Simon Francis (footballer)

Simon Francis

Personal information
Full name	Simon Charles Francis[1]
Date of birth	16 February 1985[2]
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current team	Bournemouth
Number	2
Youth career
	Nottingham Forest
	Notts County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2001–2003	Bradford City	55	(1)
2003–2006	Sheffield United	12	(0)
2005	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	5	(0)
2005–2006	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	17	(1)
2006–2010	Southend United	157	(4)
2010–2012	Charlton Athletic	34	(0)
2011–2012	→ Bournemouth (loan)	5	(0)
2012–	Bournemouth	169	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2015. † Appearances (goals)

Simon Charles Francis (born 16 February 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for AFC Bournemouth.

Career

Born in Nottingham, 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 League One 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 reluctantly 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 defenders 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 AFC Bournemouth. ^[23]

Career statistics

As of match played 2 May 2015

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bradford City	2002–03[24]	First Division	25	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	26	1
	2003–04[25]	First Division	30	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	31	0
	Total		55	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	57	0
Sheffield United	2003–04[25]	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	2004–05[26]	Championship	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2005–06[27]	Championship	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		12	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	15	0
Grimsby Town (loan)	2005–06[27]	League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0
Tranmere Rovers (loan)	2005–06[27]	League One	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	1
Southend United	2006–07[28]	Championship	40	1	0	0	5	0	0	0	45	1
	2007–08[29]	League One	27	2	4	1	2	0	2	0	35	3
	2008–09[30]	League One	45	0	4	1	1	0	1	0	51	1
	2009–10[31]	League One	45	1	1	0	2	0	1	0	49	1
	Total		157	4	9	2	10	0	4	0	180	6
Charlton Athletic	2010–11[32]	League One	34	0	5	0	1	0	3	0	43	0
	2011–12[33]	League One	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		34	0	5	0	3	0	3	0	45	0
Bournemouth	2011–12[33]	League One	29	0	2	0	0	0	3	0	31	0
	2012–13[34]	League One	42	1	4	0	1	0	1	0	48	1
	2013–14[35]	Championship	46	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	50	1
	2014–15[36]	Championship	42	1	1	0	3	0	0	0	46	1
	Total		159	3	9	0	6	0	4	0	178	3
Career total			439	9	24	2	23	0	11	0	497	11

References

1. "The Football League Limited: Club list of registered players as at 16th May 2015" (PDF). The Football League. 16 May 2015. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
2. "Premier League Player Profile Simon Francis". Barclays Premier League. 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
3. Walker, Alex (10 February 2005). "The ones that got away". BBC Nottingham. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
4. "Bantams hit 'crisis level'". Telegraph & Argus. 14 November 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
5. "Francis in at the deep end". Telegraph & Argus. 15 November 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
6. "Francis making a big impression". Telegraph & Argus. 3 December 2002. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
7. "Bradford 2-1 C Palace". BBC. 8 March 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
8. "Bantams forced to sell Francis". BBC Sport. 17 March 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
9. "Francis makes Blades move". BBC Sport. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
10. "Simon says: I choose United". Telegraph & Argus. 13 March 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
11. "Mariners seal Francis loan deal". BBC Sport. 27 September 2005. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
12. "Francis stays on loan at Tranmere". BBC Sport. 23 January 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
13. "Tranmere 2-2 Swansea". BBC. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
14. "Francis seals Southend transfer". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
15. "Francis set to stay at Southend". BBC Sport. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
16. "Simon Francis to stay with Southend United". BBC Sport. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
17. "Tommy Williams open to new Peterborough contract offer". BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
18. "Southend defender Simon Francis has no desire to leave". BBC Sport. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
19. Phillips, Chris (26 May 2010). "Steve Tilson not sure Simon Francis will join Brentford from Southend United". The Echo. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
20. http://www.afcb.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10324~22981,00.html
21. https://twitter.com/afcbournemouth/status/328634293721104384
22. http://www.afcb.co.uk/team/player-profile/simon-francis/2
23. http://www.afcb.co.uk/news/article/2014-08-15-simon-francis-signs-new-three-year-contract-with-afc-bournemouth-1829641.aspx
24. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
25. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
26. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
27. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
28. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
29. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
30. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
31. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
32. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
33. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
34. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
35. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
36. "Games played by Simon Francis in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 12 May 2015.

External links

• Simon Francis career statistics at Soccerbase