Biography
Goalkeeper Harper joined City in July 2013 on a one year deal, which was subsequently extended by a further twelve months. Harper bought his considerable Premier League experience to the newly promoted Tigers and was a useful backup keeper to Allan McGregor when injured or out of form. He started the Tigers’ FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley in April 2014 and sat on a bench a month later for the Final against Arsenal.
Stephen Alan Harper was born in Easington, a coal mining town on the East Durham coast. He was an associate schoolboy at Newcastle United in the early 1990s, in May 1993 he was part of the Durham Under-18 Boys side that lifted the FA County Youth Cup, beating Liverpool FA in a two-legged final. Steve spent the 1992/93 season playing for Seaham Red Star in the Northern League while also played a handful of games for Newcastle United’s Reserves.
In July 1993 he refused the offer of a university place in Liverpool and signed his first full time contract for the Magpies, but his first season was marred by broken fingers and ruptured knee ligaments. Despite these setbacks Harper was seen as a promising goalkeeper and was retained by Newcastle, a decision that continued what became a twenty-plus year association with the club. The range and depth of goalkeeping options available st St James’s Park meant Harper had to wait patiently for his first team chance. In September 1995 he joined League Division 2 side Bradford City on a three month loan and made his senior debut in November 1995 against Hull City, his only appearance for the Bantams. He had further loan spells at Conference National side Gateshead, where he made 12 appearances in the first half of the 1996/97 season, League Division 2 side Stockport County, where his March 1997 loan yielded no appearances, and League Division 3 side Hartlepool United where he made 15 appearances between August and November 1997.
In December 1997 he was loaned to League Division 1 side Huddersfield Town and was first choice goalie for the Terriers during the rest of the 1997/98 season, making 26 appearances. This loan spell was sufficient to demonstrate to Newcastle United boss Ruud Gullit that Harper was ready for first team action and he spent much of the 1998/99 season in the first team squad, often sitting on the bench. In November 1998 he made his Newcastle United debut in a Premier League match against Wimbledon, replacing an injured Shay Given at half-time. He played in a handful of further League games that season before unexpected being chosen by Gullit to start the May 1999 FA Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, which the Magpies lost 0-2. Harper started the 1999/00 season as first choice keeper but when Gullit left the club at the end of August 1999 Steve began sharing first team duties with Given. Harper was first choice keeper in the club’s UEFA Cup campaign, starting all six ties against Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia, Swiss side FC Zurich and Italian side AS Roma.
That 1999/00 season set the typical pattern for Harper that persisted for over ten years – supporting keeper in the Premier League, first choice keeper in European and domestic cup competitions. Between January 2000 and November 2004 he made no appearances in the Premier League but was always ready and capable when the occasion arose. In the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons Newcastle were struggling in the lower half of the Premier League table and Harper was chosen more regularly, when they were relegated to the Championship for the 2009/10 season Steve was first choice keeper who missed only one League game all season as the Magpies lifted the league title. Harper returned to being second choice keeper during the 2010/11 season and in October and November 2011 he spent two months on loan at Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion where he made 5 appearances. His final appearance for Newcastle United came in May 2013 when he captained the side for the last match of the 2012/13 season against Arsenal, which took his tally over twenty years at the club to 199 senior appearances. He joined Hull City during the 2013 close season, continuing his professional career as he approached his 40s. He was awarded a lucrative tetamonial match between Newcastle United and AC Milan in September 2013.
Following his City departure Harper spent five months at rivals Sunderland between January and May 2016, where he didn’t make a first team appearance. In the 2016 close season he ended his playing career and became an academy coach at Newcastle United as well as a regular pundit on the radio and local TV. In May 2019 he briefly left Newcastle United to become goalkeeping coach for the Northern Ireland national side, but in November 2019 he returned to Newcastle United and combined the goalkeeping coach roles for both teams. He became Newcastle United’s academy manager in January 2021.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 14 March 1975, Easington
Hull City First Game: 27 August 2013, Leyton Orient A (League Cup Second Round), 38 years, 166 days old
Hull City Final Game: 24 May 2015, Manchester United H (Premier League), 40 years, 71 days old
Clubs
Seaham Red Star (1992-1993), Newcastle United (1993-2013), Bradford City (1995, loan), Gateshead (1996, loan), Stockport County (1997, loan), Hartlepool United (1997, loan), Huddersfield Town (1997-1998, loan), Brighton & Hove Albion (2011, loan), Hull City (2013-2015), Sunderland (2016)
Hull City Record
Career: 31 apps, 0 goals
Steve Harper| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013/14 | 11 (2) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 10 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | – | – | – | – |