Francis Jeffers Everton regret
Former Everton striker Francis Jeffers admits that he made a mistake when he left Everton for Arsenal in 2001, but claims that the way the club was then meant he didn’t have much choice.
Jeffers who is now working with strikers at the clubs academy claims that the move was good for all parties at the time, but he subsequently failed to establish himself in the Arsenal first team.
“I’ve got to be really honest, looking back on my career I left the club too soon,” said Jeffers, who is now back at the Club as the Acdemy’s striker coach. “(Arsenal) wasn’t the right move for me but it was a difficult time because of the way our Football Club was then, it wasn’t like it is now. It was a good move for me and the Club at the time but it was definitely too soon and probably the wrong move.
“I went from being a regular at Everton to going down there and not being able to get into the team.
“When you’re sitting at home at think back at how your career’s gone, I feel my head was turned. I was only young. It was difficult because I felt Arsenal were the best team in the league at the time. I’d just watched them play Liverpool in the FA Cup final and absolutely battered them but came out losing the game.
“It was a tough decision for me because I’m an Evertonian, I’d been a season ticket holder all my life. It was a big decision but one that never worked out for me.”
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Boohoo. Such a big devoted blue that he taunted the blue away fans when he scored for Arsenal against us. The club will always be so much bigger than the likes of Jeffers and Baxter that it even gives them a second chance (third for Jeffers) when they both desperately need it. Some expression of gratitude would have suggest growing maturity beyond self obsession – the source of his regrets.