da dobrowin： When you think about figures in football that managed and played for the same club, there are a few notable choices.
da fazobetai： Johan Cruyff revolutionised Barcelona both as a player and as a manager, Kenny Dalglish has played and managed both Celtic and Liverpool and Diego Simeone took his former club Atletico Madrid into the European powerhouses they are today, but in England, Mick Harford stands as a man who Luton fans can call their own in every sense of the word.
As a player, the lanky striker established himself as a Hatters favourite in both his spells with the club. Spending seven years of his playing career with the London club, Harford was part of the famous Luton team that caused one of the great League Cup upsets when they defeated Arsenal in the 1987/88 final of the competition.
Harford went on to make 168 appearances for the club, scoring 69 goals, but his affiliation with the club didn’t end with his retirement. The former striker returned to Luton after beginning his coaching career with Wimbledon as then manager Joe Kinnear brought the fan favourite in as a joint director of football.
After spells at Nottingham Forest, Rotherham and Queens Park Rangers as both caretaker and full-time manager, Harford returned to Luton in January 2008, who were in a desperate situation after financial problems and thus deducted a whopping 30 points, dooming the League Two side to non-league.
Although Harford stuck with the club in the Football Conference, he was dismissed a few months into the season for poor results, but yet again it wouldn’t be the last Luton have seen from their former striker.
Nearly nine years after leaving Luton in the Conference, Harford returned yet again to take the caretaker manager role at the club after Nathan Jones left the club for Stoke City, and this time things went a whole lot better for the former English international.
Harford led Luton to a club-record 28-game unbeaten run and has taken the Hatters to the brink of promotion to the Championship, cementing his status as a hero of the club.
Luton fans, what is your favourite Harford memory? Let us know!