Sheffield Wednesday are deeply saddened by the passing of Trevor Francis.
He died on Monday morning in Spain, aged 69.
Francis is an iconic figure at Hillsborough having played for and managed the club.
After a glittering career taking in Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atlanta, Rangers and QPR, the gifted forward joined Wednesday for the final chapter of his playing days in 1990.
To say ‘Tricky Trev’ made an S6 impact would be an understatement. Time and again he entered proceedings from the bench to almost single-handedly turn games on their head.
Making 38 starts and 51 appearances as a substitute, he was a key figure in our promotion back to the top tier in 1990/91 and League Cup success of the same season.
The departure of manager Ron Atkinson opened the door for Francis to take the reins in June 1991.
During his first season in the hot seat, he led the Owls to a third-place finish in the old Division One and both domestic cup finals the following year, when Wednesday were twice agonisingly edged out by Arsenal.
Francis left Hillsborough in May 1995, leaving an indelible mark on the club’s history.
Prior to Wednesday, of course, he was widely acclaimed as the finest footballer of his generation, becoming the first £1m British player after leaving Birmingham for Forest.
He helped the Reds to successive European Cup final triumphs in 1979 against Malmo – in which he scored the winning goal – and 1980, when Forest beat Hamburg.
On the international stage, Francis posted 52 caps for England.
Our thoughts are with Trevor’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.
TREVOR FRANCIS
1954-2023
RIP