One in a Million

Trevor Francis

Description

Compelling, entertaining and refreshingly honest, One in a Million is the autobiography of Trevor Francis, the subject of the first GBP1 million transfer fee in football history - a record for all time. As a 16-year-old, Francis set a record as the youngest player to score four goals in a match, an early indication of an exceptional talent. And so his unique career journey would continue to unfold, encountering a seemingly endless succession of superlatives, larger-than-life characters and astonishing events. Trevor played professionally not only in England but also in the USA and Scotland, in Italy and Australia. He gained 52 England caps, and won the European Cup on his debut in the competition. He played his part in the English revolution at Glasgow Rangers and managed QPR, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City. Thrillingly, Trevor takes the reader with him into dressing rooms, into boardrooms and on to the field of play. He has a true gift for memorable detail, providing a wealth of revelations and remarkable stories.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 15 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785315763
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2019
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Trevor Francis and Keith Dixon, 2019
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-499-5
eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-576-3
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction by Keith Dixon
Introduction by Trevor Francis
Preface
1. It All Started In Plymouth
2. Birmingham City FC
3. America
4. Nottingham Forest FC
5. Manchester City FC
6. Italy
7. Glasgow Rangers FC
8. Queens Park Rangers FC: Player and Manager
9. Sheffield Wednesday FC: Player and Manager
10. England
11. Birmingham City FC: Manager
12. Crystal Palace FC: Manager
13. Reflections
14. 2003 to 2018
England Career And Goals
Bibliography
DEDICATION
To my wife Helen
Acknowledgements
WRITING this book has been as difficult as it must be when a World Cup manager has to select his starting 11 from his squad of 23 top-quality international players.
My thanks go to my co-author Keith Dixon, who has spent time debating with me whether a story is worthy of inclusion or not. He has spent hours listening to my memories and stories and together we have decided how to present them in the right style for you, the reader. Keith has been the strong author I requested. It would be fair to say that the content is mine, but the structure has been the responsibility of Keith. Together we have produced a book of which I am immensely proud.
Keith Dixon is the author of nine football books including The Blues - Great Games Great Teams Great Players, Gil Merrick, Jackie Sewell, Birmingham City - 50 Greatest Matches, Birmingham City - Modern Day Heroes, Bad Blood, Robbo - Unsung Hero, Birmingham City - The Leaders and Blues Insider. He was a regular contributor to the Blues magazine and currently contributes to the football magazine, Late Tackle . Keith serves as a committee member for the Birmingham City Former Players Association.
Thanks go to my family, my sons Matthew and James, my grandchildren and my brother and sister, Ian and Carolyn. I cannot thank you enough for your love and support. Roy and Phyllis, my departed parents, what would I have done without you? Thanks also go to Jane and Paul Camillin, Margaret Murray and Duncan Olner, and the team at Pitch Publishing, for turning my life memories into the book you have in your hands.
Introduction by Keith Dixon
IT was Tuesday 6 March 2018 when I met Trevor to discuss my ideas for his book. Having spoken to him the previous Wednesday evening, I knew that he would need some convincing that we should write his autobiography. There was only one choice of subject for what would probably be my last book, and that was Trevor. I needed to persuade him that this project was worthwhile.
Trevor arrived dead on time for our meeting, stating that he hated being late. I share Trevor s dislike of being late so we were off to a good start.
We had worked together previously when he agreed to write one of the forewords (the other was written by Barry Fry) for my 2017 book, Blues Insider . Therefore, I was aware of his attention to detail and desire to get things absolutely right. During our two-hour meeting Trevor made it clear that he was only prepared to embark on this project if we both agreed that the end product would be top quality - in other words, the best book we could write. It was on that basis that we started this adventure.
I say adventure because, as a septuagenarian Bluenose, what greater accolade could I receive - in writing terms - than to write the life story of one of my Birmingham City heroes? In saying one of my , there are only two, the other being Gil Merrick whose autobiography Gil Merrick I wrote in 2009. In this way my first book and my latest are dedicated to the two most famous footballers to wear the royal blue of the Blues. Well, with Gil it was a green woollen jersey!
