View source for Ray Harford

{{short description|English footballer & manager}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Ray Harford
| image          =
| caption        =
| fullname       = Raymond Thomas Harford<ref>{{Hugman|8283|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1945|6|1|df=y}}<ref name="grecian">{{cite web |title=Harford, Raymond |url=https://grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/1852 |website=grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk |access-date=9 November 2022 }}</ref>
| birth_place    = [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]], England<ref name="grecian"/>
| death_date     = {{death date and age|2003|8|9|1945|6|1|df=y}}
| height         = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}<ref name="guardian">{{cite news|last=Glanville|first=Brian|title=Ray Harford|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2003/aug/11/guardianobituaries.football|access-date=18 November 2013|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=11 August 2003}}</ref>
| position       = [[Defender (association football)|Central defender]]
| youthyears1    = 1961–1964| youthclubs1 = [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]]
| years1         = 1964–1966| clubs1 =   [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]]       | caps1 =   3| goals1 =  0
| years2         = 1966–1967| clubs2 =   [[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]]                   | caps2 =  55| goals2 =  1
| years3         = 1967–1971| clubs3 =   [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]]                 | caps3 = 161| goals3 = 10
| years4         = 1971     | clubs4 =   [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]             | caps4 =   7| goals4 =  0
| years5         = 1971–1973| clubs5 =   [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]                       | caps5 =  20| goals5 =  1
| years6         = 1973     | clubs6 = → [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]] (loan)| caps6 =   3| goals6 =  0
| years7         = 1973–1975| clubs7 =   [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]]       | caps7 = 105| goals7 =  4
| years8         = 1975     | clubs8 =   [[Romford F.C.|Romford]]                           | caps8 =   5| goals8 =  1
| totalcaps      = 359      | totalgoals  = 17
| manageryears1  = 1984–1986| managerclubs1 = [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]
| manageryears2  = 1987–1990| managerclubs2 = [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]]
| manageryears3  = 1990–1991| managerclubs3 = [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]
| manageryears4  = 1995–1996| managerclubs4 = [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]]
| manageryears5  = 1997     | managerclubs5 = [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]
| manageryears6  = 1997–1998| managerclubs6 = [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]
| manageryears7  = 2000     | managerclubs7 = [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] (caretaker)
}}

'''Raymond Thomas Harford''' (1 June 1945 – 9 August 2003) was an English [[Association football|footballer]], better known for his successes as a [[Coach (sport)|coach]] and [[Manager (association football)|manager]] than as a player. He is considered to have been one of the top coaches of his generation.<ref name="BBC" /><ref name="Tele">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2409283/Ray-Harford-dies-at-58.html|title=Ray Harford dies at 58|date=9 August 2003|work=The Telegraph|access-date=30 May 2009| location=London}}</ref>

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

He was appointed as [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]] manager in April 1984, though he resigned in June 1986 after a financial crisis led to his team suffering [[Promotion and relegation|relegation]]. He took charge at [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] in June 1987 and led the club to the final of the [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] in [[1988 Football League Cup final|1988]] and [[1989 Football League Cup final|1989]], as Luton won the cup in 1988 before tasting defeat in 1989. Sacked in January 1990, he was appointed [[Wimbledon F.C.|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 F.C.|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 F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] in February 1997, he switched clubs to [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]] ten months later. He was sacked in September 1998 and subsequently became a coach at [[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]]; he was still on the coaching staff at the club at the time of his death.

==Playing career==
He was born in [[Halifax, West Yorkshire|Halifax]]. He grew up in south London.<ref name="Indie">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ray-harford-548565.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219043631/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ray-harford-548565.html |archive-date=19 February 2011 |title= Ray Harford| last=Ponting|first=Ivan|date=11 August 2003|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=18 November 2013 |url-status=dead | location=London}}</ref> He started his playing career as a centre-half at [[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]] as an amateur in May 1961, turning professional at [[Frank Hill]]'s [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] side in May 1964.<ref name="Blackburn">{{cite book |last1=Jackman |first1=Mike |title=Blackburn Rovers : the official encyclopaedia |date=1994 |publisher=Breedon |location=Derby |page=1 |isbn=9781873626702 |url=https://archive.org/details/blackburnroverso0000jack/page/8/mode/2up/search/port+vale?q=port+vale |access-date=14 April 2020}}</ref> He joined [[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]] for a fee of [[Pound sterling|£]]750 in January 1966 following a recommendation to the club trainer [[Jock Basford]], who was at Charlton when Harford joined them from school.<ref name="grecian"/> He made his debut in a 5–2 defeat to [[Peterborough United F.C.|Peterborough United]] at [[St James Park (Exeter)|St James Park]] and missed just one [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] game in the remainder of the [[1965–66 Exeter City F.C. season|1965–66]] season.<ref name="grecian"/> He played in 38 league matches throughout the [[1966–67 Exeter City F.C. season|1966–67]] season, scoring one goal against [[Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C.|Bradford Park Avenue]].<ref name="grecian"/>

