Steve Harper (footballer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Steve Harper
Full name	Stephen Alan Harper
Date of birth	March 14, 1975 (age 32)
Place of birth	Easington, England
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Nickname	Harps
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United
Youth clubs
1992–93	Seaham Red Star
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–present 1995 1996 1997 1997 1997–98	Newcastle United → Bradford City (loan) → Gateshead (loan) → Stockport County (loan) → Hartlepool United (loan) → Huddersfield Town (loan)	46 (0) 01 (0) 0? (?) 00 (0) 18 (0) 24 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:31, 10 February 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 21:27, 7 December 2006 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Stephen Alan Harper (born March 14, 1975 in Easington, County Durham, is an English football goalkeeper. He currently plays for Newcastle United in a deputy role to first choice goalkeeper Shay Given.

He was signed by Newcastle United in 1993 from his local club Seaham Red Star for a nominal fee. He was seen as back-up to regular starter Pavel Srníček, later Shaka Hislop and then Shay Given, he has had loan spells at Bradford City, Gateshead, Stockport County, Hartlepool United and Huddersfield Town and after 12 years has yet to establish himself as first choice goalkeeper for Newcastle.

Harper has came close to dislodging Shay Given on numerous occasions, most notably in 1998-1999 season, when manager Ruud Gullit saw Harper worthy of playing over Given. However at the start of the 1999/2000 season, Gullit resigned and Harper again became second choice goalkeeper, although he did enjoy another brief period of first team action for part of the 1999-2000 season when Shay Given was injured.

Harper has threatened to leave the club on several occasions - Hartlepool United were close to signing him after his loan spell, but they could not settle a transfer fee with Newcastle. More recently in 2002, Harper interested the likes of Rangers and Southampton after requesting a transfer from the club. He later decided he did not want to join either, claiming that he would not get guaranteed first team football at either club.

He again expressed his desire to achieve first team football in June 2006 - an act which saw manager Glenn Roeder state his belief that he, and Newcastle United, have the two best goalkeepers in the Premiership in both Shay Given and Harper and his intentions to do everything within his power to persuade Harper to remain with the club. This appeared to work as he signed a new contract to keep him at St. James' Park until June 2009 [1].

An injury to Shay Given early in the 2006-07 season gave Harper another chance to prove his worth in the first team. However, he did not have the best start to first team action as Newcastle lost 2-0 to Liverpool on the September 20, 2006. While the first goal was a clinical but fairly routine strike from Dirk Kuyt, and was no fault of Harper's, the second goal was quite unforgettable - a spectacular 65 yard shot from Xabi Alonso which Harper stumbled trying to reach. Despite this setback Harper has given some excellent performances in the season. One particular moment is his wonderful save against Man City in early November. He could have more oppertunities in the first team as Shay Given injured his groin in the 2-2 draw against West Ham United ironiclly the same club he got injured earlier in the season. However the length of Given's injury has not been confirmed.

He has a degree from the Open University, which he studied for whilst playing for the Newcastle reserve team.

[edit] Referee

Harper is also a FA-approved referee - one of the few professional footballers to have earned their referee's license. This was subject to analysis during Sky Sports News' Respect The Ref campaign, where appointing former footballers as referees was seen as a way to increase the respect shown to referees on the pitch.