Franz Carr (born 24 September 1966) is an English former 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 ...

who played as a winger from 1984 until 2000. He made 131 appearances in seven years with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

, and had shorter spells in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

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 ...

with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

, Sheffield United,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the Nation ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...

. He also spent time in Italy with Reggiana.

Career

Carr began his career with

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, but before making a first team appearance was signed for £25,000 rising to £100,000 by

in August 1984. After arriving at Forest, Carr was seen as a hugely exciting and popular winger who, at his peak, was one of the fastest players off the mark. Mostly playing down the right wing, he was a regular target for midfielder Neil Webb and striker Nigel Clough to chip balls over the opposing left-back. He was highly exciting but lacked a good final ball, much to the ire of manager

Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engli ...

. Clough described Carr in typical idiosyncratic fashion as ''the best bloody corner flag hitter in the country, if only that was where the net was''. Despite this, Carr still contributed to Forest's

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...

triumphs in 1989 and 1990. However, he lost his place in the first team during the 1989-90 season, managing just 14 league appearances and one goal. He joined relegation strugglers

on loan, making 12 goalless appearances in the First Division. He featured 13 times for Forest in the 1990-91 season, scoring twice, though his part in their run to the FA Cup final (which they lost to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

) was minimal. He also had a loan spell with

, playing three times in their Second Division promotion campaign. Carr transferred to

on 13 June 1991 for £250,000, playing under Osvaldo Ardiles. He scored on his debut as part of a 2–1 loss away to Charlton Athletic, with his second goal coming against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

in September. A knee injury forced him to miss the majority of the season, returning to play the final three games, at which point

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

had taken charge. Carr was sold in January 1993 to Sheffield United for £180,000 after being replaced by

Rob Lee Robert Martin Lee (born 1 February 1966) is an English former professional footballer and sports co-commentator. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and West Ham United. His time at S ...

. He continued to play in the

with Sheffield United,

and

before winding down his career with a move to Reggiana and short spells with

and

. Despite only playing three league games in two seasons at Aston Villa, he scored the winning goal for them in their FA Cup quarter-final against his old club Nottingham Forest in the 1995–96 season, enabling them to reach the semi-finals in which they were beaten by Liverpool.

Personal life

Carr now lives in Golden Valley, Derbyshire.

Honours

;Nottingham Forest *

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

: 1989–90 * Full Members' Cup: 1988–89,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Franz 1966 births Footballers from Preston, Lancashire Living people Association football wingers English footballers England under-21 international footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Serie A players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Italy Black British sportspeople