In July 1967, he signed with [[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]], then in the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] and led by [[Ron Gray (footballer)|Ron Gray]]. The "Imps" missed out on [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] by five points in [[1968–69 Football League|1968–69]] and finished eighth in [[1969–70 Football League|1969–70]], before dropping down to the re-election zone under [[Bert Loxley]] in [[1970–71 Football League|1970–71]]. Harford had played nearly 200 games in four years at [[Sincil Bank]]. In June 1971, he secured a move to Third Division [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]], quickly followed by a move to league rivals [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] in December 1971, whose [[Manager (association football)|manager]]  [[Gordon Lee (footballer)|Gordon Lee]] paid Mansfield £5,000 for his services. He was a regular for the rest of [[1971–72 Port Vale F.C. season|the season]] but fell out of favour in August 1972. In January 1973, he was [[Loan (sports)|loan]]ed out to [[Jim Smith (footballer, born 1940)|Jim Smith]]'s [[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]], before the deal was made permanent the next month for a price of £1,750.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=127|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0|id= {{ASIN|0952915200|country=ca}}}}</ref> The [[Layer Road]] side finished in the [[English Football League|Football League]]'s re-election zone in [[1972–73 Colchester United F.C. season|1972–73]], with Harford making 21 appearances, scoring one goal.<ref name="colch">{{cite web |title=Ray Harford – Players – Colchester United |url=https://www.coludata.co.uk/item.php?pg=player&it=350 |website=coludata.co.uk |access-date=6 April 2019}}</ref>

The "U's" secured promotion in [[1973–74 Colchester United F.C. season|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.<ref name="colch"/> After another 49 appearances in the [[1974–75 Colchester United F.C. season|1974–75]] campaign, he left the United to play for [[Non-League football|non-League]] [[Romford F.C.|Romford]]. The next year, knee troubles ended his playing career,<ref name="Indie" /> and he returned to Colchester as youth [[Coach (sport)|coach]] in September 1975.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1438487/Ray-Harford.html |title=Ray Harford |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |date=11 August 2003|access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref>

==Managerial career==

===Fulham===
In 1982, Harford was appointed assistant manager at [[Fulham F.C.|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.<ref name="BBC" /> In April 1984, he was promoted to the position of manager. His first full season as a manager was reasonably successful, with the club managing a ninth-place finish, nine points off promotion. At the end of the season, however, the club had fallen into severe financial difficulties, forcing the sale of most of the first team. Harford was able to cobble together a side for the next season from free transfers and youth players, but it wasn't enough.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/ClubHistory/Managers/RayHarford.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501150725/http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/ClubHistory/Managers/RayHarford.aspx |archive-date=1 May 2012 |title=Ray Harford |publisher= fulhamfc.com |access-date=18 November 2013}}</ref> The side were [[Promotion and relegation|relegated]] by a huge margin, and Harford resigned shortly afterwards.

===Luton Town===
In the summer of 1986, [[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]] manager [[David Pleat]] resigned and was replaced by [[John Moore (footballer, born December 1943)|John Moore]]. Harford was signed by Luton as assistant manager and helped the club finish seventh in the old [[Football League First Division|First Division]].<ref name="Indie" /> At the end of the [[1986–87 in English football|1986–87 season]], Moore resigned as manager and Harford was promoted as his replacement. It proved to be an impressive decision. In his first season as Luton manager, Harford guided the [[Kenilworth Road]] club to a [[1988 Football League Cup final|3–2 win]] over [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] in the [[EFL Cup|League Cup]] final – the club's first ever major trophy.<ref name="BBC" /> But Luton were forbidden to enter the [[1988–89 UEFA Cup]] because the ban on English teams in European competition arising from the 1985 [[Heysel Stadium disaster]] still had two years to run. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals that year, losing 2–1 to eventual winners [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] – which made Luton the latest of several clubs to have come close to winning the then elusive domestic cup double.

