 Harper playing forKettering Town in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lee Charles Philip Harper[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-10-30)30 October 1971 (age 53)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Chelsea, London, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Eltham Town | |||
| –1994 | Sittingbourne | ||
| 1994–1997 | Arsenal | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–2001 | Queens Park Rangers | 119 | (0) |
| 2001–2002 | Walsall | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2007 | Northampton Town | 156 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | →Milton Keynes Dons (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2007 | Milton Keynes Dons | 11 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Kettering Town | 112 | (0) |
| Total | 417 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Kettering Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lee Charles Philip Harper (born 30 October 1971) is an English formerfootballer, and manager who played as agoalkeeper.
After beginning his career with Eltham Town he went on to play in theFootball League forQueens Park Rangers,Walsall,Northampton Town andMilton Keynes Dons. He finished his career as aplayer-manager at Conference National sideKettering Town.[3]
Born inChelsea, London, Harper started his career atnon-League club Eltham Town, signing forSittingbourne after featuring against them,[4] before being signed byArsenal in June 1994.[1] He cost Arsenal £150,000 – one of the biggest fees paid for a non-league player at the time.[citation needed]
He was third-choice goalkeeper at the club, behindVince Bartram andDavid Seaman, and only made onefirst team appearance for the Highbury side, in a 2–0FA Premier League win overSouthampton on 15 March 1997. In the summer of 1997 he moved toQueens Park Rangers (QPR), and in four seasons made 118 league appearances. He moved toWalsall in 2001 after QPR were relegated to theSecond Division, but made only three appearances in his single season there. He moved toNorthampton Town in 2002 and became first-choice goalkeeper there, recording over 150 league appearances.[3][5]
He moved toLeague Two teamMilton Keynes Dons onloan in October 2006,[6] where he helped to repair the team's poor defending record, with a significant reduction in goals conceded. This successful loan spell resulted in Harper signing a permanent deal in January 2007.[7] He was released at the end of the2006–07 season in May.[8] He signed forConference North teamKettering Town in August 2007. He made 40 appearances in all competitions in the2007–08 season as Kettering won the Conference North title.[9] He made 54 appearances in all competitions in the2008–09 season and he signed a new contract with the club in July 2009.[10][11]
He was appointed asplayer-manager of Kettering Town on 16 November 2009 on a contract until the end of the2009–10 season following the departure ofMark Cooper.[12] On 8 December 2009 Harper was given the Man of the Match award by ITV commentatorAndy Townsend for his performance in Kettering Town's 5–1 defeat toLeeds United atElland Road in the second round of theFA Cup. His assistantJohn Deehan was sacked after the final whistle and Harper said in the press conference after the game he was considering his own future due to Deehan's sacking. Due to a long-term back problem he was ruled out of action until he had treatment, which resulted in him signing goalkeeperNathan Abbey in January 2010.[13] He said he was unsure over his future at the club in April 2010 before being appointed full-time manager on 17 May, withTommy Jaszczun returning to the club as his assistant manager.[14][15] He left the club by mutual consent on 20 September 2010 after Kettering had won one game in nine up to that point in the2010–11 season.[16]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettering Town |  England | 16 November 2009 | 20 September 2010 | 37 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 21.6 |
Individual
