Jamaican Francis among the elite

by Gary Smith
Caribbean Net News Correspondent

Tuesday,  November 1, 2005

LONDON, England:  Jamaican Damien Francis, who recently moved to Wigan Athletic from Norwich earlier this year, was confirmed as the Premiership's fifth best distributor this season, according to the league's data organization, Opta Sportsdata.

The midfielder was also rated 24th best overall player in the Premier League with an index rating of 1.16.

Francis, 26, has been described as the driving force behind Wigan's dream start in their debut season in England's elite division since his move this summer, and his stats show it.

The former Wimbledon midfielder has completed 89 percent of his 207 passes this campaign, well above Wigan's average accuracy of 72 percent. 

According to media releases, the Jamaican international's status among the big boys came has a huge surprise this early in the season.

Among those above the Reggae Boy are: Manchester United's Roy Keane (91.8%), Portsmouth's Richard Hughes and William Gallas of Chelsea both at (90.2%) and Keane's teammate Rio Ferdinand.

Earlier, Francis helped The Latics jump to second place in the league, following a 1-0 home win over Fulham at the JJB Stadium. The Latics are on 22-points and only second best to the defending champions Chelsea. 

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