- Asa Hartford
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Asa Hartford Personal information Full name Richard Hartford Date of birth 24 October 1950 Place of birth Clydebank, Scotland Playing position Midfielder Club information Current club Accrington Stanley (Reserve & Youth Coach) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1967–1974 West Bromwich Albion 214 (18) 1974–1979 Manchester City 185 (22) 1979 Nottingham Forest 3 (0) 1979–1981 Everton 81 (6) 1981–1984 Manchester City 75 (7) 1984 Fort Lauderdale Sun ? (?) 1984–1985 Norwich City 28 (2) 1985–1987 Bolton Wanderers 81 (8) 1987–1989 Stockport County 45 (0) 1989 Oldham Athletic 7 (0) 1989–1991 Shrewsbury Town 25 (0) Total 744 (63) National team 1972–1982 Scotland 50 (5) Teams managed 1985–1987 Bolton Wanderers (player-coach) 1987–1989 Stockport County (player-coach) 1989–1991 Shrewsbury Town 1991 Boston United 1991–1993 Blackburn Rovers 1993 Stoke City (caretaker manager) 1996–2005 Manchester City (assistant/caretaker manager) 2007–2008 Macclesfield Town (assistant manager) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Richard 'Asa' Hartford (born 24 October 1950 in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire) is a retired Scottish international midfielder and footballer who became famous for failing a medical examination due to the discovery of a heart condition which put paid to a high profile transfer to Leeds United in November 1971.
Contents
Early career
He first played for Drumchapel Amateurs in Glasgow, but began his professional career at West Bromwich Albion in 1967. During his time with West Brom, the team won the FA Cup Final in 1968 (although he did not play in the final), were beaten Semi-Finalists in 1969 and reached the League Cup final in 1970.
Hole-in-the-heart discovery
Given his role in the team it was no surprise that he would attract interest from the top clubs but in November 1971 a high profile transfer to Don Revie's Leeds United was cancelled when a suspected hole in-the-heart condition was found during a pre-transfer medical examination. He was eventually transfer listed by then West Brom coach Don Howe alongside favourites Len Cantello and Jeff Astle in April 1974 and his subsequent career made nonsense of the fears occasioned by Leeds' doubting staff.
Manchester City
Hartford moved on to Manchester City for £210,000 (making his debut in a resounding 4-0 victory over West Ham United), coming to prominence as a strong, talented midfielder (helping City win the 1976 League Cup final (a game famous for Dennis Tueart's overhead winner)) as well as a regular Scottish international.
International recognition
He played in Scotland’s oddly ill-fated 1978 World Cup campaign in Argentina where Ally MacLeod's selection vagaries exposed a talented Scottish squad to a needless first round exit. Brian Glanville commenting, in his frequently updated 'The Story of the World Cup', wrote "The Scots had an abundance of fine midfield players at a time when most other countries looked for them desperately; Bruce Rioch, Don Masson, Asa Hartford, Archie Gemmill, Lou Macari, Graeme Souness". (p. 214, 2005). Hartford’s international career (which began in 1972 against Peru) came to an end in Seville during the Spanish World Cup of 1982 when he recorded his fiftieth cap for Scotland in the game against Brazil, thereby securing himself a place on the national team's Roll of Honour in the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.
Latter career
At the beginning of the 1979-80 season he was transferred to Brian Clough’s European Champions at Nottingham Forest (in order to replace Archie Gemmill) for £500,000 only to be smartly packed off to Everton for £400,000 after 3 games. In October 1981 John Bond brought him back to Maine Road for £375,000. What followed were stints in the United States (Fort Lauderdale Sun), Norwich City (for whom he scored the winning goal in the 1985 League Cup final), Bolton Wanderers and Oldham Athletic, before he took up coaching/managerial roles with Stockport County, Shrewsbury Town and Boston United where he made 15 appearances as a player at the age of 40.
Coaching and management
Latterly, he joined ex-international team-mates Kenny Dalglish (at Blackburn Rovers), Joe Jordan and Luigi ‘Lou’ Macari (at Stoke City) in various coaching/managerial roles before taking on an assistant managerial position at Manchester City with Alan Ball in 1995 and stayed as the reserve team coach until May 2005 when Stuart Pearce brought in his own coaching staff. He thereafter became a coach with Blackpool in December 2005. He left Blackpool in May 2006.
On 29 June 2007 it was announced that he had been appointed Assistant Manager at League Two team Macclesfield Town but both he and Ian Brightwell were sacked in February 2008 to be replaced by Keith Alexander.
In April 2008 he was given a role with Accrington Stanley coaching the junior teams and the reserves.
Sources
- Glanville, Brian - World Cup. The Story of the, Faber & Faber, London, 2005.
