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Sunderland-born Mick Harford had already achieved veteran status by the
time he joined Ian Porterfield's Chelsea in August 1992. With big-money
signing Robert Fleck attracting all the column inches, Harford's £300,
000 transfer from Luton Town barely raised a ripple of interest from the
media, but it was the experienced centre-forward who took centre stage
when the two men made their Chelsea debuts alongside each other in an
opening day 1-1 draw with Oldham Athletic, Harford scoring with a
magnificent long-range shot that was frustratingly equalised in the
final minute. Undeterred, the fearsome front man - something of a
throwback to the days of brave, bullying strikers who liked nothing more
than mixing it with opposing defenders - embarked on a scoring run that
came as a pleasant surprise to the Stamford Bridge supporters.
Indeed,
it was Harford's goals that rocketed the Blues onto the fringes of the
title race as the winter began, with crucial strikes in single goal
league victories over QPR, Manchester City, Ipswich Town and Coventry
City, supplemented by a late, headed winner in a League Cup clash with
Kevin Keegan's buoyant, promotion-bound Newcastle United on a lively
night in SW6. Having played for seven clubs prior to joining Chelsea at
the age of 33, Harford had acquired a reputation as a striker of some
note, and had even collected two England caps. He had also acquired the
nickname 'The Head Waiter' along the way, in deference to his
magnificent aerial ability, but this was somewhat unfair on a player
whose deft touch and ability to strike the ball well with both feet not
only disguised an alarming lack of pace, but had always been a feature
of his game, as he had displayed previously against the Blues with
magnificent goals in the colours of both Luton Town and Derby County.
However, after serving a three-match suspension in December, Harford
returned to the team looking a mere shadow of the player who had begun
the season in such thrilling form. Having found the net ten times in all
competitions by the end of 1992, he struck just once more for the
Blues, a consolation goal in a 3-1 defeat at Oldham Athletic, little
more than a week before Porterfield was sacked by chairman Ken Bates.
His temporary replacement, David Webb, briefly tried to partner Harford
with the equally combative Tony Cascarino, but to no avail. The light
that had briefly flickered for both player and club had now been
extinguished, and by March 1993, the Head Waiter had served Chelsea for
the last time, moving to his home-town club Sunderland for £250, 000
shortly before transfer deadline day. (Kelvin Barker)
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