Ray Harford

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. In 2001–02, Millwall finished fourth in Division One and qualified for the promotion playoffs. Everyone at the club was hopeful that a second successive promotion could be achieved. However, those hopes were ended in a semi-final defeat by eventual winners Birmingham City. ==Retirement and death==

In October 2002, Harford was diagnosed with lung cancer and spent the rest of the season away from his job at Millwall receiving treatment for his illness. Early on the morning of 9 August 2003, Ray Harford died while he was still officially a member of the Millwall coaching staff under Mark McGhee. 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 ==References==