Trevor Francis was electric – it’s really sad such a brilliant player has left us | Martin O’Neill

My Nottingham Forest teammate had blinding pace and a dry sense of humour – but got no special treatment from Cloughie

Trevor Francis coming to Nottingham Forest in 1979 was a big statement by Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. They had been used to making big statements in the previous couple of years. The year we got promotion, along comes Larry Lloyd; a big player at Liverpool, went to Coventry and we were able to persuade him to drop down a division. Within five or six games of promotion, Peter Shilton becomes a massive signing for us. I think he was the most expensive goalkeeper in the world at the time, £275,000 or thereabouts. So Clough and Taylor had been making statements alright. But then when you go £1m for a player, breaking the British transfer record in such major fashion? A big, big statement.

So Trevor arrives. I don’t think he is finished signing the contracts and someone asks Trevor: “When do you expect to play?” Brian Clough intercepts: “When I pick him.”

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