Shouldn't Have Gone Out On Loan

Why Trevor Francis' Career Fell Apart

Shouldn't Have Gone Out On Loan

There are some things in history that seem really strange in retrospect.

Trevor Francis going on loan to Detroit in 1978 and 1979 is one of them.

Francis was a huge star for Birmingham City when all of this started. The Minnesota Kicks, led by former Manchester United star Freddie Goodwin, apparently tried to buy Francis outright in 1978:

From Minnesota Star Tribune, March 29, 1978, page 23

Now, I’m not entirely certain that this was a proper transfer offer. Other sources indicate that it was actually a loan offer, though that’s certainly not how it was reported in Minnesota.

Birmingham City turned that offer down — but were then bombarded with other offers to take Francis to America on loan.

From The New York Daily News, April 12, 1978

And, in the end, Detroit succeeded in bringing him in:

From The Detroit Free Press, April 14, 1978, page 52

Now, the thing you’ve got to understand is that the NASL played in the summer — just like Major League Soccer does now. That meant that Francis could play a full slate of games in England as well as most of the season in the United States.

That’s exactly what he did. Francis essentially played year round in 1978 and 1979.

So is there any wonder that he went down with an injury in 1980?

The funny thing is that the press warned about this very thing before the loan offer was accepted:

From Sunday Mercury (Birmingham), April 9, 1978, page 35

The thing that shocks me about all of this is that Brian Clough allowed Francis to continue to spend his time in the United States after the famous £1,000,000 pound transfer to Nottingham Forest. You’d think Clough would have wanted to protect his investment.

From The Detroit Free Press, February 10, 1979, page 7

In the end, Francis’ career stalled out completely after the injury. He was never the same again.