After discussion Trevor and I agreed that this new book should be fundamentally a football book, one that was exactly what he wanted, as long as I was happy with the potential content. He wanted me to act as a strong author which meant ensuring the content was appropriate and relevant to the reader. With this in mind Trevor went off to consider what title he would prefer, fully aware that the final decision on the title of any book is the responsibility of the publisher.
He came back to me within a couple of days with the suggestion that the book should be called One in a Million. His thinking was based on the irrefutable fact that he will always be remembered as the first million-pound football player. I passed on the idea to the publishers and they agreed.
Trevor and I decided that the book would be encyclopaedic in terms of his career and that it would follow the traditional chronological approach. Trevor rejected my idea for him to voice his opinion on a whole range of footballing subjects as he felt that this would be inappropriate. After our first two sessions it became clear to me that Trevor had no interest in what other people in football thought of him, whether good, bad or indifferent. This meant that the research I had conducted and the many quotes I had obtained from his team-mates, as preparation for my proposal, were deleted from our initial draft.
What you have in your hands is a book that is full of personal recollections from Trevor s career. This is an intimate record of his life and career from his own very special perspective.
It has been a tremendous experience working with Trevor and listening to the stories, memories and anecdotes related to his life. Unlike some footballer biographies, this one does not pull any punches. It is warts and all and names are named!
Enjoy the book.
Introduction by Trevor Francis
THERE have been two books written about me to date: Anatomy of a 1 million player which was published in 1980 and The World to Play For which came out in 1982, so my story since then has never been told, until now.
I have an approach to life which I have applied to the writing of this book and it is quite simply, Do it right or don t do it at all! I cannot see the point of taking on any project or task and being happy with second best. Whatever your opinion is, after you have finished reading my book please understand it is my absolute best effort.
Prior to my involvement with Keith on this book, I had been approached, on two previous occasions, about writing my autobiography. I rejected both offers because I wanted to make my book an honest testimony to my career and life. This meant that I had to write it after my involvement in football had ended so that I could tell it like it was.
There are very few statistics in my book. I believe that the detail behind many of the matches that I have been involved in as either a player or a manager is out there on the internet for those readers who want that amount of information.
Everything in this book is the truth from my personal experiences. There s no hearsay, nothing that was told to me in confidence. It s 100 per cent fact and some of those facts defy belief!
Too often I read autobiographies, sometimes about people that I know well, and I can tell that the person the book is about has not devoted much time to the published outcome. How do I know this? Because the details are not included.
How frustrating it must be for readers when a story ends with the statement, I am not prepared to name names. So often this is the case, but not in this book. It is wrong that authors fail to justify their story with the facts, as it leaves the reader speculating about who it was and what actually happened. Although this means disappointment for the reader, it is not as bad as the absolute untruths that get printed. Let me give you an example: as part of our research we came across a book by Tom Bower entitled Broken Dreams - Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football. Tom has, according to the blurb in his book, a distinguished reputation as an investigative historian . In the book he writes, The trade in Danish players was nevertheless curious Krishie Pausen, bought by Trevor Francis for Birmingham City for 5m, although worth, according to Scandinavian agents, at most 500k, who only played 12 First Division matches
As a reader you would take that at face value - the details are there, but are they accurate? The facts are these: firstly his name is Christian Kristie Poulsen and, yes, he was a player I was interested in, to the extent that I watched him several times, both in his native Denmark (you got that right, Tom) and in the Olympic Stadium in Rome in a Champions League game.
That was it. Where did Tom get the so-called facts of a 5m fee and 12 appearances for Birmingham City?
For me the best stories are the true ones. I was keen to write this book because there are so many stories that will make the reader sit back in disbelief. But you have it from me it is truth.
Preface
IT S 2019 and Trevor Francis is 65. On reaching normal retirement age it s the perfect time for him to reflect on his career.
Trevor Francis will always be known as the first player to command a transfer fee of 1m. The fact that it happened on two other occasions is rarely mentioned.
We have all seen players with exceptional pace, but what made Trevor s