King Trev: talkSPORT’s Ian Danter recalls life of an English football legend
Earlier this year, to everybody’s shock, Trevor Francis passed away aged just 69.
A footballing legend in more ways than one, Francis was the first million-pound player. Signed by Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in 1979 from Birmingham City, Francis would go on to score the winner in the European Cup final against Malmö later that season. A landmark moment, celebrated by Blues and Forest fans, with the former branding the Plymouth-born winger as ‘King Trev’.
Ian Danter, radio host for talkSPORT and Planet Rock, spoke to The Sports Gazette to summarise the impact of Francis.
First impressions
Danter first spoke about his early impressions of Francis in a Birmingham shirt, particularly the worn-down pitches from the 70’s, and how Francis made football look easy regardless.
”I first started going to watch the club [Birmingham] in late 1974 when Trevor was 20 and by that point, he was the main attraction.” Danter stated.
”He would make a mockery of the playing surfaces, making it look as though he was playing on these lush carpets that players play on today. He had speed like a whippet greyhound, but was also deadly accurate with his shooting.”
Most memorable goal
For most Birmingham fans, the most memorable Francis goal was his long-range strike against Queens Park Rangers in 1976, an effort Danter remembers fondly.
”I have fairly hazy memories of the goal, but thankfully, Match of the Day cameras were there so we can all relive it.”
”I think it won goal of the season, and he [Francis] collected a throw-in from the left-hand touchline, skipped inside Frank McLintock, inside Mick Leach, and beat Phil Parkes at his near post with this rifled low effort. It was just typical of the goals he scored.”
First million-pound player
Trevor Francis’ name will forever be in the history books of Birmingham City, but is widely remembered for becoming the first million-pound player in 1979.
”There was a tacit acceptance that somebody at some point was going to take Trevor away,” Danter said.
”Whoever was going to be the first million pound player was going to generate an awful lot of headlines, it just so happened to be Trevor.”
”He scored the winner in the European Cup final against Malmo, and there wasn’t one Birmingham fan who didn’t feel a huge swell of pride. He’d left the club he’d spent the best part of a decade as a player, and within six months, he’s won the biggest club trophy you can get as a European footballer.”
Snubbed by England
Despite Francis’ dazzling career at Birmingham, it took until 1979 for the winger to receive his first England cap. He went on to play 52 times for his country, scoring 12 goals.
When asked about Francis’ England career, Danter spoke about the fact ‘King Trev’ didn’t get to represent England at a major tournament whilst at his peak.
”Trevor made his Birmingham debut in 1970, and he was immediately scoring goal after goal after goal,” Danter explained.
”For some reason, the England management, I’m looking specifically at Don Revie, and then Ron Greenwood to an extent, just didn’t see it the same way.”
”Trevor’s caps seemed to come towards the end of his career, and by that time, his injuries had taken their toll on his searing pace to an extent.”
Despite this factor, Francis remained a quality player, with Danter adding:
”He was still a clever, quick, sharp and very smart footballer. But, it’s extraordinary to think that during all these years that Trevor was showing his talent with Birmingham, England failed to make two World Cups in a row in 1974 and 1978.”
”The world was denied the opportunity to see Trevor Francis at his very peak.”
Birmingham’s next famous footballing son
Trevor Francis was, and still is to many Blues fans, the best football player the club has ever produced. However, a young star from Stourbridge is shining at the Santiago Bernabéu. The name is on everyone’s lips, Jude Bellingham.
Both Bellingham and Francis began their footballing journeys at Birmingham’s academy, and when asked if Bellingham comes close to the legacy of Francis, Danter replied:
”Jude [Bellingham] is really the only one you can make the comparisons with because he came through the academy to break Trevor’s records.”
Francis’ records for youngest Birmingham player and goalscorer had stood for 49 years, until Bellingham arrived, aged 16 years 38 days [first appearance], and 16 years 63 days [first goal].
”If Trevor had been around nowadays and was coming through, there would have been the same buzz around him.”
”People online would’ve been talking about him, and that’s what Bellingham had. Jude had people talking about him from the age of 13 or 14 years of age because of social media as well as the likes of Sky Sports News and talkSPORT.”
A very sad day for @BCFC and all of football. Beyond legendary, a trailblazer, a great and an icon of the game. The only thing that could exceed his quality and accolades on the pitch was his class off it. Thank you for all the guidance and the benchmarks you set. Rest in peace,… pic.twitter.com/pQaXG9rh04
— Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) July 24, 2023
Managing Birmingham
In 1996, some 17 years after first leaving Birmingham, the legend had returned.
In management, Francis propelled Blues to three consecutive top-six finishes in the Championship, losing in the play-off semi-final each year. Between these years came a League Cup final when Championship Birmingham took Premier League Liverpool the distance, losing on penalties.
When speaking about these years, Danter said:
”The fans wanted it so badly for him [Francis] to be the man that took Birmingham back to the Premier League.”
”There were so many near-misses. The three play-off semi-final failures against Watford, Barnsley and Preston, each more devastating than the last, particularly the Preston defeat on penalties, which was the last of the three.”
Personal memories
Finally, Danter was asked about his favourite personal memories when interacting with Francis. The first memory he gave was as a reporter, having to interview Francis at a game.
”I was covering Birmingham against Bristol Rovers in a League Cup tie. I was told to meet Trevor Francis before the game in the tunnel and get the team news from him,” Danter stated.
”He was very kind and answered my questions. As I walked off, he said: ‘Eight out of 10, very good.’ He was marking my interviewing technique. I nearly dropped the microphone!”
”I rang my dad straight away to say: ‘I’ve just spoken to Trevor bloody Francis!”
Danter also commented about a testimonial he played in alongside Francis in later years.
”I got to play Martin Grainger’s testimonial at St. Andrews in 2005. I was on the pitch for about 15 minutes and Trevor passed me the ball, which came at me like a cruise missile from 50 yards away.”
”I somehow managed to control and keep possession for the team I was playing with. That’s a memory that stays with me as long as anything else.”
The final comments on Francis from Danter were:
”I always found him a delight to deal with. Always nice, incredibly pleasant. What a guy.”
Below you can find Ian Danter’s own blog, honouring the life and legacy of Trevor Francis.
https://www.iandanter.co.uk/blogs/trevor-francis-superboy-rip-few-random-thoughts
