Playing career
Born in Nottingham and whilst playing for local side West Bridgford Colts Francis was rejected as a youngster by both of the city clubs: Notts County [3] and Nottingham Forest. [4] Instead he joined Bradford City as a trainee in 2002 after being spotted playing for South Nottingham College. [5] He made his debut for Bradford on 16 November 2002 against Nottingham Forest days after he came on as a substitute for England under 18s against France. [4] [6] He made more than 50 starts for the Bantams, scoring his first career goal in a game against Crystal Palace, [7] before being sold for £200,000 by the administrators in 2004. [8] 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. [9] [10]
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 [11] and then Tranmere Rovers [12] (where he scored once against Swansea City). [13] 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 newly Promoted EFL Championship side Southend United for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract. [14]
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. [15]
In January 2010, Southend accepted an offer for Francis from Peterborough United but he failed to agree personal terms. [16] [17] Following Southend's relegation in to League Two, Francis stated that he had no desire to leave the relegated club. [18] Three weeks later, Southend accepted a £150,000 offer for Francis from Brentford. [19]
On 8 July 2010, new Southend manager Paul Sturrock agreed to cancel the defender's contract, allowing him to find a new club as a free agent. On 30 July, Francis signed for Charlton Athletic.
On 7 November 2011, Francis signed on loan to AFC Bournemouth and the deal was made permanent in January 2012. [20] Francis was instrumental in Bournemouth's promotion to The Football League Championship in 2012–2013 and won Players' Player of the Season. [21] In Bournemouth's first season in the second tier of English football since 1990, Francis played all but 45-minutes of the season. [22] In the summer of 2014, Francis signed a further contract for three-years at Bournemouth. [23]
On 26 December 2018, Francis suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee in a Premier League 0–5 loss to the Tottenham Hotspur. [24]
On 23 November 2019, Francis was given a red card after pulling Diogo Jota to the ground, only 16 minutes after his yellow card, in the Premier League 1–2 loss against Wolverhampton. [25]
Post-playing career
Having since retired from professional football, Francis took over a local academy from ex-Bournemouth captain Harry Arter now named Simon Francis Academy. [26]
On 30 June 2021, Francis re-joined AFC Bournemouth in an assistant first-team technical director capacity, supporting Richard Hughes and the recruitment team in identifying and securing transfer targets. [27]
On 5 March 2024, following the announcement of Hughes' departure, Francis' promotion to first-team technical director was confirmed, beginning the role in the summer. [28]
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