John Francis joined Burnley from the Blades early in 1990 as Frank Casper continued to strengthen his squad, he was brought in to play up front alongside Ron Futcher who had signed just a couple of months earlier.
It was though in a wide position that John really became a crowd favourite as he supplied crosses for the front two of Mike Conroy and Roger Eli during the Division Four Championship season of 1991/92.
He still got his goals though and scored the memorable one at
Disappointingly he chose to leave the Clarets at the end of that season and signed for
Again he was the hero as his two goals at Home Park turned the play off against Plymouth in our favour but he was injured in the final win at Wembley against Stockport, an injury from which he never fully recovered.
Ask fans now what they recall about him and his blinding pace will be mentioned as well as his enthusiastic approach to the game – but most will tell you about the goals at
Overall he scored a total pf 49 goals for the Clarets in 236 appearances before he was released by Adrian Heath at the end of the 1995/96 season.
He’ll be guaranteed another excellent reception from the Burnley fans – especially those of us who remember