In [[1988–89 in English football|1988–89]], Luton again reached the [[1989 Football League Cup final|League Cup final]] but surrendered their crown after losing 3–1 to [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]]. By the following January, Luton were battling against relegation to the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]. Harford was controversially sacked<ref name="BBC" /> – the relegation battle was won by his successor [[Jimmy Ryan (footballer, born 1945)|Jim Ryan]] who remained in charge until the end of the following season when he was sacked even though Luton had avoided relegation again.

===Wimbledon===
Soon after being sacked as manager of Luton, Harford was recruited by [[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]] as assistant manager to [[Bobby Gould]], succeeding [[Don Howe]], who had been appointed manager of [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]. The partnership lasted just five months until July 1990, when Gould was sacked from his post, and Harford was promoted from assistant manager to manager for the third time in his career.

In [[1990–91 in English football|1990–91]], Wimbledon did well to finish seventh in the First Division, and there were high hopes that the club could qualify for European competition or win one of the two domestic cups during the [[1991–92 in English football|1991–92 season]]. Wimbledon made a slow start to the season, and then Harford resigned in October to take up a lucrative offer at Blackburn Rovers. He was briefly replaced by [[Peter Withe]], who lasted just three months before being sacked and replaced by [[Joe Kinnear]].
In the same month that Harford left Wimbledon, the former [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] manager [[Kenny Dalglish]] had been appointed as manager of Second Division [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] who had been out of the top division since 1966. Their wealthy benefactor [[Jack Walker]] was determined to get the [[Ewood Park]] side into the new [[Premier League]], which was due to start in the [[1992–93 in English football|1992–93 season]]. He offered Harford the position of assistant manager at Blackburn and Harford accepted.

===Blackburn Rovers===

====Success as assistant manager====
While Harford was assistant manager of Blackburn, he helped Kenny Dalglish in the club's quest for success. In 1992, the club won promotion to the new Premier League via the promotion playoffs. In the new Premier League in 1993, Blackburn finished fourth thanks to a side made up of mostly new players like £3.3&nbsp;million record-signing striker [[Alan Shearer]], who scored 16 league goals before a serious injury sustained just before the turn of the new year ruled him out for the rest of the season. Blackburn topped the league at several stages that season, but Manchester United eventually finished as champions.

The following season, Blackburn finished runners-up to [[Double (association football)|double]] winners [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]. Still, a consolation for the disappointment came in the form of a UEFA Cup place. For much of the season, it had looked certain that the league title would remain at [[Old Trafford]]. Still, an erratic run of form by United in March meant that Blackburn drew level on points in early April (kept off the top only on [[goal difference]]), but in the end, United surged to the title.

In [[1994–95 in English football|1994–95]], Blackburn suffered early exits from the UEFA Cup, [[FA Cup]] and League Cup but their league form was excellent. On the final day of the season, they lost 2–1 to Dalglish's old club [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], but their nearest rivals, Manchester United, were unable to beat [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] and the English league championship went to Blackburn Rovers for the first time since [[1913–14 in English football|1914]]. It was also the first time in Harford's career that he had been associated with a title-winning side.

A month after the title success, Kenny Dalglish was promoted to [[Director of football]], and the board offered Harford to fill the manager's seat.<ref name="Indie" /> On arriving at Ewood Park, he had vowed never to make a fourth move from assistant manager to manager but went back on his word and accepted the offer.<ref name="BBC" />

