Gerry Francis, together with Alan Ball and Terry Cooper, was one of three ‘household names’ of the 1970s who went on to manage Exeter City. In the case of Mr Francis he was only thirty-one at the time of his appointment in July 1983 and his solitary season at St James’ Park ended in an entirely clearcut relegation from Division Three. Undaunted by such a harsh early experience of football management, he later took charge of Bristol Rovers (twice), Queens Park Rangers (twice) and Tottenham Hotspur. 

Gerry Francis was a member of the outstanding QPR side of the mid-1970s and, first playing for England at the age of twenty-two, captained the national side in eight of his twelve internationals (at the behest of Don Revie for whom fellow Grecians manager Terry Cooper played for Leeds). Making just short of 300 league appearances during his first spell at Loftus Road, his career stalled somewhat as he moved Crystal Palace, back to QPR and on to Coventry City. Nonetheless his signing for Exeter City, at a relatively young age and shortly after his release from Coventry, grabbed plenty of headlines both nationally and locally. 

The resulting surprise wasn’t just that Mr Francis failed to improve upon the previous season’s 19th place but that, not only were the Grecians relegated, the demise came about in remarkable fashion with a playing record of won 6, drawn 15, lost 25 that saw City finish ten points adrift at the foot of the Division Three table and sixteen points from safety. Of the twenty-five players used there were enough good players for it to have been a better season although there were others who fell well short of the required standard. Two of the six wins came in a three-match spell in October; another three in a six-game sequence between 3 December and 2 January. This represented five wins in the first half of the season but only one - in game 42 - during the second half. 

Relieved of his duties with one game to spare, many observers would have concluded that the former England midfielder wasn’t cut out for management. In time Gerry Francis proved the doubters wrong suggesting that he was either too young at the time or the Exeter City of the 1980s represented far too much of an alien world for him. Resuming his playing career, he made appearances for Cardiff, Swansea, Portsmouth and Bristol Rovers before returning to management with Rovers - then playing at Twerton Park, Bath - in 1987.

Winning promotion with the Pirates in 1990, he enjoyed varying levels of success at QPR (two spells) and Spurs before an ill-fated return to Bristol Rovers in 2001 that was almost reminiscent of his time at St James’ Park.