Steve Harper (footballer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Stephen Alan "Steve" Harper (born 14 March 1975) is an English footballer. He plays for Premier League club Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

as a goalkeeper.

After sixteen years at Newcastle and twelve seasons playing as a backup to Shay Given

Shay Given

Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....

, Harper is the club's current longest serving player.

Early life

Harper grew up in the mining village of Easington

Easington, County Durham

Easington is a town in eastern County Durham, England. It comprises the ancient village of Easington Village and the ex-mining town of Easington Colliery, which are separate civil parishes. It is located at the junction of the A182 leading north-west to Hetton-le-Hole. Seaham Harbour and...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

and studied Sport at the East Durham College. He was interested in football from a young age and was a supporter of Newcastle United although was an admirer of Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

, with goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar

Bruce Grobbelaar

Bruce David Grobbelaar is a former football goalkeeper and manager.He played for a number of clubs in a career which spanned for more than 20 years at professional level, most notably Liverpool during their dominant period in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Early years:In his teenage years, Grobbelaar...

being his idol. Anfield

Anfield

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

was the first football ground he went to, where he watched Liverpool win a match 2–0 in the 1982–83 season. Harper attended Easington Comprehensive School. He was offered a place at Liverpool John Moores University

Liverpool John Moores University

Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...

Career

In 1993 he was signed by Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

from his local club Seaham Red Star

Seaham Red Star F.C.

Seaham Red Star F.C. is a football club based in Seaham, England. They joined the Wearside League in 1979 as Seaham Colliery Welfare Red Star. In the 1978–79 season, they reached the 5th round of the FA Vase. In 1984, they changed to their present name...

, for a nominal fee.

Seen as back-up to first-choice goalkeeper Pavel Srníček

Pavel Srnícek

Pavel Srníček is a Czech former football goalkeeper.-Career:Srníček was originally signed by Newcastle in December 1990 on loan from Banik Ostrava by manager Jim Smith, who left within months to be succeeded by Ossie Ardiles - by this time his transfer had been made permanent, and he was soon...

after his arrival at Newcastle, and then Shaka Hislop

Shaka Hislop

Neil Shaka Hislop, CM is a former professional football goalkeeper. The majority of his career was spent in the top division in England where he was a part of the Newcastle United team which finished second in the Premier League for two successive seasons under Kevin Keegan's first tenure...

and subsequently Shay Given

Shay Given

Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....

; he had loan spells at Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

, Gateshead

Gateshead F.C.

Gateshead Football Club are a professional Association football club, based in Gateshead, England. They currently play in the Conference National, the fifth level of the English football league system.Ian Bogie is the current manager....

, Stockport County

Stockport County F.C.

Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

, Hartlepool United

Hartlepool United F.C.

Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

and Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

before making his first-team debut in 1999.

Harper came close to dislodging Given on numerous occasions, most notably in the 1998–1999 season

FA Premier League 1998-99

The 1998–99 FA Premier League season was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. The season will always be remembered as the one in which Manchester United won a unique treble of the league title, the FA Cup and the European Cup...

. Harper played in the 1999 FA Cup Final

1999 FA Cup Final

The 1999 FA Cup Final took place on 22 May 1999 and was played at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Manchester United had finished as champions and Newcastle 13th in the Premier League that season. The Final was a one-sided affair, Manchester...

, when Newcastle lost 2–0 to Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

. Manager at the time Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit

OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...

appeared to see 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 Given was injured. When Given returned from injury Harper was once again used as the back-up goalkeeper.

In 2002 he made several appearances in the UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, most notably against Juventus

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

. The match was played at St James' Park

St James' Park

St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

and Harper managed to keep a clean sheet during a 1–0 win over the Italian champions. The victory helped Newcastle qualify from the group stages of the tournament. Harper has handed in a transfer request in his time with Newcastle, citing lack of regular first team football as his reason (something which Given also did when Harper kept him out of the team under Gullit). He has been linked with moves to West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

, Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

, Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

, Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

, and Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

in his time with Newcastle, though none of these purported moves came to fruition.

He again expressed his desire to achieve first team football in June 2006, an act which saw then manager Glenn Roeder

Glenn Roeder

Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions...

attempt 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. An injury to 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

Liverpool F.C.

on 20 September 2006 in what was Harper's first league start for 15 months. The second goal, a 65 yard lob from Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso

Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...

, saw Harper slip whilst backpedaling to reach it, although he did still attempt to get up and stop it. Despite this setback Harper gave some excellent performances in the season. One particular moment was his wonderful save against Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

in early November. Harper also received another run in the first team after a third injury to Given later that season, the highlight of this would be keeping a clean sheet against Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, a feat only matched by two other keepers that season. This was the first season Harper played consecutive league matches since 2001.

On 26 July 2007, Harper came on as a substitute against Celtic

Celtic F.C.

in a friendly match and played as a striker - something which has continually come up throughout his career. Harper continued as Newcastle's goalkeeper at the beginning of the 2007–08 season under the then new boss Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce

Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

. With Given struggling with a groin injury and rookie Tim Krul

Tim Krul

Timothy Michael "Tim" Krul is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Netherlands national team.-Newcastle United:...

on loan at Falkirk

Falkirk F.C.

Falkirk Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Falkirk. It is one of two professional football teams from the town, the other being East Stirlingshire...

