Newcastle United: Looking Back on Steve Harper's Legendary Career

The time has come for a true Geordie legend to move on.

Steve Harper, the 38-year-old goalkeeper who has spent the last 20 years with Newcastle United, will not be offered a new contract when his current deal expires over the summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Harper has become the epitome of patience with Newcastle, having waited on the bench as a backup to Pavel Srnicek, Shaka Hislop, Shay Given and, finally, Tim Krul.

In fact, his only full season as the club's first-team keeper came during the Magpies 2009-2010 season that was spent in the Championship.

Even his 198 total appearances for the club don't seem particularly impressive at face value. Jonás Gutiérrez, Newcastle's winger, is about to surpass that amount in a mere quarter of the time on Tyneside.

However, Steve Harper's story is about much more than just a number of appearances. It's about dependability, perseverance and commitment to teammates, even when it isn't in one's own best interest.

Twenty years is quite a bit to cover, but here is a glance at a career worth noting from a man worth respecting.

First Chance in the Premier League

Stephen Alan Harper, a boy from Seaham in the North East of England, was picked up by his local club, Seaham Red Star, at an early age, and quickly developed into a quality amateur player.

In July 1993, at the age of 18, he was purchased by Newcastle United to play the role of reserve keeper to Pavel Srnicek.

For his first 5 years at Newcastle, Harper didn't even get a sniff at the first XI. Frequently, he wasn't even in town.

Loans to Bradford City, Gateshead, Stockport County, Hartlepool United and Huddersfield Town kept the young keeper occupied until November 28th, 1998, when Shay Given, then in his second season with the club, was forced off mid-match against Wimbledon, due to injury. 

Harper found himself on the pitch for the next two matches. The second, a 0-0 draw against Blackburn, would be his first Premier League career clean sheet.

Harper would go on to feature in six more Premier League matches before the end of the season, and he would catch the eye of his manager in the process.

1999 FA Cup Final

Ruud Gullit, the manager of Newcastle at the time of Harper's debut, was impressed by the youngster's performances, and began to grant the Englishman more first-team opportunities, even after Shay Given's recovery.

One such opportunity came during the 1999 FA Cup Final.

Despite only having nine appearances on the season (eight Premier League matches and an earlier FA Cup contest), Gullit chose Harper over Given to face Premier League champions Manchester United.

The match was more lop-sided than the 2-0 final scoreline may have represented. Manchester United kept Harper under constant pressure, with Teddy Sheringham (who would never have been on the pitch if not for a Roy Keane injury) and Paul Scholes scoring for the Red Devils, who would go on to win the treble by taking the European cup just four days later.

Despite the setback, a gaffe-free appearance in an FA Cup Final is nothing for a young goalkeeper to sneeze at, and Harper could only think that much more first-team action would be coming his way.

The Robson Years

Sir Bobby Robson is rightfully a Geordie idol, a man who brought much success to his boyhood club, and whose years with Newcastle will forever be remembered fondly.

Steve Harper, however, might not have enjoyed those years as much as his teammates.

During Robson's first season as manager in 1999-2000, Harper spent six months in the first team as Shay Given recovered from another injury. But after a 3-0 victory over Manchester United (Roy Keane was sent off, continuing a bizarre pattern of Keane's inability to stay on the pitch at the same time as Harper), Given was, surprisingly, handed the gloves once again.

For the rest of Robson's time with Newcastle, Harper would only feature in five Premier League matches.

There were a few bright spots for a man desperate for playing time. In 2002, Harper received a chance to play in the Champions League against European powerhouses Juventus and Dynamo Kiev.

Newcastle won both matches, with Harper keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Juventus.

However, he craved more football, and over the next few years he frequently sought to play elsewhere, only to be convinced by manager after manager that St James' Park was the place he belonged.

Back in Action

Shay Given in his prime was a tough keeper to beat.

Nobody knows this better than Steve Harper.

From 2001-2005, he fought viciously to usurp his Irish rival, but over that period, Harper never appeared more than eight times in a season for Newcastle.

Still, as Given aged, one thing he couldn't do was keep healthy.

In September 2006, he suffered a tear in his bowel that kept him sidelined for months, and midway through the '07-08 season, he re-aggravated an old groin injury.

This opened the door for Harper, but he didn't exactly walk through it.

2006-09 weren't very good years for the Toon, and this incident in particular from late 2006 gave Harper notoriety for the wrong reasons.

Interestingly though, as fortunes sank for his club, Harper's prospects suddenly began to rise.

After two seasons marred with injury troubles, Shay Given didn't finish the 2008-09 seasons for a different reason: he jumped ship to Manchester City.

Harper would then don the gloves for the rest of the season, and despite being unable to save the Magpies from relegation, he was able gain a stranglehold on what he had been aiming at for over a decade.

First Team at Last!

It took 16 years and a relegation, but Steve Harper finally got to start a season as Newcastle United's first-choice goalkeeper in 2009.

He certainly proved he was ready.

Newcastle dominated the Championship, picking up 102 points from 46 games. The Magpies were offensively and defensively superior to all their opponents, and their goalie was no exception.

Harper conceded, on average, less than one goal per match throughout the season, and on March 23rd, 2010, he recorded his 19th clean sheet of the campaign, breaking the previous Newcastle record.

Harper's 45 appearances more than doubled any other season he spent with Newcastle, and at 35 years of age, it seemed the stalwart veteran had finally found his place in the first team.

Last Years with Newcastle

Upon returning to the Premier League for the 2010-11 season, Newcastle still labeled Harper as their first choice between the sticks, but once again, the veteran goalkeeper just couldn't catch a break.

On September 18, 2010, Harper suffered a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for nearly three months. While he was gone, a young Dutch keeper named Tim Krul took his place, performing admirably in his stead.

When Harper returned in January, the pressure was on.

He held on to his place in the starting XI for nearly three months, and during this stretch he participated in one of the greatest comebacks in football history.

However, the last six matches of the season went to Krul, in what was to be a successful trial for the following campaign.

Instead of harboring resentment for the younger player who had taken his spot, Harper showed his true colors by working with Krul to correct errors in his goalkeeping mechanics. According to the Chronicle, Harper would tie Krul's hands behind his back to teach him to keep his arms down when leaving the box, reducing the danger of receiving a red card.

Harper failed to feature in a match for Newcastle at any point during their surprisingly successful 2011-12 run, eventually making five starts on loan with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Despite his lack of recent Premiership football, the Magpies elder statesman has maintained form in 2012-13. One of the feel-good stories of the Premier League season, Harper spent the month of September covering for an injured Krul in a classy and professional manner, most notably when he convinced a referee after being fouled by Everton's Victor Anichebe that the player did not deserve to be booked.

Sadly, with the continued success of Krul and the emergence of Rob Elliot as a reliable reserve, Harper has become an afterthought, and at his age, it now makes sense for both player and club to move on.

The Future?

Despite turning 38 years old, Steve Harper is a man with many options.

According to the Daily Mail, Championship side Wolverhampton would like to pick up Harper on loan for the rest of the season.

Next season, Harper could enter into player-coaching, punditry (he has already worked as an analyst for one of Newcastle's Europa League ties this season) or refereeing, which he is licensed to do according to the Sunday Times.

Regardless of which career path he chooses, Harper will without a doubt be welcomed back to Tyneside, whenever he returns, as a friend and a hero.

In today's game, it is incredibly rare to find a man willing to wait for his chance, staying loyal to his club for two or three years, let alone 20. In fact, there probably won't be another one like him ever again.

As the Toon army sings at St James' Park, "There's only one Steve Harper!"