Farewell Neil Harris, We Hardly Knew Ye...

Seventy-seven days and fourteen games later, Harris goes back to the Den leaving not much of a legacy and United more or less where he found them

After a day of speculation yesterday, football’s worst kept secret was made official at 6pm; Neil Harris would return to Millwall to relegate them out of the Championship.

It’s fair to say Neil divided the fanbase a little, but most were generally supportive despite him following the immensely popular Mark Bonner. Neil spoke fondly of the city in an interview with UTAS earlier this year, and whilst the football hasn’t been a feast on the eyes, he ground out some decent results and managed to turn round a squad that looked at times like it had given up under Bonner.

Harris’ first game against Charlton ended up a hard-fought 2-2 draw, which was followed up with a win against high-flying Blackpool, and another against Exeter. 2024 got off to a forgettable start with a horror show against Leyton Orient, before a gutsy, enjoyable day out at Ewood Park saw us eventually crash out of the FA Cup. Further wins came over Fleetwood, Carlisle and Shrewsbury, but there were also poor performances at home to Burton and Cheltenham to consider.

Harris had one transfer window and bought in three new players, strikers Lyle Taylor and Macauley Bonne plus defender James Gibbons, and whilst Taylor looks like a very decent addition to the squad (when he can keep his head) the jury is still out on the other two. Both Bonne and Taylor listed working with Harris as their reason for joining the U’s so it remains to be seen if they will be as committed to the cause now he’s gone.

Ultimately Harris leaves us in a slightly better position than when we started, although we’re still some way from safety. I don’t think any of us can begrudge him going back to Millwall but it also leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. I’m sure he came here expecting to see out his contract but to go running at the first bit of interest makes you wonder just how much he cared about United like he claimed. Let’s face it, he wasn’t going to get a Championship job anywhere else but Millwall, and in all likelihood he’s going to be bringing them back to the Abbey next year, where I doubt he’ll get a particularly warm reception. He becomes the first U’s manager to be poached by another club since Tommy Taylor left for Orient back in 1996.

Some fans will miss his fist pumps to the NRE, but if we’re honest there’s many other managers out there who could do just as good a job. It’s hardly like we’re losing someone who revolutionised the club, and we’ve seen some pretty poor performances under him as much as there’s been some signs of improvement. We look forward to seeing who the club bring in. It’s an important appointment as we need to get points on the board quickly given our tough run-in.

Corr and Betsy take temporary charge for the second time this season against P*sh on Saturday - a repeat of the result in their last game in the dugout would be much appreciated.