Francis Jeffers

At 43 years old, Francis Jeffers has this physical status:

Club career

Jeffers started his career at Everton, making his first-team debut as a half-time substitute for Dave Watson on December 26, 1997 at Old Trafford, the age of 16 years. With Everton, Jeffers won the FA Youth Cup of 1997-98 against Blackburn Rovers. In 28 matches for Everton between 1999 and 2000, he scored 6 goals.

Jeffers' season began well in 2000–01, but his season was cut short due to multiple ankle and shoulder injuries. When he did play, he did well, and his goal-to-game ratio was the best at the club this season. Jeffers was given a new deal from the club as a result of this. Jeffers, on the other hand, informed the club that he was denying the new deal after months of talks.

Arsène Wenger had been following him on twitter, and Jeffers signed for Arsenal on June 14 for the first £8 million fee, with another £2 million dependent on appearances. However, Jeffers did not live up to the "fox in the box" tag on his case, and his time at Arsenal was marred by injuries. He was forced out of the team by fellow strikers like Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord. Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2002 and 2003, but Jeffers was left out of both match day squads due to injury. He helped bring home three goals en route to the final in 2003; two against Farnborough and one against Chelsea. He also started the semi-final against Sheffield United. Arsenal also claimed the 2002–02 Premier League title, but Jeffers made six appearances in the league that season. On the day Arsenal clinched the trophy against Manchester United at Old Trafford, he was an unreserved substitute. Arsenal's last game for him came as a replacement but then was sent off against Manchester United.

Jeffers returned to Everton on loan for 2003–2004 on September 1, 2003. In 22 appearances for his team, he only scored twice (with both goals coming against Fulham in the FA Cup; once in the original match and again in the replay) before eventually returning to London with manager David Moyes. On August 10, 2004, he signed for Arsenal's Premier League rivals Charlton Athletic, paying £2.6 million per year. He scored 5 goals in 24 appearances from 2004-2005. On August 31, 2005, he joined Rangers on loan, but in December, he returned to work in the Scottish Premier League after his results in the Scottish Premier League failed to live up to expectations. Jeffers was released at the end of the 2005–06 season.

Jeffers started working with Blackburn Rovers in June 2006 on a two-year deal. In the UEFA Cup against Basel, he scored his first and only Blackburn goals. Benni McCarthy and Shabani Nonda provided him with a limited number of opportunities.

He joined Ipswich Town on a one-month loan agreement in March 2007, scoring his first goal for Ipswich and winning the man of the match award on his debut away from Hull City. Ipswich dominated 5–2 after winning 5–2. After suffering a hamstring injury against Southend United, he returned to Blackburn, but after a quick recovery, he was allowed to return to Ipswich on loan until the 2006-07 season.

Ipswich had attempted to broker a permanent move for Jeffers, but Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks accused Blackburn of holding his club to ransom after two bids were turned down. Jeffers did make a third and final offer, but personal terms could not be reached.

He joined Sheffield on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee on August 9, 2007. In an opening-day 4–1 loss at Ipswich Town, Jeffers made his debut on his debut. He sustained an injury that kept him out of action for only 20 minutes in the first month of the 2007–08 season.

Jeffers was on the end of a tackle from Ryan Shawcross and was stretchered off with ankle ligament damage after a tumultuous start against Stoke City on October 20th, 2007. He had been out for about seven weeks. Jeffers returned as a replacement against Hull City on December 10, 2007, but the losing team was still losing after a 1–0 loss. Jeffers played at Hillsborough for the first time in two months, but not only played for 45 minutes of the match but also scored the winning goal after 82 minutes from the penalty spot. Jeffers' second goal for Wednesday was to reach him in the second goal.

Jeffers had more issues with his ankles and a groin injury in the summer of 2008, causing him to be hospitalized until September 2008. With a 25-minute replacement appearance in a 6–0 loss at Reading in mid September 2008 and then a further ten minutes against his old club Ipswich Town, he returned to first-team action. Jeffers scored his third goal against Charlton in a 4–1 win over Hillsborough on Wednesday, but he was disqualified in the upcoming match against Nottingham Forest due to a foul on Joe Heath.

