Kevin Harper

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Kevin Harper
Personal information
Full name Kevin Patrick Harper
Date of birth (1976-01-15) 15 January 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth Oldham, England
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Thorniewood United F.C.
Youth career
1992 Hutchison Vale
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1998 Hibernian 94 (15)
1998–2000 Derby County 32 (1)
1999–2000 → Walsall (loan) 9 (1)
2000–2005 Portsmouth 119 (9)
2003 → Norwich City (loan) 9 (0)
2004 → Leicester City (loan) 2 (0)
2005–2007 Stoke City 26 (1)
2006–2007 → Carlisle United (loan) 7 (0)
2007 → Walsall (loan) 10 (4)
2007–2009 Dunfermline Athletic 29 (5)
Total 337 (36)
International career
1995–1997 Scotland U21[1] 7 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kevin Patrick Harper (born 15 January 1976) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Hibernian, Derby County, Walsall, Portsmouth, Norwich City, Leicester City, Stoke City, Carlisle United and Dunfermline Athletic.

Early life

Harper was born in Oldham and raised in Glasgow's Possilpark area,[2] attending St. Theresa's Primary and St. Augustine's Secondary School.[3]

Career

Hibernian

Harper played for youth club Hutchison Vale in Edinburgh before he was signed by Hibernian and made his professional debut aged just 17.[4] As someone of black skin colour, Harper was in a small minority within Scottish football.[4] He was unhappy that having claimed Gary Mackay had racially abused him during an Edinburgh derby game in November 1996, the SFA did not take action in response to his complaint.[4][5]

England

Derby County manager Jim Smith signed Harper for £300,000 in September 1998.[4] Despite clear potential, Harper failed to impress at Derby, scoring just two goals against Liverpool in the league[6] and Swansea City in the FA Cup.[7] He was loaned out to Walsall in December 1999 for the remainder of the season.

His spell at Walsall was cut short when Portsmouth made an offer of £300,000 for his services in March 2000. Harper moved to Fratton Park having started only seven games for Derby. The Scottish under-21 international soon settled into the team at Portsmouth, but missed much of the 2000–01 season with a shin splints problem. In 2001–02 he faced the brunt of fan frustration after a disappointing season, finishing the campaign with the dubious honour of having been sent off (twice) more times than he scored (once). However, he was a crucial member of the side that won the First Division title in 2002–03, and his excellent performances down either wing for Portsmouth earned him two monthly 'Swan d'Or' awards from the Norwegian Press Club and a place in the full Scotland squad.[4]

Despite his impressive part in Portsmouth's promotion, Harper was loaned out to Norwich in September 2003. His loan spell at Carrow Road was initially for one month but was extended to three months. He played well at Norwich, but was also sent off for a two-footed tackle on Luciano Zavagno in a match against Derby County.[8] He contributed nine league appearances during Norwich's 2003/04 season after which they were promoted to the Premier League as First Division champions in his absence.[9] On his return to Fratton Park he made only nine appearances for Portsmouth in the 2003–04 season. After failing to regain his place at the start of the 2004–05 season he was loaned to Leicester City.

In January 2005 was sold to Stoke City. Despite starting his Stoke career impressively, Harper was dogged by injuries that prevented him challenging for a first team place. He scored once for Stoke, in a 3–1 win over Norwich City.[10] Harper was loaned to Carlisle United in October 2006 and then Walsall, whom he had played for on loan earlier in his career. He was released by Stoke manager Tony Pulis in May 2007.[11]

Return to Scotland

On 7 July 2007, Harper opted to join Dunfermline Athletic, of the Scottish First Division.[12] He scored the winning goal against Stirling Albion on 25 August 2007 and played in Dunfermline's UEFA Cup matches at home 16 August and away 30 August against BK Hacken FC of Sweden. Harper's season was rather inconsistent, though on 25 March 2008, he scored a hat-trick in the re-arranged fixture against First Division strugglers Stirling Albion,[13] whom he had scored his only other goal of the season against a few months earlier.

Coaching career

Following the departure of their Under 20s coach, SPFL side Airdrieonians appointed Harper as the replacement in July 2015. He left this post in September 2015.

Thorniewood United

Harper has come out of retirement to join Thorniewood United in a player-coach role. [14]

Career statistics

Source:[15]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hibernian 1993–94 Scottish Premier Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1994–95 Scottish Premier Division 23 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 5
1995–96 Scottish Premier Division 16 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 19 3
1996–97 Scottish Premier Division 27 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 32 5
1997–98 Scottish Premier Division 27 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 29 1
1998–99 Scottish First Division 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 1
Total 97 15 6 0 5 0 0 0 108 15
Derby County 1998–99 Premier League 27 1 3 1 3 0 0 0 33 2
1999–2000 Premier League 5 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 8 0
Total 32 1 3 1 6 0 0 0 41 2
Walsall (loan) 1999–2000 First Division 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
Total 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 1
Portsmouth 1999–2000 First Division 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 2
2000–01 First Division 24 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 25 2
2001–02 First Division 39 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 41 1
2002–03 First Division 37 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 40 4
2003–04 Premier League 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 9 4
2004–05 Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 119 9 5 0 4 0 0 0 128 9
Norwich City (loan) 2003–04 First Division 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Leicester City (loan) 2004–05 Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Stoke City 2004–05 Championship 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
2005–06 Championship 14 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 17 1
2006–07 Championship 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0
Total 26 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 30 1
Carlisle United (loan) 2006–07 League One 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
Total 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
Walsall (loan) 2006–07 League One 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 4
Total 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 4
Dunfermline Athletic 2007–08 Scottish Premier Division 15 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 18 4
2008–09 Scottish Premier Division 14 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 18 1
Total 29 5 1 0 4 0 2 0 36 5
Career Total 340 36 17 1 22 0 2 0 381 37

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fitbastats.com/scotlandu21/player.php?playerid=254
  2. ↑ Kevin Harper on his past and building a football academy
  3. ↑ Ideally suited to face up to racism Why the boy from Possil is mystified over Scots game
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-hibs-star-kevin-harper-6872438
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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