Mark Harrison (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mark Simon Harrison[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 December 1960[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Derby, England[1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Township Rollers (manager) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1977–1979 | Southampton | 0 | (0) |
| 1979–1982 | Port Vale | 70 | (0) |
| 1981 | → Stoke City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1982–1984 | Stoke City[2] | 7 | (0) |
| 1984–1985 | Hellenic | 44 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Kettering Town | 42 | (0) |
| 1987–1988 | Stafford Rangers | 50 | (0) |
| 1988–1989 | Telford United | 12 | (0) |
| 1989–1989 | Hellenic | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 233 | (0) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1994–1995 | Stafford Rangers | ||
| 2000–2001 | Bangladesh | ||
| 2001–2002 | Fortune | ||
| 2002–2003 | Hurriya | ||
| 2010–2011 | Mpumalanga Black Aces | ||
| 2011–2012 | African Warriors | ||
| 2012–2013 | Bay Stars | ||
| 2013 | Chippa United | ||
| 2013–2014 | Golden Arrows | ||
| 2015 | CAPS United | ||
| 2015– | Township Rollers | ||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Mark Simon Harrison (born 11 December 1960) is an English former footballer who manages Township Rollers in the Botswana Premier League.
He kept goal in the Football League for Port Vale and Stoke City, and also played non-league football for Hellenic, Kettering Town, Stafford Rangers, and Telford United. He managed Stafford Rangers for a brief spell and then from 2000 he began coaching clubs and nations in Africa,including the Bangladesh national team, Fortune, Hurriya, Mpumalanga Black Aces, African Warriors, Bay Stars, Chippa United, Golden Arrows, CAPS United, and Township Rollers. In the 2015–16 season he led Township Rollers to the Botswana Premier League title and the final of the Mascom Top 8 Cup.
Playing career
Harrison was a trainee with Southampton,[3] before joining John McGrath's Fourth Division side Port Vale in February 1980.[1] He was immediately the first choice keeper for the "Valiants", however was troubled by cartilage problems from November 1980.[1] In the summer of 1981 he was loaned to rivals Stoke City as they played a youth tournament.[1] After returning to Vale Park he was an ever-present for the 46 game 1981–82 season.[1] He was sold to City, along with Mark Chamberlain, for a combined fee of £180,000 in August 1982.[1] He left Victoria Ground in 1984 due to long term injury problems.
After he left the "Potters", he not only left Stoke-on-Trent but England as well, as he switched to South African side Hellenic. He later returned to England to play non-league football with Kettering Town, Stafford Rangers and Telford United.[1] Harrison returned to South Africa to play for Hellenic one more time.
Management career
Upon his retirement, he returned to England and became the youth coach of Bristol City, then goalkeeper coach of Everton, before becoming coach and assistant manager of Barrow, later player-manager of Stafford Rangers and then the reserve coach and assistant manager of Oxford United in the Championship. Harrison gained his UEFA A licence at the young age of 33.
He later had a spell as coach of the Bangladesh national football team.[3]
Harrison then went on to manage Fortune in the South African NFD and later Hurriya in the Maldives.
Harrison was employed to assist Mpumalanga Black Aces in the South African Premier Soccer League in 2011. He was promoted to head coach for the remainder of the 2010–11 season, but departed the club at the end of the campaign. He went on to coach African Warriors in the National First Division.
Harrison took up the job as head coach of Bay Stars, in South Africa's third tier, the SAFA Second Division for the 2012–13 season. However, he left during the season to join Chippa United.[4]
Harrison was appointed head coach of Chippa United in April 2013[5] but despite not losing a game, was unable to prevent the team from being relegated at the end of the 2012–13 season.[6] He resigned from his position after four games in 2013–14 season and became head coach of Golden Arrows on 7 October 2013.[7] In January 2015 he was appointed head coach of Zimbabwean club CAPS United.[8] Harrison resigned on 16 June 2015.[9] On the same day, he was announced as the head coach of Botswana Premier League side Township Rollers. He led the Rollers to the league title in controversial circumstances 2015–16, as the Botswana Football Association deducted the club ten points for fielding an ineligible player before the ruling was overturned on appeal.[10] They also reached the final of the Mascom Top 8 Cup, where they lost 3–1 to Orapa United.[11]
Career statistics
- Sourced from Mark Harrison profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Port Vale | 1980–81 | Fourth Division | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 1981–82 | Fourth Division | 46 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 55 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 80 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City | 1982–83 | First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career Total | 77 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 88 | 0 | ||
Honours
- with Township Rollers
- Botswana Premier League champion: 2015–16
- Mascom Top 8 Cup runner-up: 2016
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 129. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ↑ Stats at Neil Brown stat site
- 1 2 Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 613. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
- ↑ "Stars hunt for coach after Harrison moves to Chilli Boys". The Hearld. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ "Chippa Appoint Harrison". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ↑ "Chippa relegated to NFD". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ↑ "Harrison named new coach of Arrows". SuperSport. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ↑ "Zvirekwi predicts CAPS bright future". SuperSport. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ↑ "Harrison quits Caps Utd". NewsDay. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- ↑ Boranabi, Kabelo. "Rollers are league champions – Madinda". mmegi.bw. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ↑ "Orapa stun Rollers to lift Mascom Top 8 Cup". botswanapremierleague.com. Retrieved 4 June 2016.