Ray Harford

Raymond Thomas Harford (1 June 1945 – 9 August 2003) was an English footballer, better known for his successes as a coach and manager than as a player. He is considered to have been one of the top coaches of his generation.

During his playing days, he was a central defender and made 354 league appearances in an eleven-year career in the Football League. He began as a youth player at Charlton Athletic in 1960. However, he only managed three league appearances before his departure in 1966, when he joined Exeter City. He then moved on to Lincoln City, making 161 league appearances for the club before his departure to Mansfield Town. He was bought by Port Vale for a £5,000 fee in December 1971, who then sold him on to Colchester United in February 1973 for £1,750. He helped Colchester to promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1973–74 before he moved into non-League football with Romford in 1975, before retiring due to a knee injury.

He was appointed as Fulham manager in April 1984, though he resigned in June 1986 after a financial crisis led to his team suffering relegation. He took charge at Luton Town in June 1987 and led the club to the final of the League Cup in 1988 and 1989, as Luton won the cup in 1988 before tasting defeat in 1989. Sacked in January 1990, he was appointed Wimbledon manager in the summer before he resigned in October 1991. After spending four years as Kenny Dalglish's assistant, he was promoted to manager at Blackburn Rovers in June 1995. However, he resigned in October 1996 following the sale of star striker Alan Shearer. Taking charge at West Bromwich Albion in February 1997, he switched clubs to Queens Park Rangers ten months later. He was sacked in September 1998 and subsequently became a coach at Millwall; he was still on the coaching staff at the club at the time of his death.

Playing career He was born in Halifax. He grew up in south London. He started his playing career as a centre-half at Charlton Athletic as an amateur in May 1961, turning professional at Frank Hill's Second Division side in May 1964. He joined Exeter City for a fee of £750 in January 1966 following a recommendation to the club trainer Jock Basford, who was at Charlton when Harford joined them from school. The Layer Road side finished in the Football League's re-election zone in 1972–73, with Harford making 21 appearances, scoring one goal.

The "U's" secured promotion in 1973–74 with a third-place finish; Harford was also given the Colchester United Player of the Year award in 1974 for his performances in this 48 games that season.

Managerial career

Fulham In 1982, Harford was appointed assistant manager at Fulham under Malcolm Macdonald, helping the side finish fourth in the Second Division a year after promotion – one place short of promotion to the First Division. The side were relegated by a huge margin, and Harford resigned shortly afterwards.

Luton Town In the summer of 1986, Luton Town manager David Pleat resigned and was replaced by John Moore. Harford was signed by Luton as assistant manager and helped the club finish seventh in the old First Division.

The 1996–97 season also started badly for Blackburn.

QPR Queens Park Rangers were struggling in Division One, they had slipped from the Premiership in 1996 after 13 consecutive seasons of top division football. Harford was appointed successor to Stewart Houston and hoped to get the club back into the Premiership. At the end of the 1997–98 season, the Loftus Road club avoided relegation at the expense of Manchester City, Stoke City and Reading but the club's directors and supporters expected more. And after a poor start to the 1998–99 season, Harford was sacked in September and replaced by Gerry Francis.

Millwall In the summer of 1999, Harford made a return to football as first-team coach under then Millwall manager Keith Stevens. Millwall had been in Division Two since 1996, and the club's directors were desperate to win promotion. Stevens was young and inexperienced, and by September 2000, the Millwall board had decided they wanted a more experienced manager, so they terminated his contract. Harford was appointed manager temporarily, and it seemed possible he would be given the job permanently. But that fifth promotion from within never happened, and Mark McGhee was given the job instead. Harford remained on the club's coaching staff and was crucial in Millwall's Division Two championship that season which ended a five-year exile from the upper tier of the English league. His funeral was held in All Saints Church, Banstead, Surrey, with many members of the football community in attendance. He was survived by his wife, Maureen, and son Paul.

Career statistics Playing statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours as a player with Colchester United Football League Fourth Division promotion: 1973–74 Colchester United F.C. Player of the Year: 1974

as manager of Luton Town League Cup: 1988; runner-up: 1989