====Frustrating time as manager====
[[1995–96 in English football|1995–96]] was a frustrating season for Harford and Blackburn. [[Chris Sutton]], [[Jason Wilcox]] and [[Graeme Le Saux]] missed a lot of games through injury, although Alan Shearer was still brilliant, with 31 Premiership goals. Despite an early exit from the [[1995–96 UEFA Champions League]], Blackburn improved as the season progressed. Although they never looked like regaining their Premiership title, they were in contention for a UEFA Cup place until the last game of the season but lost out to [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] and finished seventh. It wasn't a bad finish, though, considering that Blackburn had been in the bottom half of the Premier League for much of the season. During the summer of 1996, Alan Shearer was sold to [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] for a then [[List of most expensive association football transfers|world record fee]] of £15&nbsp;million, and Harford failed to replace him adequately. Harford stated, "I'm told we need a big name. [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]] is a big name but it doesn't mean he can play football."<ref>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Phil|title=The Book of Football Quotations|year=2008|publisher=Ebury Press|isbn=9780091923334|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookoffootballqu0000unse/page/412 412]|url=https://archive.org/details/bookoffootballqu0000unse/page/412}}</ref>

The [[1996–97 in English football|1996–97 season]] also started badly for Blackburn.<ref name="Indie" /> They failed to win any of their first ten games and were knocked out of the League Cup by Division Two side [[Stockport County F.C.|Stockport]]. Harford handed in his resignation on 25 October and was replaced temporarily by coach [[Tony Parkes]], who took charge until the end of the season and guided Rovers to 13th in the final table before [[Roy Hodgson]] was appointed as permanent manager.

===West Bromwich Albion===
In February 1997, Harford was named as [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]'s new manager in place of [[Alan Buckley]]. Albion were hovering just above the relegation zone in Division One (which had been a familiar pattern since their promotion in 1993), and Harford did much to keep the club clear of relegation. Despite a promising start to [[1997–98 in English football|the following season]], he said that he found it tiring to travel over {{convert|100|mi}} from his [[Berkshire]] home to the [[Midlands (England)|Midlands]] on an almost daily basis, and in December 1997 moved to Division One rivals [[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]. His successor, [[Denis Smith (footballer, born 1947)|Denis Smith]], claimed that Harford had told him the real reason he decided to leave the club was that an ageing team and a lack of investment from the boardroom meant that the club were "heading for a fall".<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Denis|title=Just One of Seven|publisher=Know The Score Books|year=2008|page=261|isbn=978-1-84818-504-3}}</ref>

===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 in English football|1997–98 season]], the [[Loftus Road]] club avoided relegation at the expense of [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]], [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] and [[Reading F.C.|Reading]] but the club's directors and supporters expected more. And after a poor start to the [[1998–99 in English football|1998–99 season]], Harford was sacked in September and replaced by [[Gerry Francis]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/harford-resigns-as-qpr-manager-1201401.html|title=Harford resigns as QPR manager |date=29 September 1998|work=The Independent|access-date=21 May 2009 | location=London | first=Alan | last=Nixon}}</ref>

===Millwall===
In the summer of 1999, Harford made a return to football as first-team coach under then [[Millwall F.C.|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 [[Association football contracts|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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/millwall/941311.stm|title=McGhee appointed Millwall boss|date=25 September 2000|website=BBC Sport|access-date=30 May 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Tele" />

In [[2001–02 in English football|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 [[2002 Football League First Division play-off final|eventual winners]] [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]].

