Kevin Francis (footballer)

Kevin Derek Michael Francis (born 6 December 1967) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker and is 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) tall. He is best known for his four-year spell at Stockport County, where he scored 117 goals.

Kevin Francis
Personal information
Full name Kevin Derek Michael Francis[1]
Date of birth (1967-12-06) 6 December 1967[1]
Place of birth Birmingham,[1] England
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Mile Oak Rovers
1989–1991 Derby County 10 (0)
1991–1995 Stockport County 152 (88)
1995–1998 Birmingham City 73 (13)
1998–2000 Oxford United 36 (8)
2000 Stockport County 4 (0)
2000 Exeter City 7 (1)
2000–2001 Hull City 22 (5)
2001–2003 Hednesford Town 41 (9)
2003–2005 Redditch United
2005 Studley
National team
1998 Saint Kitts & Nevis 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Early career

Francis started his career at Mile Oak Rovers, before a big move to Derby County in 1989. He made 17 appearances for Derby, 15 as a substitute, scoring once in the FA Cup.

Stockport County

Danny Bergara spotted Francis whilst he was playing a reserve match and immediately wanted to sign him. County paid Derby £45,000 in March 1991. He scored 5 goals as County finished as runner-up in Division Four. The following season, he notched 26 as County made it into two Wembley finals, followed by 33 in 1992–93 season as Stockport made it to the final of the Autoglass Shield. In his final full season he produced another 30 goals as County yet again made it to Wembley, however he was to lose for a fourth time. In 1994–95 he had already scored 13 times before he left Stockport in January 1995, for £800,000, a record at the time for County.

He did make a return to County in 2000, but it was short-lived as after just four appearances he broke his leg in a match versus Manchester City. He was released at the end of the season, a sad way to end his glorious County career.

Due to his excellent goal-scoring feats he earned the honour of "County Player of the Century" in 2002.[3] Francis appeared back at Edgeley Park on 18 July 2014 as one of 30 Stockport County legends to play in Mike Flynn's testimonial match. Francis was welcomed back like a hero by the Stockport fans and stayed after the game to meet the fans.

Birmingham City

In January 1995, Francis was signed for £800,000 by Barry Fry for his hometown club Birmingham City, and enjoyed a successful period, scoring 21 times in 94 appearances. This included the most successful season in his career, picking up a Division Two Champions medal as Birmingham secured promotion back to the 1st Division, and a winners medal in the Football League Trophy Final of the same season. Birmingham beat Carlisle United 1–0 at Wembley to secure a season double, with Francis finally breaking his Wembley duck after previously enduring four successive defeats with Stockport. Francis also played a major part in Birmingham's eventual promotion that season, scoring 8 times in the promotion run-in, (bringing his season tally to 21) including the first goal in a vital 2–0 home victory against second placed Brentford (only one team secured automatic promotion from the league that season).

Francis also played for Birmingham for a further two seasons in the 1st Division, although his time at St Andrews was disrupted by injury. Despite this, he played a major part in Birmingham's run to the League Cup Semi-Finals in the 95–96 season, scoring a brace as Birmingham eliminated Premiership Middlesbrough 2–0 in a 4th Round replay at St Andrews. He also opened the scoring with a 25-yard rocket in the Semi-Final 1st Leg at St Andrews against another Premier League side, Leeds Utd. Unfortunately for Francis and Birmingham, Leeds Utd came back to win the first leg 2-1 before securing a 3–0 victory in the second leg at Elland Road, to progress to the final on a 5-1 aggregate.

Later career

Francis left Birmingham in 1998 moving to Oxford United, then Exeter City (for whom he scored once, against Lincoln City[4]) and Hull City followed, before Francis exited the Football League and joined Hednesford Town. He finished his career off with spells at Redditch United and Studley before retiring in 2005.

Club statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1989–91Derby CountyFootball League100313010171
1991–95Stockport CountyFootball League15288961252518198117
1995–98Birmingham CityFootball League731362115419421
1998–00Oxford UnitedFootball League368300010408
2000Stockport CountyFootball League4000000040
2000Exeter CityFootball League7110001091
2000–01Hull CityFootball League245000000245
Career total 30611522926103219386153

Personal life

Born in Birmingham, England, Francis played international football for Saint Kitts and Nevis, qualifying through his parents, who were both born in the country.[5] He played his first international matches in the Caribbean Cup in April 1998.[6]

He moved to Canada, where he worked as a police officer in Calgary, Alberta. He is married to Sharon, with whom he has two children, Stacey and Keisha. Stacey plays netball for England and West Coast Fever in Perth, Western Australia as a defender.[7]

Honours

Stockport County

  • Football League Division Four runners up: 1991
  • Football League Trophy runners up: 1992, 1993

Birmingham City

  • Football League Division Two Champions 1995
  • Football League Trophy Winners 1995
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References
  1. "Kevin Francis". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  2. Sewell, Albert, ed. (1996). News of the World Football Annual 1996–97. London: Invincible Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-0-00-218737-4.
  3. "Kevin Francis". Stockport County F.C. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2008.
  4. "Lincoln 3-1 Exeter". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 25 November 2000. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  5. "International call-up for United's Francis". The Oxford Times. 19 March 1998. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. "Smudger set to miss United derby". Oxford Mail. 8 April 1998. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  7. Francis, Stacey (11 January 2017). "Let's Be Frank: Happy One-Monthaversary to Me". westcoastfever.com.au. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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