Gerry Francis
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerald Charles James Francis | ||
| Date of birth | 6 December 1951 | ||
| Place of birth | Chiswick, London, England | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1979 | Queens Park Rangers | 295 | (53) |
| 1979–1981 | Crystal Palace | 59 | (7) |
| 1981–1982 | Queens Park Rangers | 17 | (4) |
| 1982–1983 | Coventry City | 50 | (2) |
| 1983–1984 | Exeter City | 28 | (3) |
| 1984 | Cardiff City | 7 | (0) |
| 1984 | Swansea City | 3 | (0) |
| 1984–1985 | Portsmouth | 3 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Bristol Rovers | 32 | (0) |
| Total | 494 | (69) | |
| National team | |||
| 1974–1976 | England | 12 | (3) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1983–1984 | Exeter City | ||
| 1987–1991 | Bristol Rovers | ||
| 1991–1994 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 1994–1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| 1998–2001 | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| 2001 | Bristol Rovers | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Gerald Charles James "Gerry" Francis (born 6 December 1951) is an English former footballer and manager.
Francis made his first team debut for Queens Park Rangers against Liverpool in March 1969. He was captain and central midfield player during the 1970s and was a key player in the QPR side which came close to winning their first-ever league title in 1976. He won 12 caps for the England team between 1974 and 1976, and was captain for eight of those matches. His International career was limited by a persistent back injury. He left QPR for Crystal Palace in 1979, although he subsequently returned to QPR for a 2nd spell, before a move to Coventry City. However this was a time when he suffered injury problems.
In 1983 he was appointed player-manager of Exeter City although they endured a difficult season. Francis then had further short playing spells at Cardiff City, Swansea City and Portsmouth before a move to Bristol Rovers in 1985 yielded 32 league appearances, where he ended his playing career in 1987.
Following this playing spell he succeeded Bobby Gould as manager of Third Division side Bristol Rovers. In 1990 he guided the Pirates to the Third Division title and thus they won promotion to the Second Division, but a year later he returned to QPR as manager.
In 1992–93, QPR finished fifth in the inaugural Premier League – the highest placed of all the London teams. They finished ninth in 1993–94 and eighth in 1994–95, but in November 1994, Francis left Loftus Road for Tottenham Hotspur.
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