Career
Francis signed as an apprentice for Chelsea in July 1980,and made his debut as a 17-year-old at Southampton in the League Cup in October 1981,and made his League debut in November 1981. Francis was initially a regular in the side, but the arrival of new goalkeeper Eddie Niedzwiecki in 1983 saw him relegated to the reserves for most of the next three seasons. Francis returned to the first team after an injury to Niedzwiecki, but conceded 14 goals in three games over Easter 1986 and never played for the club again.
He made a total of 88 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea.
Francis played in the Full Members Cup Final at Wembley in 1986 when Chelsea beat Manchester City 5-4, Niedzwiecki was injured for this match. He was Huddersfield"s first-choice goalkeeper for four seasons, then fell out of favour early in the 1997-1998 season.
Huddersfield loaned in goalkeepers Vince Bartram and Steve Harper before signing Nico Vaesen in the summer of 1998. Francis left in January 1999 to join Northampton Town, where he made just three league appearances.