==Retirement and death==
In October 2002, Harford was diagnosed with lung cancer and spent the rest of [[2002–03 in English football|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.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news| title = Ray Harford dies| url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/3137907.stm| website = BBC Sport| date = 9 August 2003| access-date = 19 October 2007}}</ref> 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 Harford|Paul]].<ref name="guardian"/> Paul also became a professional footballer and was on the books of [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] and [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]], but did not play a senior game for either side. However, he did manage a few senior appearances in subsequent spells with [[Wigan Athletic F.C.|Wigan Athletic]] and [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]], before a more active career at non-league level.<ref>{{Soccerbase|3261|Paul Harford}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Playing statistics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{ENFA}}</ref><ref>{{Soccerbase|3262}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|FA Cup
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|[[Charlton Athletic F.C.|Charlton Athletic]]
|[[1965–66 Charlton Athletic F.C. season|1965–66]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|3||0||0||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]]
|[[1965–66 Exeter City F.C. season|1965–66]]
|[[Football League Third Division|Third Division]]
|17||0||0||0||0||0||17||0
|-
|[[1966–67 Exeter City F.C. season|1966–67]]
|[[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]]
|38||1||1||0||4||2||43||3
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!55!!1!!1!!0!!4!!2!!60!!3
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]]
|[[1967–68 Lincoln City F.C. season|1967–68]]
|Fourth Division
|46||3||1||0||5||0||52||3
|-
|[[1968–69 Lincoln City F.C. season|1968–69]]
|Fourth Division
|43||3||4||0||2||0||49||3
|-
|[[1969–70 Lincoln City F.C. season|1969–70]]
|Fourth Division
|28||3||0||0||1||0||29||3
|-
|[[1970–71 Lincoln City F.C. season|1970–71]]
|Fourth Division
|44||1||5||0||3||0||52||1
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!161!!10!!10!!0!!11!!0!!182!!10
|-
|[[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]
|[[1971–72 Mansfield Town F.C. season|1971–72]]
|Third Division
|7||0||0||0||2||0||9||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]
|[[1971–72 Port Vale F.C. season|1971–72]]
|Third Division
|19||1||0||0||0||0||19||1
|-
|[[1972–73 Port Vale F.C. season|1972–73]]
|Third Division
|1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!20!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!20!!1
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Colchester United F.C.|Colchester United]]
|[[1972–73 Colchester United F.C. season|1972–73]]
|Fourth Division
|21||1||0||0||0||0||21||1
|-
|[[1973–74 Colchester United F.C. season|1973–74]]
|Fourth Division
|46||1||1||1||1||0||48||2
|-
|[[1974–75 Colchester United F.C. season|1974–75]]
|Third Division
|41||2||2||0||6||0||49||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!108!!4!!3!!1!!7!!0!!118!!5
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!354!!16!!14!!1!!24!!2!!392!!19
|}

===Managerial statistics===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=5|Record
|-
!{{abbr|P|Matches played}}!!{{abbr|W|Matches won}}!!{{abbr|D|Matches drawn}}!!{{abbr|L|Matches lost}}!!{{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}}
|-
|align=left|[[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]]
|align=left|20 April 1984
|align=left|10 June 1986
{{WDL|99|37|16|46|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Luton Town F.C.|Luton Town]]
|align=left|15 June 1987
|align=left|3 January 1990
{{WDL|126|47|34|45|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Wimbledon F.C.|Wimbledon]]
|align=left|18 June 1990
|align=left|7 October 1991
{{WDL|56|20|17|19|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]]
|align=left|25 June 1995
|align=left|25 October 1996
{{WDL|64|24|13|27|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]]
|align=left|6 February 1997
|align=left|4 December 1997
{{WDL|40|19|7|14|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]
|align=left|5 December 1997
|align=left|28 September 1998
{{WDL|41|5|18|18|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Millwall F.C.|Millwall]] (caretaker)
|align=left|17 September 2000
|align=left|25 September 2000
{{WDL|2|2|0|0|decimals=1}}
|-
!colspan=3|Total<ref>{{Soccerbase manager|1056}}</ref>
{{WDLtot|428|154|105|169|decimals=1}}
|}

==Honours==
'''as a player with Colchester United'''<ref name="colch"/>
*[[Football League Fourth Division]] promotion: [[1973–74 Colchester United F.C. season|1973–74]]
*Colchester United F.C. Player of the Year: [[1973–74 Colchester United F.C. season|1974]]

'''as manager of Luton Town'''<ref name="colch"/>
*[[EFL Cup|League Cup]]: [[1988 Football League Cup final|1988]]; runner-up: [[1989 Football League Cup final|1989]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Colchester United F.C. Player of the Year}}
{{EFL Cup winning managers}}
{{Fulham F.C. managers}}
{{Luton Town F.C. managers}}
{{Wimbledon F.C. managers}}
{{Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers}}
{{West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers}}
{{Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers}}
{{Millwall F.C. managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harford, Ray}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:Footballers from Halifax, West Yorkshire]]
[[Category:English men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football central defenders]]
[[Category:Charlton Athletic F.C. players]]
[[Category:Exeter City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Lincoln City F.C. players]]
[[Category:Mansfield Town F.C. players]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C. players]]
[[Category:Colchester United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Romford F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Southern Football League players]]
[[Category:Colchester United F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Fulham F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:English football managers]]
[[Category:Fulham F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Luton Town F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Luton Town F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Wimbledon F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Wimbledon F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers]]
[[Category:West Bromwich Albion F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Premier League managers]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:English football coaches]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in England]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportsmen]]