Simon Francis (footballer)

Simon Francis

Personal information
Full name	Simon Charles Francis
Date of birth	16 February 1985 (1985-02-16)
Place of birth	Nottingham, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Bournemouth (on loan from Charlton Athletic)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2004	Bradford City	55	(1)
2004–2006	Sheffield United	12	(0)
2005	→ Grimsby Town (loan)	5	(0)
2005–2006	→ Tranmere Rovers (loan)	17	(1)
2006–2010	Southend United	157	(4)
2010–	Charlton Athletic	34	(0)
2011–	→ Bournemouth (loan)	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Simon Charles Francis (born 16 February 1985) is an English footballer who plays for Bournemouth on loan from Charlton Athletic as a defender.

Career

Born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Francis was rejected as a youngster by both hometown clubs Notts County and Nottingham Forest. Instead he joined Bradford City as a trainee in 2002 after being spotted playing for South Nottingham College. He made his debut for Bradford on 16 November 2002 against Nottingham Forest days after he came on as substitute for England under 18s against France. He made more than 50 starts for the Bantams before he being sold for £200,000 by the administrators in 2004. 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.

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 and then Tranmere Rovers. 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.

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.

In January 2010 Southend reluctantly accepted an offer for Francis from Peterborough United but he failed to agree personal terms. Following Southend's relegation in to League Two, Francis stated that he had no desire to leave the relegated club. Three weeks later, Southend accepted a £150,000 offer for Francis from Brentford.

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.

In July 2011 AFC Bournemouth agreed an undisclosed fee with Charlton Athletic for the signing of the defender, however personal terms could not be agreed.

On 7 November 2011, Francis signed on loan to AFC Bournemouth with a view to sign on a permanent basis in January 2012 having finally agreed on personal terms.

Career statistics

Table includes all league and cup appearances

Season	Club	League apps (Goals)	FA Cup apps (Goals)	League Cup apps (Goals)	Johnstone's Paint Trophy apps (Goals)
2002–03	Bradford City	25 (1)	1 (0)	0 (0)	? (?)
2003–04	Bradford City	30 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0)	? (?)
2003–04	Sheffield United	5 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	? (?)
2004–05	Sheffield United	6 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0)	? (?)
2005–06	Sheffield United	1 (0)	0 (0)	2 (0)	? (?)
2005–06	Grimsby Town (loan)	5 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	? (?)
2005–06	Tranmere Rovers (loan)	17 (1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	? (?)
2006–07	Southend United	40 (1)	0 (0)	5 (0)	? (?)
2007–08	Southend United	29 (2)	4 (1)	2 (0)	? (?)
2009–10	Southend United	27 (1)	1 (0)	2 (0)	? (?)
2010–11	Charlton Athletic	34 (0)	5 (0)	1 (0)	3 (0)

External links

• Simon Francis career stats at Soccerbase