Ray Harford

Who was Ray Harford?

Raymond Thomas "Ray" Harford 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 centre-half, and made 347 league appearances in an eleven-year career in the Football League. He began at Charlton Athletic as a youth player in 1960, though 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, though 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.