Chapter ends in one of football’s great romances

And so the latest chapter in one of English football’s longest romances draws to a close.

Neil Harris’ partnership with Millwall began more than 26 years ago.

Since then the world has entered a new millennium, Usain Bolt has become the fastest person in human history and broken his own record twice, a website called YouTube was created and the England men’s football team still haven’t won a major tournament.

While at The Den, Harris has cemented himself as an undisputed club legend across five separate stints as a player and head coach.

“The football club has been hugely important to him because it gave him the chance to play in the Football League and gave him a chance to become a club legend,” BBC Radio London commentator Phil Parry said.

“It has given him so much but he’s given the club so much as well.”

The 47-year-old is the Lions’ all-time leading scorer with 138 goals.

He achieved promotion to the Championship on the pitch and on the touchline, and was part of the team that made it to the FA Cup final in 2003-04.

“They should have a statue of him outside the ground,” said Harris’ former Millwall team-mate Steve Morison. “Everything he’s done for that football club has been amazing.”

‘His work-rate suited what Millwall was about’

Harris first joined Millwall in March 1998 as a 20-year-old from non-league Cambridge City with the London club in the old Second Division – now League One.

He scored 25 goals in his first full season, proving himself to be a lethal finisher.

He hit another 27 goals as the Lions were promoted to the second tier the following season.

“His work-rate suited what Millwall is about,” said Parry, who has covered the club since 2000.

“He was a good player and good finisher but he’d work hard for the team as well.”

Harris was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 23 but returned to football after successful surgery.

His first spell at the club ended in 2004 as he left for Nottingham Forest, having scored 98 goals in 270 appearances.

But not before he started in the FA Cup final in Cardiff, where the Lions were beaten 3-0 by a Manchester United side containing Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy and a young Cristiano Ronaldo – and managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Harris returned from Forest for his second chapter at The Den three years later, by which time the late John Berylson had taken over at the club, and quickly broke Teddy Sheringham’s record of 93 Millwall goals in the EFL.

Morison arrived in 2009 and was taken under Harris’ wing, he said, as the pair started up front together in the League One play-off final victory over Swindon Town, courtesy of Paul Robinson’s goal.

Both players left in 2011, with Harris moving to Southend United and Morison to Norwich City, but when Harris returned again as head coach he played a big role in bringing Morison back.

“The football club as a whole, Neil was a massive part of that,” Morison said.

“But the fact the first person I called when I was asked to leave Leeds was John [Berlyson] and Neil and they both said, ‘How quick can you get down the M1?’

“I said, ‘I’m halfway down’ and they made it work. Him and the football club go hand in hand. [He was] the person they turned to when they needed the most, this time.

“He was great for me and he is now if I want to pick the phone up.”

Morison scored the winning goal as Millwall beat Bradford City to again seal promotion to the Championship in 2016-17.

Both men again left south east London in 2019 as Morison moved to Shrewsbury Town and Harris joined Cardiff City.

Following spells with the Bluebirds and Gillingham, Harris joined Cambridge United as head coach in December 2023 – but was again tempted back to his spiritual home three months later at the end of Joe Edwards’ ill-fated spell in charge, with the club 21st in the Championship.

The Lions won eight of their remaining 13 games – including their final five matches of the season – to propel them away from the relegation zone to a 13th-placed finish.

“The fact he saved us from relegation last season was, for me, as huge an achievement as any promotion because under Joe Edwards we were doomed, we were looking downwards and only going one direction,” Achtung! Millwall podcast presenter Nick Hart told BBC Radio London.

‘This has been bubbling away’

Harris has won 15 of his 34 matches in charge during his third spell, with a winning ratio of 44.1%.

A nine-game unbeaten run that included impressive 1-0 wins against promotion chasers Burnley and Leeds ended in defeat against Coventry and Millwall have now have no wins in five. They are currently 13th in the table.

But with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Harris has decided now is the time to step aside.

Speaking on Wednesday after the announcement, Hart said signs of a disconnect at the club were apparent despite admitting he’d been “stunned” by the news.

“This has been bubbling away, the backstage stuff has been kicking around all season,” he said.

“We had some odd selections at the start of the season where Neil didn’t name a full substitutes’ bench because he said he didn’t have the personnel to work with.

“There have been some disputes I think, possibly some personality clashes about signings that have been made.

“I think it’s a fundamental clash between Neil wanting to turn out the best XI he can and win football matches and progress up the table, versus the club’s desire to become a developer of talent that you sell on at the appropriate moment. Often those two things can be a bit at odds with each other, and I think that’s what lies behind this.

“It’s a shame, Neil is a huge figure at the club – [he has a] massive position in club history – and it’s very sad. I think it’s sad it’s got to this stage.”

‘I don’t think it’s goodbye’

Harris’ comments after his final home game in post on Wednesday, a 1-0 defeat by league leaders Sheffield United, appeared to back up Hart’s theory.

“What I think I’ve probably done and emphasised to everybody is said, ‘look, it’s fine having some young players with not a lot of football knowledge’,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“But to be successful here, as in Millwall Football Club, you have to have Millwall knowledge, so it’s getting the balance between the two, having young players with raw ability, but having real Millwall knowledge as well.”

He revealed he had told the players and staff he was leaving at the club’s training ground on Tuesday and had been moved by the response, saying there had been “quite a few grown men crying”.

“It’s been a mega time,” he added. “Ten months, it’s been immense. Twenty-five years [including his playing career at the club], it’s been amazing for me and my family here, a privilege to be the Millwall manager.

“The time is right for me to part ways and leave the mantle for someone else to pick up and drag the club forward.”

Harris said for now he was looking forward to spending Christmas with his family.

But Parry said it would be no surprise to see “Mr Millwall” back at The Den in some capacity in the future.

“Millwall got under Neil’s skin. He went away as a player, he came back. He went away as a manager, he came back,” Parry said.

“This is so long but I don’t think it’s goodbye. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Millwall find themselves in a difficult situation in the future and Neil was available that they wouldn’t turn to him to come and do something – it’s his football club.”