Where Are They Now? is a series which will focus on players who never quite made it at Arsenal, and has a look at their careers before, during and after Arsenal.
The idea, along with the name, was given to me by one of the emerging writers at Bleacher Report, Maire Ofeire. So due credit must go to her.
In this edition of Where Are They Now?, I'll take you through the career of a certain Francis Jeffers—the fox in the box, as he was once called.
Francis Jeffers was a prodigious talent when he arrived at Arsenal at the age of 20 in 2001. Considered by many as the "next big thing" in England, he arrived with a considerable amount of pressure and a lot of talent having scored 18 goals in 49 appearances at Everton.
The price tag of £10 million on his head, Francis Jeffers was expected to perform, and fast.
Before all this, though, Jeffers made his full debut with Everton against Derby County in 1999 at the age of 17. He then scored his first goal for the club in an F.A. Cup match against Coventry City in the same season. 1999 was a great year for Jeffers, as he won his first call up to the England national team for their game against Hungary.
At the end of the 1998-99 season, Jeffers ended up scoring seven goals for Everton. Surprisingly, he handed in a transfer request at the beginning of the 1999-00 season, which he later withdrew, and partnered Kevin Campbell successfully before he suffered the first of many injuries.
He began the 2000-01 season in superb fashion, scoring six goals in nine games, only for yet another injury to keep him out of action until 2001. At the end of the season, however, Arsene Wenger came in for the striker and Jeffers sealed a dream move to Arsenal.
Wenger expected big things from young Englishman, and was willing to give him a chance even though he had an injury-plagued season. That, though, wasn't meant to be.
Francis Jeffers never made a lasting impression on the Arsenal fans, scoring just four goals in 22 appearances over three seasons at Arsenal. He was further plagued by injuries, and even showed his poor temperament when he got sent off against Manchester United in the Community Shield after kicking out at Phil Neville.
Ironically, this became the 50th red card amassed by Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.
That was the only real "feat" achieved by Jeffers as three seasons after his move, he was loaned off unceremoniously to his former club, Everton. He never got his scoring boots on, even at Goodison Park, and a poor relationship with manager David Moyes meant that Jeffers had to return to Arsenal at the end of the 2003-04 season.
His Arsenal misery ended after he was finally sold to fellow London club, Charlton Athletic in a £2.6 million deal—which represented a massive loss for Arsenal.
Jeffers struggled yet again at the Valley, scoring a paltry three goals in 20 appearences. Unable to settle at Charlton, he was loaned out again after just one season—
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about 1 month ago
Great idea for an article. I think he was unlucky but its a real shame he's slipped so far down. Nice read Shyam.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Anthony - yeah, it really is a shame.
about 1 month ago
Consistent injuries can be put down to bad luck of course, but its all about attitude in terms of how you recover from them.
Jeffers showed from an early age that his attitude stank, there was never any doubting his ability, but regardless of injuries, he didn't have what it takes in the mind to be a top player.
Jeffers probably had more natural talent than Michael Owen, a player of a similar age who has had similar atrocious luck with injuries, but look at the difference in their careers. Jeffers only has himself to blame for that.
from about 1 month ago
You're right Simon - but when you start getting injuries from the beginning of your career, having the right attitude is very difficult.. It's very difficult to get encouragement when you simply can't play..
His attitude might have not been top notch - but his luck was horrific, and so in a certain sense - you have to ask yourself whether he would have had this kind of a career minus the injuries, and the answer would be - definitely no.
from about 1 month ago
Sorry Shyam but I still disagree. Jeffers had a bad attitude long before he started having injury problems. He thought he was the best thing since sliced bread, why else would he request a move from his boyhood club when only a kid?
Jeffers still would have had a bad career even if he was fit, because he didn't have the desire or the professionalism to be a top player.
We will have to agree to disagree though as obviously we will never be able to prove otherwise.
from about 1 month ago
Did Wayne Rooney not do exactly the same thing Simon?
from about 1 month ago
Actually - I did want to mention Rooney - but, he didn't exactly hand in a transfer request.
Either way, he wanted to leave and ended up leaving..
I don't think that we can conclusively determine anything other than what has happened - Jeffers' career has been wrecked by far too many injuries (or he wrecked it himself) - and that has culminated in him not being good enough.
from about 1 month ago
Rooney did a similar thing, but not the same. Rooney requested a move and got his wish just a couple of months later (its highly likely that he only requested a move because he had been 'tapped up', although we will never know this obviously as it doesn't happen! lol)
Jeffers meanwhile, handed in a transfer request in August 1999, just 6 months after he had made his first start for the club. He didn't leave for Arsenal until June 2001.
And Rooney was already an England team regular and had starred in a European Championships by the time he left the club, comfortably surpassing anything Jeffers had done to the point of his transfer request.
