Heroes & Villains – Birmingham City
Hero – Trevor Francis
The only person that I can think of as a hero for Birmingham City would be former player and manager Trevor Francis.
Francis made history by becoming City’s youngest player when he made his debut for City against Cardiff City as a substitute. He was only 16 years and 139 days old.
He was still only 16 when, on his 9th start for the club, grabbed 4 goal against Bolton Wanderers.
Francis made his England debut in 1977 whilst still playing for Birmingham City. He would go on to win a total of 52 caps, scoring 12 times for his country.
In his time at St Andrew’s, Francis notched up a total of 280 league appearances and scoring 199 goals.
In February 1979, Francis became the first ever £1 million player as he left Birmingham to join Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest.
He scored Forest’s winning goal in the European Cup Final that season and was part of the team that retained the trophy the following season.
As a manager, Francis took Birmingham to three successive Play-Off’s but was unable to get the club promoted. He also took them to the 2001 League Cup Final where they lost to Liverpool on penalties.
Villain – Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish seems to be in the firing line for hatred and dislike from City fans. He was famously punched by a Blues fan who ran on to the pitch in the Derby between the two clubs last year.
Grealish had the last laugh as he scored the winner in a 1-0 Villa victory.
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