, Harper was able to start the first six league games, keeping two clean sheets. However he lost his place again when Given was fit, though another injury to Given later in the season allowed Harper to gain more first team appearances under the new boss, and the manager who first brought him to Newcastle, Kevin Keegan

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

. After a series of good performances, Harper was once again linked with a transfer away from Newcastle. Liverpool expressed an interest in signing him as backup to first-choice goalkeeper José Manuel Reina. Keegan reacted to this by stating his intentions to keep Harper, and acknowledging his record of conceding just once in seven and a half hours of play.

Harper signed a new contract in January 2009, keeping him at Newcastle until 2012, his 19th year at the club. During the transfer window of the same month, Newcastle's first choice goalkeeper Shay Given moved to Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

, elevating Harper's position within the club and so after nearly 16 years, Harper was finally first choice goalkeeper at 33 years old. Harper repaid the management's faith in him by putting in some fine match performances including several world-class saves and was the best goalkeeper in the Championship, keeping a club record 21 clean sheets in 37 matches and conceding 35 goals at less than a goal a game.

Harper made his 50th consecutive league start for Newcastle on 6 March 2010 in the 6-1 win over Barnsley

Barnsley F.C.

Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...

. This was his longest run of consecutive starts he had ever made in his entire career.

On 23 March 2010, Harper recorded his 19th clean sheet of the season after Newcastle United beat Doncaster Rovers 1-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium, thus breaking the club's clean sheet record which had stood since Newcastle United were last promoted in the 1992/1993 season. Newcastle were eventually promoted, and went on to win the division title following a 2-0 away win at Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth Argyle F.C.

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...

. Harper considers the title victory as the highest point of his career.
On 18 September 2010 he was injured in a challenge by Jermaine Beckford

Jermaine Beckford

Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford is an English footballer who plays for Leicester City as a striker. He started his career as a trainee at Chelsea...

during the 1-0 win at Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

, needing to be substituted in the first half. On 22 September it was confirmed he would be out of action for at least 3 months. In late October 2010, Chris Hughton

Chris Hughton

Christopher William Gerard "Chris" Hughton is a professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Birmingham City F.C....

stated Harper may be back in contention in as little as 3 weeks, after making a "very good recovery" and stated he would come back in "good shape". Harper returned to training in December 2010, and made the bench in new manager Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew

Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....

's first game, beating Liverpool 3-1. Young backup goalkeeper Tim Krul

Tim Krul

Timothy Michael "Tim" Krul is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Newcastle United and the Netherlands national team.-Newcastle United:...

kept his place for the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

as well on 28 December, but Harper returned as first choice keeper against Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

away in a 1-0 win. Harper maintained his place as goalkeeper throughout January and February.

On 24 October 2011, Harper joined Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

side Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

on a one month loan, making his debut the same day in a 1-0 defeat to West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

Club

|-
|1993–94||rowspan="3"|Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

||rowspan="3"|Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0|| colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
|1994–95||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0||rowspan="2"|0
|-
|rowspan="2"|1995–96
|-
|Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

(loan)||Division Two

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

||1||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||1||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|1996–97||Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

||Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Gateshead

Gateshead F.C.

(loan) ||Football Conference

Football Conference

The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

||12||0||0||0||colspan="4"|-||12||0
|-
|Stockport County

Stockport County F.C.

(loan)||Division Two

Football League Second Division

||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|1997–98||Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

||Premier League||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||0
|-
|Hartlepool United

Hartlepool United F.C.

Hartlepool United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Hartlepool that currently play in League One. The team won promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season...

(loan)||Division Three

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

||15||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||15||0
|-
|Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town F.C.

Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

(loan)||Division One

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

||24||0||2||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||26||0
|-
|1998–99||rowspan="14"|Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

||rowspan="11"|Premier League||8||0||2||0||0||0||0||0||10||0
|-
|1999–2000||18||0||4||0||1||0||6||0||29||0
|-
|2000–01||5||0||2||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||10||0
|-
|2001–02||0||0||0||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0
|-
|2002–03||0||0||0||0||1||0||2||0||3||0
|-
|2003–04||0||0||0||0||1||0||1||0||2||0
|-
|2004–05||2||0||2||0||1||0||3||0||8||0
|-
|2005–06||0||0||0||0||0||0||1||0||1||0
|-
|2006–07||18||0||0||0||2||0||5||0||25||0
|-
|2007–08||21||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||21||0
|-
|2008–09||16||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||16||0
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="1"|Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||45||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||45||0
|-
|2010–11||rowspan="2"|Premier League||18||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||18||0
|-
|rowspan="2"|2011–12||0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||0||0
|-
|Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

(loan)||Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||5||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Newcastle United Total||151||0||10||0||12||0||18||0||191||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Total||208||0||12||0||12||0||18||0||250||0

Stats accurate as at 00:00, 27 November 2011.

Honours

Newcastle United

FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

Runner-up: 1999
Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

Winners: Promotion to the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

: 2009–2010
2009–10 Football League Championship
The Football League Championship season 2009–10 is the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format...
Teresa Herrera Trophy
Teresa Herrera Trophy
The Teresa Herrera Trophy is an annual pre-season football tournament hosted by Deportivo La Coruña at the Estadio Riazor.Established in 1946, it is the third oldest professional football tournament in Spain - behind the Trofeo Playa y Sol and the Copa San Pedro - and is considered one of...

: Winner: 2010

Outside football

Harper is also a Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

-approved referee, one of the few professional footballers to have earned their referee's licence. This was subject to analysis during Sky Sports News

Sky Sports News

Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....

' 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. Harper is considering becoming a referee when he retires from playing.

He has a social sciences degree from the Open University

Open University

The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...

, for which he studied whilst playing for the Newcastle reserve team. Harper also enjoys reading, as well as golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, which he plays with former Newcastle United teammate Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.