Steven James Harper (born 3 February 1969) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who scored 54 goals in 504 league games in a 15-year career in the Football League. He was a speedy winger, adept at

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

the ball. He began his professional career at

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in June 1987, before he was sold to Preston North End for £35,000 in March 1989. He joined

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

on a free transfer in July 1991, and helped the "Clarets" to win the Fourth Division title in 1991–92. He moved on to

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

in August 1993, before he was sold on to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

for a £20,000 fee in September 1995. He took a free transfer to

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

in July 1999, before joining Darlington in February 2001. He left the Football League in 2002, and moved into non-league football with Kidsgrove Athletic. He later became a coach.

Playing career

Harper graduated through

juniors to sign professional forms under manager

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

in June 1987. He played regular football for the start of the 1987–88 season, and scored his first goal on 5 September, in a 2–1 victory over

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It has been the home ground of Port Vale F.C. since 1950. The ground has seen its capacity go up and down, its peak being 42,000 in 1954 against Blackpool, although a club record 49, ...

. However he lost his first team place in January, and finished the campaign with two goals in 25 games. He made eight appearances for the "Valiants" in the 1988–89 season, but fell out of favour and was sold to Third Division rivals Preston North End for £35,000 and 50% of any future transfer deal in March 1989. Preston were managed by former Port Vale boss John McGrath. Ironically the "Lambs" lost to Vale in the play-offs at the end of the 1988–89 campaign. They then dropped to 19th in 1989–90 and 17th in

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

under

Les Chapman Leslie Chapman (born 27 September 1948), commonly known as Les and sometimes as Chappy, is an English former football player and manager. As a player, he made 747 appearances in the Football League in a career that spanned 22 seasons, playing ...

's stewardship. Harper left

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

to join Fourth Division club

on a free transfer in July 1991. He scored six goals in 48 games in 1991–92, as

Frank Casper Frank Casper (born 9 December 1944) is an English former professional football player, coach and manager, born in Barnsley. As a player, he made nearly 400 appearances in the Football League as a striker for Rotherham United and Burnley. He ...

and Jimmy Mullen led the "Clarets" to promotion as champions. Harper scored five goals in 42 appearances in

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, but departed

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

after he was replaced by

David Eyres David Eyres (born 26 February 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career A relative latecomer to the professional game, Liverpool-born Eyres began his career at then Northern Premier League side Morec ...

and was given a free transfer to

in August 1993.

Ian Atkins Ian Leslie Atkins (born 16 January 1957) is an English football manager, scout, and former player. Atkins amassed over 300 appearances for Shrewsbury Town, the club where he began his career. He also made appearances in the Football League for ...

took "Donny" to 15th in the Third Division (previously called the Fourth Division) in 1993–94. He was then joined at Belle Vue by his former Burnley partner Ian Measham. Sammy Chung then led Rovers to ninth place in 1994–95. Harper was sold to

Andy King Andrew or Andy King may refer to: * Andrew King (astrophysicist) (born 1947), British astrophysicist * Andrew King (architect), Canadian architect and cross-disciplinary artist * Andrew King (mayor) (born 1960 or 1961), former mayor of Hamilton, Ne ...

for a £20,000 fee in September 1995. The "Stags" finished in the lower half of the Third Division table in 1995–96. Steve Parkin then replaced King in the hot-seat at

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in the Football League, hosting footb ...

, and instigated a minor revival. Harper scored two goals in 38 appearances in 1996–97, as Mansfield finished five points behind Cardiff City, who occupied the final play-off position. He scored five goals in 52 games in 1997–98, as the club again finished five points short of the play-off places. His goal tally included a 17-minute hat-trick on 21 February, in a 4–0 home win over Darlington. He then claimed six goals in 51 appearances in the 1998–99 campaign, as Mansfield came to within one place and four points of a play-off place. He took a free transfer to

in July 1999, and scored four goals in 38 games in the 1999–2000 campaign, as

Warren Joyce Warren Garton Joyce (born 20 January 1965) is an English football manager and former player, who is currently the lead coach of Nottingham Forest F.C.'s U18 Squad. As a player, he played in The Football League for Bolton Wanderers, Preston ...

's "Tigers" posted a 14th-place finish. New manager Brian Little allowed Harper to leave

Boothferry Park Boothferry Park was a football stadium in Hull, England, which was home to Hull City A.F.C. from 1946 until 2002, when they moved to the KC Stadium. In later years, financial constraints forced Hull City to allow Kwik Save and Iceland superma ...

on a free transfer to league rivals Darlington in February 2001. The "Quakers" finished four points above the bottom of the Football League in 2000–01 under the stewardship of Gary Bennett. Harper played 25 games in the 2001–02 campaign, scoring once against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

, before he was allowed to leave

Feethams Feethams is a cricket and former football grounds in Darlington, England. The cricket ground has hosted Durham CCC matches. The football ground was the home of Darlington F.C. for from 1883 to 2003 until the club moved into another ground, ...

by new manager

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

. He then ended his career after a short spell with Northern Premier League side Kidsgrove Athletic.

Coaching career

Harper spent six years as a coach at the

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

at Stoke City, before he was appointed as a first team coach at

Chasetown Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village wa ...

in May 2017.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Burnley * Football League Fourth Division: 1991–92

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Steve 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Newcastle-under-Lyme English footballers Men's association football midfielders Port Vale F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Hull City A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. players English Football League players Northern Premier League players Association football coaches Stoke City F.C. non-playing staff