Summary
Damien Jerome Francis (born 27 February 1979) is a retired Jamaican international footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Damien Jerome Francis[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 February 1979[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, England | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1997 | Wimbledon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–2003 | Wimbledon | 97 | (15) |
| 2003–2005 | Norwich City | 73 | (14) |
| 2005–2006 | Wigan Athletic | 20 | (1) |
| 2006–2008 | Watford | 47 | (5) |
| Total | 237 | (35) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Jamaica | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career edit
Early career edit
As a child, Francis followed Wimbledon, and was a ball boy at their ground. He started playing for the club aged nine, originally as a defender, before moving into midfield.[3]
After several successful seasons with Wimbledon, Francis moved to Norwich City and made a good impression including helping them reach the Premiership by winning the Championship in season 2003-2004.
Wigan edit
After Norwich were relegated at the end of their first season in the Premiership following a disappointing campaign, Francis made the decision to end his two-year stay at Carrow Road but remained in the Premiership by securing a transfer to promoted Wigan Athletic.
Despite Wigan's success in finishing 10th in the Premiership and reaching the League Cup final, it was a disappointing spell professionally for Francis, who did not feature as much as he would have liked to. He signed for newly promoted Watford for a fee of £1.5 million at the start of the 2006-2007 season.
Watford edit
On debut against Everton, he claimed a goal, only for it to be ruled an own goal by Alan Stubbs by the Premier League's Goals Panel. Francis would go on to feature regularly for Watford that season, playing 39 times and scoring four goals. These included a goal in Watford's run to the FA Cup semi-finals, against Ipswich Town in the fifth round. On 21 April 2007, in a game against Manchester City Francis injured his cruciate knee ligaments, an injury that was expected to keep him out for around six months.[4] As a consequence of the 1–1 draw in that game, Watford were relegated. Francis injury actually kept him out for 18 months. He failed to recover fully from the injury and was forced to retire from football on 3 October 2008.[5]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- Source: Damien Francis at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wimbledon | 1997–98 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | First Division | 29 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 36 | 8 | ||
| 2001–02 | First Division | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2002–03 | First Division | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 39 | 6 | ||
| Total | 97 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | — | 117 | 15 | |||
| Norwich City | 2003–04 | First Division | 41 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 43 | 7 | |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 32 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 7 | ||
| Total | 73 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 78 | 14 | |||
| Wigan Athletic | 2005–06 | Premier League | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| Watford | 2006–07 | Premier League | 32 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 39 | 5 | |
| 2007–08 | Championship | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| Total | 47 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 237 | 35 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 276 | 38 | ||
References edit
- ^ a b "Damien Francis". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "Damien Francis". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ Football Memories: Damien Francis Archived 30 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, watfordfc.com, Retrieved 31 October 2007
- ^ Francis ruled out for six months, bbc.co.uk, Retrieved 31 October 2007
- ^ Francis forced to retire Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, watfordfc.co.uk Retrieved 3 October 2008
External links edit
- Damien Francis profile at watfordfc.co.uk
- Damien Francis at Soccerbase
- Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