External links
- Player profile at Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database
- Career information at ex-canaries.co.uk
1973–74 Football League Second Division PFA Team of the Year GK: Bryan King · DF: John Craggs · DF: Dave Watson · DF: Willie Maddren · DF: John Gorman · MF: Bruce Rioch · MF: Don Masson · MF: Asa Hartford · FW: Dennis Tueart · FW: Duncan McKenzie · FW: Don Rogers1986–87 Football League Third Division PFA Team of the Year GK: Gerry Peyton · DF: Paul Parker · DF: Colin Greenall · DF: Gary Pallister · DF: Kenny Mower · MF: Brian Laws · MF: Asa Hartford · MF: Bobby Hutchinson · FW: David Kelly · FW: Ian McParland · FW: Tony CascarinoScotland squad – 1978 FIFA World Cup 
Scotland squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup Stockport County F.C. – managers Stewart (1894–1911) · Lewis (1911–14) · Ashworth (1914–19) · Williams (1919–24) · Scotchbrook (1924–26) · Hyde (1926–31) · Wilson (1932–33) · Westgarth (1934–36) · Kelly (1936–38) · Hunt (1939) · Marshall (1939–49) · Beattie (1949–52) · Duckworth (1952–56) · Moir (1956–60) · Flewin (1960–63) · Porteous (1963–65) · Quigley (1965–66) · Meadows (1966–69) · Galbraith (1969–70) · Woods (1970–71) · Doyle (1972–74) · Meadows (1974–75) · Hopkinson (1975) · Chapman (1975–76) · Quigley (1976–77) · Thompson (1977–78) · Summerbee (1978–79) · McGuigan (1979–82) · Webster (1982–85) · Murphy (1985) · Chapman (1985–86) · Melia (1986) · Murphy (1986–87) · Hartford (1987–89) · Bergara (1989–95) · Jones (1995–97) · Megson (1997–99) · Kilner (1999–2001) · Madden (2001) · Palmer (2001–03) · Hollins (2003) · McIlroy (2003–04) · Lillis (2004) · Turner (2004–05) · Gannon (2005–09) · Ablett (2009–10) · Simpson (2010–11) · Ward (2011) · Mathias (2011) · Hamann (2011) ·
Shrewsbury Town F.C. – managers Adams (1905–12) · Weston (1912–34) · Roscamp (1934–35) · Ramsay (1935–36) · Bousted (1936–40) · Knighton (1945) · Chapman (1949–50) · Crooks (1950–54) · W. Rowley (1955–57) · Potts (1957–58) · Spuhler (1958) · A. Rowley (1958–68) · Gregg (1968–72) · Evans (1972–74) · Durban (1974–78) · Barker (1978) · Turner (1978–84) · Bates (1984–87) · Brown (1987) · McNeill (1987–90) · Hartford (1990–91) · Bond (1991–93) · Davies (1993–97) · King (1997–99) · Bates (1999) · Ratcliffe (1999–2003) · Atkins (2003) · Quinn (2003–04) · Bates (2004) · Peters (2004–08) · McMahon (2008) · Simpson (2008–10) · Turner (2010–)
Stoke City F.C. – managers Slaney (1874–83) · Cox (1883–84) · Lockett (1884–90) · Bradshaw (1890–92) · Reeves (1892–95) · Rowley (1895–97) · Austerberry (1897–1908) · Barker (1908–14) · Hodge (1914–15) · Schofield (1915–19) · Shallcross (1919–23) · Rutherford (1923) · Mather (1923–35) · McGrory (1935–52) · Taylor (1952–60) · Waddington (1960–77) · Eastham (1977–78) · A'Court (1978) · Durban (1978–81) · Barker (1981–83) · Asprey (1983–85) · Lacey (1985) · Mills (1985–89) · Ball (1989–91) · Paddon (1991) · Macari (1991–93) · Jordan (1993–94) · Hartford (1994) · Macari (1994–97) · Bates (1997–98) · Kamara (1998) · Durban (1998) · Little (1998–99) · Megson (1999) · Thordarson (1999–2002) · Cotterill (2002) · Kevan (2002) · Pulis (2002–05) · Boskamp (2005–06) · Pulis (2006–)
Categories:- 1950 births
- Living people
- People from Clydebank
- Scottish footballers
- Scotland international footballers
- Association football midfielders
- West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
- Manchester City F.C. players
- Nottingham Forest F.C. players
- Everton F.C. players
- Norwich City F.C. players
- Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
- Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players
- Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers
- Fort Lauderdale Sun players
- Blackpool F.C. non-playing staff
- Bolton Wanderers F.C. non-playing staff
- 1978 FIFA World Cup players
- 1982 FIFA World Cup players
- The Football League players
- Scottish expatriate footballers
- United Soccer League players
- The Football League managers
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