RedRedWine wrote:Some good Brian Clough stories about Trevor Francis - well actually, all Brian Clough stories are good; they don't make them like him anymore - and I don't think he'd last long at all in the modern game where at the top level everything is driven by money.
Seemingly Trevor was wrapped in cotton wool during his time at Brum, and was a bit 'mothered' which didn't sit well with old big 'ed - who wasn't one for egos, or people who wanted perceived preferential treatment.
Despite being the first £million player (though Clough argues it was £999k), Francis initially trained with the reserves until he earnt a spot with the first team. There is an interview when, upon winning the 1979 European Cup with Forest with the games only goal vs Malmo FF, Clough claimed that Francis was lucky to play in the final and only did so due to injuries - and that Trevor does not have enough titles or representative honours to his name for a player that was entering his prime.
There is also a story whereby on the way home from an away matchday Trevor had arranged a lift from a layby. When the lift wasn't there, Clough wouldn't let him back on the team coach as he didn't think he should be arranging lifts and departing the club bus anyway. In the middle of a team talk, Francis requested to go to the toilet - Clough accepted but sent him out of the dressing room and Trevor had to use the general public toilets, so incensed that somebody would have the audacity to disrupt him in full flow.
Francis would miss the 1981 final through injury, something that would plague him during a spell at Manchester City.
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