Its highly likely that both were very badly advised by greedy agents in the way they handled their departures from Everton, but the fact that Rooney has already come back from two major injuries, while Jeffers failed to do so, speaks volumes about their attitudes.
about 1 month ago
I'd have to agree with Simon to a degree. Jeffers never showed much commitment or good attitude to put his abilities in to play.
And as you said, he horrified Wenger to such a degree he took him along time to splash out for an English player. Thank God Walcott is good :-)
Nice article Shyam, 5* and POTD from me.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks a lot Maire - for the idea and the POTD vote!
about 1 month ago
great article shyam. i think jeffers was unlucky with injuries. had he not been injured so much, i reckon he could've made it at the top and become twice the player he is now.
from about 1 month ago
Exactly Yoosof - thanks for the comment.
about 1 month ago
He didn't show any out of ordinary class that could have made him a really top striker for me.
from about 1 month ago
He was the fox in the box Ricky - although I never saw too much of him, he didn't have the pace or the presence - but he had predatory instincts in that 6 yard box..
Too bad that so many people couldn't see this player fully fit for most of his career - he certainly would've been a different player.
from about 1 month ago
I've gotta agree with Ricky here. An alright player, nothing special.
about 1 month ago
Great article mate, Dont think jeffers was that great, he played very well for everton but when it came to linking up with Henry they were just leagues apart.
about 1 month ago
31 league goals in a decade... says it all really, dont it?
from about 1 month ago
Not really, statistics can lie quite a bit - his injury record was very bad and contributed considerably to his career's downfall..
31 goals in a decade is just really poor - considering he scored 18 in his first 2-3 seasons.
from about 1 month ago
But this guy had been all over the place and been a flop everywhere he's been. 18 goals in his first 3 seasons at Everton? This means that he has scored 13 goals since 2001, which is really bad.. Injuries or not.
I remember Jeffers transfer to Arsenal really good because it was the same week that we signed Lampard from West Ham for just about the same price. Comparisons between the two signings were all over the place and it truths, some people rated Jeffers higher than Lampard at the time, which was understandable.
13 goals in almost 9 years is still bad Shyam and it says alot about him and his attitude when things arent going well...
about 1 month ago
Jeffers was never quite good enough while at Arsenal. I put it down to his attitude. Alongside Henry you could see the gulf in class. Great article Shyam POTD and 5 from me. Actually reminded me of another player Richard Wright, who also failed to make it at Arsenal...
about 1 month ago
good article. he was truly a major flop
about 1 month ago
great article Shyam. and good idea you and Maire came up with.
about 1 month ago
Good idea Shyam, I like the principle. Jeffers was a player who promised much, yet at the time I remember thinking that he was never going to make it as a great player, his movement was good but he wasn't especially quick and he neither had the physique or creativity which was going to mark him out as an outstanding player. Sadly I think the experience of his expense and Reyes's to a lesser extent has made Wenger much warier about spending larger sums of money.
from about 1 month ago
I think Reyes did ok for Arsenal, his big problem was that he was homesick and that has showed since he has played in Spain and Portugal ever since (he's at Benfica on loan). I wouldn't really class Reyes as a failure for Wenger, he could of been good for the Gunners but c'est la vie.
from about 1 month ago
You could say that Alex - but after the flops of Wright and Jeffers in particular, you could say that Wenger didn't want to buy English after that - he must've felt that they were overpriced, and didn't have the requisite quality.
Reyes', actually, was not as expensive as everyone makes him out to be.. Arsenal paid around 10-12 million pounds at the end to Sevilla - not the 17 million pounds that he was reportedly signed for.. So, I guess that if the right player comes along, Wenger will sign him for whatever price - but the player has to be that good!
about 1 month ago
Reyes did well don't get me wrong, the start of his Arsenal career was a stellar period, especially the start of the 04-05 season where he was on fire. Well I suppose I'm casting Reyes as a failure because compared to Wenger's other signings, if you compare the cost with what they actually provided Reyes is a failure because Wenger's other signings have given so much at such little cost whereas Reyes cost a lot and though as you say he did ok, but didn't excel
from about 1 month ago
I know what your saying Alex and you do have a point but I think Reyes could of been worth the money paid because he did look a good player at Arsenal but then we'll never know and he has gone off the radar in a big way.
about 1 month ago
oh yes certainly, mind you if you listened to the English media then they would probably have said Jeffers was worth the money when he was coming through as a seventeen year old
from about 1 month ago
Well, absolutely.. he was a talent.. don't know what exactly happened.. injuries, attitude problems - not exactly what's needed to build a football career - so there you go, he's now in Sheff Wednesday after being at what... 5-7 clubs in 10 years!
about 1 month ago
Cool idea.
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