During a 2–0 League Cup loss on August 25, Jeffers was suspended for headbutting Port Vale player Tommy Fraser. Brian Laws deemed his conduct intolerable, suspended the player to the maximum allowable amount and placed him on the transfer list.

After the club's relegation was confirmed to League One, Jeffers was released by Wednesday, May 3rd. Jeffers, who had been released by Wednesday, was charged with newly promoted Blackpool. Ian Holloway wanted to give Jeffers a chance to prove himself, but the trial was unsuccessful and he was released. He then returned to Everton, but only to enroll in Finch Farm's conditioning to keep his fitness levels up.

Jeffers committed to trial with the Newcastle Jets, who suffered during unsuccessful trials at Blackpool and Everton. He signed a 10-match guest contract with the club on October 29, 2010. On Wednesday, he made his Newcastle debut for the club, leading Newcastle to a 3–1 victory over Adelaide United.

On December 8, 2010 against the Melbourne Heart, he scored his first goal. Despite Newcastle and Jeffers' keenness in prolonging his deal, they were unable to come to an understanding, and Jeffers left the club after making a positive difference.

Jeffers joined Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League in February 2011. In the 6–0 loss to former club Rangers, he made his debut in his debut as a second-half substitute for John Sutton. Motherwell's first goal against Aberdeen was scored on February 15, 2011. In a 3–0 victory over Dundee United in the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay replay, Jeffers scored his third goal. He was selected to represent Scotland in the 2011 Scottish Cup Final, where Motherwell finished runners up. Jeffers was released by Motherwell on June 1, 2011.

On October 20, 2011, he signed with Newcastle Jets A-League club Newcastle, marking his return to the team he played for during the 2010–11 A-League season. Jeffers made 4 goals in 25 appearances for the A-League club. Newcastle Jets' decision not to renew Jeffers' deal, making him a free agent.

Jeffers made his Maltese Premier League debut on October 12, 2012, and Floriana voted 26-time Maltese Premier League champions. Jeffers left the team after just two appearances and one goal. Jeffers later became embroiled in a minor Twitter fiasco, as a fake Twitter account posing as Jeffers claimed that the Maltese League was the worst he had ever played in.

Jeffers joined Accrington Stanley, a League Two team, until the end of the season on March 8, 2013. Jeffers made his Accrington debut as a second-half replacement against Northampton Town on March 9, 2013. In a 4–0 win over AFC Wimbledon on 20 March 20, Jeffers scored his first two Accrington Stanley goals in his first two Accrington Stanley goals. He was released by Accrington at the end of the season and underwent trials with Bury, Brunei DPMM of the S.League, and Chester, but no one wanted to sign him.

International career

Jeffers was the top scorer for England under 21s, with 13 goals from 16 appearances, a record he shared with Alan Shearer until Eddie Nketiah broke the record in October 2020. He had previously been capped by the schools, under-15, and under-16 teams.

Jeffers has one cap for England's national team, scoring a consolation goal in a friendly loss to Australia on February 12, 2003.

Coaching career

Jeffers began working for Everton's academy on a voluntary basis in 2014, but he was unable to find a new club after his playing deal with Accrington Stanley had ended. In October 2016, he officially joined the academy's teaching staff. Jeffers, a former teammate David Unsworth, became a mentor for Everton's under-23 team in 2018. During his tenure as Everton's caretaker boss in 2019, he was also one of Duncan Ferguson's back room workers.

Jeffers resigned from Everton to join Paul Cook's teaching staff at Ipswich Town on May 11, 2021, taking on the role of first-team coach. Following Cook's dismissal as manager, Jeffers left Ipswich in December 2021.

Following the naming of Jeffers as the club's manager by former Everton colleague David Unsworth as the club's head coach, the team's head was named on September 23rd 2022. The club revealed that it also wanted to develop a B-team and that Jeffers would oversee the operation as it was established.

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