About Simon Francis (footballer)
Simon Charles Francis (born 16 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who was most recently the first-team technical director at Premier League club Bournemouth. As a player he was a defender who most notably played in the Premier League for Bournemouth, which was the final team he played for. He spent eight years with the club, five of which were in the top flight. Before joining the Cherries, he played for Bradford City, Sheffield United, Southend United and Charlton Athletic, as well as spending loan spells with Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers. He earned international caps for both England U18 and England U20. == 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 and Nottingham Forest. Instead he joined Bradford City as a trainee in 2002 after being spotted playing for South Nottingham College. 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. He made more than 50 starts for the Bantams, scoring his first career goal in a game against Crystal Palace, before being sold for £200,000 by the administrators in 2004. 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.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.