Craig Harrison (born 10 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently manager of

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 200 ...

side

The New Saints The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, also known as The New Saints ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed y Seintiau Newydd) or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. They are the most successfu ...

. In his seven-year playing career, in which he played in

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, he played for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. From 2008, until his departure in 2011, he was the manager of Airbus UK Broughton. He then joined

as their new manager that same year. In June 2017, Harrison was appointed as the manager of

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

Early life

Harrison was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

, Tyne and Wear.

Playing career

He is a product of the youth system at

, where he made a number of appearances during the 1997-98 promotion season under

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

. He was unfortunate not to play in the 1998 League Cup final, having been Boro's left-back in the three league games immediately before the final. However, he did play the full match as the club sealed promotion with a 4–1 final day win over

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

. He also started the club's first game back in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Whilst at the club he had loan spells with

in 1999 and

in August 2000. He joined Crystal Palace permanently the following month, and over the next two years made 34 league appearances for the club. In January 2002, he suffered a double compound fracture in his left leg whilst playing for the club's reserves against Reading. After nineteen months in rehabilitation and three operations, he subsequently retired from professional football in 2003. After retirement he battled depression and worked on property renovation and resale.

Managerial career

Early career

In the spring of 2008, he was appointed assistant manager of Welsh Premier League side Airbus UK Broughton after a chance meeting with the then manager Gareth Owen. In the summer of 2008, Harrison was appointed manager. In January 2010, he announced he was registering himself as a player for the club. He subsequently became director of football at the club.

The New Saints

In December 2011, Harrison was unveiled as director of football and manager of

In his first season, he oversaw TNS being crowned the 2011–12 Welsh Premier League Champions, as well as the winning the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

. He won the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

again in the 2013–2014 season, before securing the Welsh Premier League for the third year running and becoming the first team in Europe to win their domestic league. In May 2017, he was named Welsh Premier League manager of the season, having led the side to their sixth successive Welsh Premier League title, as well as the Welsh League Cup and breaking Ajax's 44-year-old world record for the longest winning streak in top-flight football.

Hartlepool United

On 26 May 2017, Harrison was appointed as manager of newly relegated

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

club

. Harrison was awarded the National League's manager of the month award for October 2017. Following only one victory since late November, Harrison left his position as manager in February 2018.

Bangor City

On 23 May 2018, Harrison was appointed as manager of

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

following their relegation from the Welsh Premier League after failing to obtain a tier one license. On 19 October the same year he left the club to go to

Connah's Quay Connah's Quay ( cy, Cei Connah), known locally as "The Quay" and formerly known as Wepre, is a town and community in Flintshire, lying within the Deeside conurbation along the River Dee, near the border with England. It is the largest town in F ...

as first team coach. He stated a desire to return to full-time work as the key factor behind his decision.

Connah's Quay Nomads

In October 2018, Harrison joined the coaching staff at Connah's Quay Nomads following his departure from Bangor City. In September 2021, Harrison was appointed manager of Connah's Quay following the resignation of

Andy Morrison Andrew Charles Morrison (born 30 July 1970) is a Scottish football manager and former footballer who is currently head coach of the Sri Lanka national team. As a player he was a central defender who played in the Premier League with Blackburn R ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a manager

: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

: 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *

Welsh League Cup The Cymru Premier League Cup, currently known as the Nathaniel MG Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a cup competition in Welsh football organised by the Cymru Premier. The competition was established in 1992 and is considered to be the second-mos ...

: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Craig 1977 births Living people Footballers from Gateshead English footballers Association football defenders Middlesbrough F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players English football managers Airbus UK Broughton F.C. managers The New Saints F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers Bangor City F.C. managers Cymru Premier managers National League (English football) managers Connah's Quay Nomads F.C. managers