Francis Jeffers explains how he signed for Maltese club for THREE weeks with ex-Liverpool star

• One-time England ace also lifts lid on life at Lilleshalll… where he spent two years as one of the best talents in the country
• “I quickly realised I was probably going to be hanging around there for a long time before things got moving, and then obviously I’d had problems with getting paid within the first month, and so I just thought ‘I’m not wasting my time here’.“
• “I remember going to the training ground, well it wasn’t really a training ground; I just thought ‘this is gong to be a bit of a battle, this…’“
• “I actually went out there with Tony Warner, the ex-Millwall goalkeeper. He was prepared to wait a lot longer than I was to get paid… you don’t get a nickname like Bonus for nothing, do you?!”
• “I’d have been around 14 or 15 at the time I went down to Lilleshall…Stuart Taylor was in my group that year, as was Scott Parker. There were other lads who went on to have good careers lower down the divisions… I’m still in touch with most of the group, actually; we’ve got a WhatsApp group. A lot of the lads are out of football now, some are in coaching and others have just gone on to full-time jobs.”
• “You’ve got to think, though, 16 lads, all around the same age, all striving to be professional footballers, it’s going to kick off at times between us. But we went to a local school, and to be honest, that’s where most of the issues were!”
• “You think, if you went to that school, you’ve gone through the first three years of your education there, and then for the last two years, sixteen of the best football players in the country come in… you can imagine it, can’t you?!”

I played in the Maltese league for just three weeks… it probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made!

I didn’t have a club at the time, and someone came to me and told me there was a club in Malta who were interested in signing me. Without naming any names, I knew the person who was trying to take over the club, so I went out there and played a couple of games. But what was originally said to me, never ended up materialising.

I quickly realised I was probably going to be hanging around there for a long time before things got moving, and then obviously I’d had problems with getting paid within the first month, and so I just thought ‘I’m not wasting my time here’.

It probably wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made, to be honest! The Maltese league has actually got a lot better over the last few years. You know, the infrastructure is better and now Maltese teams are getting into Europe. So it probably was a case of right place, wrong time, for me. They were trying to get some decent names out there but I just don’t think they were ready at all back then.

I remember going to the training ground, well it wasn’t really a training ground; I just thought ‘this is gong to be a bit of a battle, this…’

I actually went out there with Tony Warner, the ex-Millwall goalkeeper. He was around the Liverpool squad for a few years in the 90s before he moved on, but he’s a friend of mine and so me and him actually went out there together.

We lived out there together for three weeks, I think, before I just said to him “I’m not hanging about here!”

He ended up staying out there for most of the season I think; he was obviously hanging around to get paid, I think! He was prepared to wait a lot longer than I was to get paid… you don’t get a nickname like Bonus for nothing, do you?! That was his nickname; clearly he liked the pound note!

I was invited to Lilleshall as one of the 16 best players in the country… the local schools hated us!

I went to Lilleshall – the place where supposedly the best 16 players in the country go and do their last two schooling years – and while I was down there, Everton brought out a magazine called the Evertonian. And so, while I was down there, I wrote a diary with a good friend of mine, Paul Joyce, which was published every month.

I’d have been around 14 or 15 at the time I went down to Lilleshall. Listen, there’s always going to be excitement around your name when you’re picked for that, whether you’re rightly or wrongly in the best 16 players in the country in your age group. You know, clearly, you’re regarded very highly, so there’s always going to be a bit of expectation. But as a young lad, I didn’t really give any of that much thought. I just loved writing for the Evertonian, because I loved the club, and that gave me a chance to keep supporters up to date with how my life was going.

What I learned most about myself from my time at Lilleshall was that I was going to do everything within my powers to become a professional footballer. I was going to do everything within my powers to play for Everton. And that was clearly shown by my decision to just uproot, leave my family behind and move to new surroundings, only coming home once every two months.

Stuart Taylor was in my group that year, as was Scott Parker. There were other lads who went on to have good careers lower down the divisions, but Scott and Stuart were the bigger names alongside myself. I’m still in touch with most of the group, actually; we’ve got a WhatsApp group. A lot of the lads are out of football now, some are in coaching and others have just gone on to full-time jobs.

You’ve got to think, though, 16 lads, all around the same age, all striving to be professional footballers, it’s going to kick off at times between us. You’re at the stage of your career and life where you’re changing from a boy to a young adult, so there’s always going to be loads of fallouts. But we went to a local school, and to be honest, that’s where most of the issues were!

The school was called Idsall, and it was in Shropshire. Now, you think, if you went to that school, you’ve gone through the first three years of your education there, and then for the last two years, sixteen of the best football players in the country come in… you can imagine it, can’t you?! And, by the way, it was a mixed school as well; it wasn’t just lads there! Sixteen lads – all with big heads because they’ve been hyped up so much – just strolling into your school for the last two years… could you imagine it?!

I think at the time, as well, Scott [Parker] would have just done an advert for McDonalds. That was kept quiet for a while but when we found out about it, Scotty took a bit of stick for it! It’s funny because it took us so long to find that out, whereas nowadays you could go and find something like that in seconds on your phone. But back then, in the 90s… I mean, we’re talking about a time when no one had a mobile phone. There were three public phones within the building, so you’d put 20p in them to ring home and get your parents to call you back on that number. That was where Scotty probably got off a little bit lightly because we had to go so far to try and find the clip… he definitely got away with one there!