Francis Joseph (6 March 1960 – 18 November 2022) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for a large number of clubs in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, including

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

and Gillingham, between 1980 and 1992. He also spent time playing outside the United Kingdom, including spells with Honka, JYP 77 and

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...

in Finland, Racing Ghent in Belgium and

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

in the United States. He eventually dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

, playing for numerous clubs before becoming a coach at non-League level in 1995.

Career

League career

Born in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: London Borough of Camden, Camden to the east, City of Westminster, London Borough of Brent, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City ...

, Joseph began his professional career with

in 1980. He scored on his

debut, having come on as a substitute in a home game against

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. Gaining a regular place in the Wimbledon first team Joseph was voted the club's 'Player of the Year' at the end of his first season. Following loan spells with Honka and JYP 77 in Finland, Joseph moved to

in the summer of 1982 for £40,000, scoring 50 goals during his first two seasons at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

, before suffering a broken leg September 1984 and a repeat of the injury during the second game of his comeback the following year. Having recovered from his injury late in the 1985–86 season, Joseph never fully regained his form and although making over 100 appearances for Brentford over five years, he left to join

for £20,000 in July 1987. Prior to his departure from Brentford, Joseph had spent time on loan back at Wimbledon and at

in Finland in the early part of 1987, and while at Reading he was also loaned to both

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

and

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in 1988. In July 1988, Joseph's former manager at Wimbledon,

Dave Bassett David Thomas Bassett (born 4 September 1944 in Stanmore) is an English football manager and a former player. During his career he has managed Wimbledon, Watford, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, Leicester City and ...

, signed him on a free transfer for Bassett's new side

. Joseph again made an impressive start, scoring on his league debut for United against his old club Reading in August 1988 but picked up an injury during the game. Joseph was never able to reclaim a regular place in United's first team and was used only sparingly as United were promoted from

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...

. From United he headed to Gillingham who paid £5,000 for his services in March 1989, and then played for a number of clubs in rapid succession including

, Racing Ghent in Belgium,

in the United States and

Non-League career

Following his departure from Barnet, Joseph moved between a number of clubs in

including

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

, Wokingham Town,

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

, Chertsey Town, Walton & Hersham and

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...

before returning to Chertsey Town to become player coach in November 1995. Joseph later became coach of

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

for whom he had played as a teenager.

Personal life and death

Joseph was the older brother of footballer

Roger Joseph Roger Anthony Joseph (born 24 December 1965) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right back, best remembered for his time in the Football League with Wimbledon and Brentford. He won two caps for England B at internat ...

. Their mother was from

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. Joseph died on 18 November 2022, at the age of 62.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Francis 1960 births 2022 deaths English people of Dominica descent English footballers Footballers from Kilburn, London Association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Veikkausliiga players American Professional Soccer League players Wealdstone F.C. players Hillingdon Borough F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players FC Honka players JJK Jyväskylä players Brentford F.C. players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Reading F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Barnet F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Wokingham & Emmbrook F.C. players Leatherhead F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Chertsey Town F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players Wokingham Town F.C. players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate footballers in Finland English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Belgium English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Chertsey Town F.C. managers Wealdstone F.C. managers Association football coaches Black British sportspeople