loan to AFC Bournemouth and the deal was made permanent in January 2012.[20] Francis was instrumental in Bournemouth's promotion to The Football League Championship in 2012–2013 and won Players' Player of the Season.[21] In Bournemouth's first season in the second tier of English football since 1990, Francis played all but 45-minutes of the season.[22] In the summer of 2014, Francis signed a further contract for three-years at Bournemouth.[23]

On 26 December 2018, Francis suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in a Premier League 0–5 loss to the Tottenham Hotpsur.[24]

On 23 November 2019, Francis was given a red card after pulling Diogo Jota to the ground, only 16 minutes after his yellow card, in the Premier League 1–2 loss against Wolverhampton.[25]

Post-playing career

Having since retired from professional football, Francis took over a local academy from ex-Bournemouth captain Harry Arter now named Simon Francis Academy.[26]

On 30 June 2021, Francis re-joined AFC Bournemouth in an assistant first-team technical director capacity, supporting Richard Hughes and the recruitment team in identifying and securing transfer targets.[27]

On 5 March 2024, following the announcement of Hughes' departure, Francis' promotion to first-team technical director was confirmed, beginning the role in the summer.[28]

Career statistics

As of match played 22 February 2020
More information Club, Season ...

Honours

AFC Bournemouth

Individual

References

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    "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. [2]
    "Premier League Player Profile Simon Francis". Barclays Premier League. 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
  3. [3]
    Walker, Alex (10 February 2005). "The ones that got away". BBC Nottingham. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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    "Bantams hit 'crisis level'". Telegraph & Argus. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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    "Francis in at the deep end". Telegraph & Argus. 15 November 2002. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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    "Francis making a big impression". Telegraph & Argus. 3 December 2002. Archived from the original on 17 June 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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    "Bradford 2–1 C Palace". BBC. 8 March 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  8. [8]
    "Bantams forced to sell Francis". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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    "Francis makes Blades move". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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    "Simon says: I choose United". Telegraph & Argus. 13 March 2004. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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    "Mariners seal Francis loan deal". BBC Sport. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  12. [12]
    "Francis stays on loan at Tranmere". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  13. [13]
    "Tranmere 2–2 Swansea". BBC. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
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    "Francis seals Southend transfer". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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    "Francis set to stay at Southend". BBC Sport. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
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    "Simon Francis to stay with Southend United". BBC Sport. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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    Phillips, Chris (26 May 2010). "Steve Tilson not sure Simon Francis will join Brentford from Southend United". The Echo. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
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    "Simon Francis profile - AFCB". Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
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    AFC Bournemouth (28 April 2013). "Simon Francis wins Players' Player of the Season at the End of Season Awards Dinner. #afcb".
  22. [22]
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  24. [24]
    "Simon Francis: Bournemouth defender sidelined for up to nine months with ACL injury". bbc.com. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  25. [25]
    "Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves: Visitors up to Fifth with comfortable win - BBC Sport". bbc.com. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  26. [26]
    "Simon's message – Simon Francis Football Academy".
  27. [27]
    "Francis named assistant first team technical director". AFCB. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  28. [28]
    "FRANCIS TO BECOME CLUB'S FIRST-TEAM TECHNICAL DIRECTOR". www.afcb.co.uk. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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  43. [43]
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  44. [44]
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  45. [45]
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  47. [47]
    Anderson, John, ed. (2015). Sky Sports Football Yearbook 2015–2016. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-4722-2416-3.
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  49. [49]
    "PFA Championship Team of the Year: Deeney only Watford player". BBC Sport. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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