Steve Harper and what he brings to the first 11...

I know there is a thread about Harper and Elliott floating around, however this thread is purely about Harper and what I thought he brought to the team yesterday.

We're all aware we aren't at our fluent best just yet (hopefully this will return to our performances sooner rather than later), however I personally think yesterday showed that a keeper can play a big part in helping a team produce free flowing football. Harper was extremely composed between the sticks yesterday, he brought a calmness about our back four, was very vocal and made some very astute saves.

All of the above is great, by my point is that Harper's distribution was fantastic and immediately put us on the front foot on a number of occasions (not just for the goal). At least 5 or 6 times he collected a cross, shot etc and within two seconds had thrown the ball out to one of the full backs or midfielder's so that we could hit them on the break. I personally think this is something that Pardew should insist on his keepers doing (Krul clearly doesn't do this), don't get me wrong, I'm not for a second suggesting Krul should be dropped, I'm just stating that Pardew should be repeatedly instructing Krul to distribute to ball as quickly as possible when a short throw to a full back etc is on.

Granted we weren't fantastic yesterday, but a lot of our decent attacks were built from playing out from the back, something I'm yet to see the team do on a regular basis when Krul plays.

I was pushing for Elliott to start yesterdays game and I'm more than happy to admit that I was wrong, I only hope that when Harper does call it a day that the club keep him on a part of the coaching team.

 

There's something about Harper which gives me strong reassurance.

 

Harper was indeed a star yesterday and to not keep him on in some capacity when he does hang his boots up would be criminal.

 

I agree with everything you say here. I'm sure Harps came out and said that playing more short passes/throws from the back and building that way, was a concerted effort made in pre-season and in training for this season. You're right that Krul doesn't seem to be as quick with his distribution as Harper, but that could also have allot to do with Harper's experience and ability to read the game - something that will come in time for Krul.

Another thing I wanted to add about having Harper in the team, is his leadership and motivation skills. Whenever Harps is interviewed before or after games, he is always very quick to praise the team and highlight positives, be it individual performances (sometimes where no praise has yet been made) or collective efforts. I think the guy is just an all around asset to the team, and his continued presence in and around the club can only be a good thing.

 

A wise head on old shoulders.

 

Indeed. More succinct than I was there, AB.

 

Harps is a great goal keeper and like other people in the media and on here have said if he hadn't been a back up for so long he more than likely would have been capped for England at some point in his career. Englands loss is our gain though. As AB says for him to not be offered a role within the club once he retires would be a disgrace.

 

Fantastic performance. Calmest man on the planet. He is just so dependable and it speaks volumes that he can come in and do the job after the disappointment of having to watch Krul become what he has. He's a proud man and after losing out to a young superstar he was rightly gutted. He has done little wrong but injuries came at the wrong time and Tim hasn't looked back.

He adds so much to a dressing room too. He loves Newcastle and can transmit to the players what a fan actually feels on match day. It was nice to hear Pards say Demba was first class in the dressing room before the game. When you get a number of players pushing each other, enjoying the successes together you'll always have a chance.

 

He always keeps a very level head...



No literally, he'd win the bean bag race hands down...



Harper was very good against Norwich, quick to snuff out danger and very assured on the ball, when Cheick et al were (and this is the only time I've ever used this knowing it's the best possible description) fannying about with it in the box... His agility is perhaps not what it once was, but he's still more than worthy of playing on for a bit yet. He's been very professional and loyal throughout his career, and I'd like to echo the thoughts of others in hoping he sticks around to coach.

 

Krul is definitely the sharper of the two, better shot stopper, but Harper's experience shows.

His decision making is fantastic. I think now that we've seen Harper back, we see just how much Krul has to learn, and how vital it is that Harper stays with the club long term.

Don't get me wrong, Krul is still good at other aspects of goal keeping. His handling and claiming crosses is good, his positioning is good most of the time. His distribution is average that, and his decision making is good but not top class level yet.

 

Krul's distribution is horrible compared to Harps! He needs to work on it to become better. Take a look at Pepe Reina, one of the (few) things I like about Reina is his distribution. He's probably the best keeper in the league when it comes to distribution... But he's pretty much a nutcase too. If Krul can start our counter attacks it'd be awesome seeing as how good we are on the counter with HBA Ba et al.













As long as the ref plays advantage

 

Tim just needs to spend some time with Van Der Saar. He has said he is his idol and I'm sure he'd be happy to help. VDS is the best keeper in history in terms of distribution and revolutionised goalkeeping to what it is today. Kicking accuracy of either foot was unbelievable and incredibly good in his selection too. Throwing was first class also. Get on the phone Tim!