Being Steve Harper: Should he stay or should he go?
Posted on September 30th, 2011 | 37 Comments |
However Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, decided instead to select his old Charlton goalkeeper, Rob Elliot, instead. This came on top of previous reserve goalkeeper, the highly talented but less experienced and sometimes mistake prone Tim Krul seemingly claiming Harper’s old place in the Premiership. This was more or less confirmed when Newcastle United manager, Alan Pardew, said a few days after the Forest Cup tie:
“There is no situation with Steve. Harps and Rob are here as back-up to Tim at the moment because Tim has the jersey. It is as simple as that.”
Now, in a more recent development, Pardew has now revealed that he intends to hand Elliot the substitutes jersey for Newcastle united’s next Premiership game, and rotate the backup keepers to create some “competition” between Harper and the former Charlton Athletic “Player of the Year” runner up. Pardew said of the decision:
“We want to give all of them involvement. It creates competition and it gives us a different voice in the changing room.
“This week, Robbie gets his chance and he and Harps will come back in, it’s important for us to keep everybody active.
“I wouldn’t want a keeper deemed third choice and marooned at the training ground.”
That may be a noble sentiment, but it’s hard to see how alternating between Harper and a lesser keeper is in the best interests of the club in the long run. Should something happen to Tim Krul in the course of a game, the club should have the best substitute ‘keeper available, and from what I have seen of Elliot, while he may be a very respectable keeper for a League One side like Charlton, I certainly know who I would choose.
However, that is not really the main thrust of this piece; it is to attempt to look at this through Steve Harper’s eyes and ask, after years of service to the club, standing in the shadows of Shay Given mostly, is it finally time him to throw in the towel and move to a club that would have more respect for his undoubted abilities? After all, qualities such as loyalty and experience are very much out of fashion at the moment at Newcastle United. Jackie Milburn is dead, and Alan Shearer is on the “Match of the Day” sofa, which is much the same really. The days of “legends” spending their careers at the club is over. The emphasis has switched to a profitable turnover of younger livestock such as Krul, who can be placed in the Premiership shop window and moved on for a tidy profit should anyone take the bait.
Even before this latest slap in the face from Pardew, If I were Harper, with around three or four years of my career left, I certainly wouldn’t want to wait for the day when Krul was passed on to a bigger club, only to see myself replaced by yet another younger upstart, especially so when they are simply not as good.
Of course, Harper himself may feel differently, he may be resigned to being banished into the wilderness and uncomfortable with the upheaval of moving to another club after so many years on Tyneside, though he certainly could if he wanted to for one last hurrah.
I lnow what I would do.
NUFCBlog Author: workyticket
workyticket has written 1091 articles on this blog.
he has sat still his whole career and though his loyalty and performances cannot be questioned his ambiton can be, he will sit and stay