Chris Bond: In praise of football’s unsung heroes and a proper role model

WHEN Michael Owen announced he was hanging up his boots this summer there were a few raised eyebrows.

It only seems like yesterday that the 18 year-old boy wonder was running rings around a stunned Argentinian defence in the World Cup in 1998 and scoring that goal.

The news did, of course, have managers and players falling over themselves to praise the 33 year-old star. Former England boss Glenn Hoddle hailed the career of the “baby-faced assassin” and claimed he could go down as England’s finest finisher, while Gary Lineker described him as an “unbelievable talent”.

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During his career Owen played for some of the world’s most famous clubs, including Liverpool and Real Madrid, and finished his international career with 40 goals from 89 caps – only Bobby Charlton, Lineker and Jimmy Greaves are above him on the all-time list.

The Football Association has already discussed the possibility of him taking on an ambassadorial role with England and Owen himself hasn’t ruled out going into management.

But not everyone has been quite so effusive. If you asked Newcastle United fans what they think of him then some of the replies wouldn’t be repeatable here.

The joke on Tyneside was that fans there actually thought his career finished years ago, halfway through the club’s relegation season, to be precise.

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It’s hard to comprehend that the player who was jeered as he warmed up during Newcastle’s victory over Stoke City earlier this year was jubilantly greeted by 15,000 supporters when he signed back in 2005.

Despite such protestations Owen will go down as an English footballing legend, just as Wayne Rooney will no doubt follow suit in a few years time when he finally decides he can no longer cut the mustard at the highest level.

But while the recent announcement of Owen’s impending retirement from the professional game grabbed the headlines on the back pages, the news that Newcastle United keeper Steve Harper was leaving the club after 20 years of service, went largely unnoticed.

The 38 year-old is currently third in the pecking order behind Tim Krul and Rob Elliot and looks set to leave after the club decided not to offer him a new contract.

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Harper’s story is a different one to Owen’s in that he intends to play on next season – and there should be no shortage of clubs interested in a player with his experience and ability.

But it will no doubt be a wrench to leave a place that has been his home for so long. When he was signed from Seaham Red Star in 1993, Kevin Keegan was the club’s manager and the Premier League was in its infancy and hadn’t yet morphed into the behemoth it is today.

Speaking to the local press in Newcastle he said: “It has been a privilege to be a professional at such a fantastic football club. If you had said to me as a raw kid from Seaham I’d be at the club for 20 years as a professional, I would have said you were mad.

“People describe the club as an emotional roller-coaster and it certainly has been. I’ve had some fantastic times here. There have been some difficult times as well, but I have enjoyed it all.”

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In a sport that has more than its share of mercenaries and over-inflated egos, it is refreshing to hear someone speaking with humility and who doesn’t feel the need to go and fire off a missive on Twitter.

Harper, pictured, is far from the only player to spend his career at one club. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, John Terry and Steven Gerrard are among those, loan spells and youth teams notwithstanding, who have been with the same team their whole career.

But it’s a hell of a lot easier to show loyalty when your team is winning trophies and near the top of the league. The last time Newcastle won a meaningful trophy, the old Fairs Cup in 1969, The Beatles were still together and Harold Wilson was Prime Minister.

You could argue what has he got to show for it other than the memories?

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Just 197 appearances isn’t much of a tally for a career spanning 20 years, yet these are the black and white facts (if you’ll pardon the pun).

For more than a decade he and Shay Given battled it out for the top spot which meant having to put up with being the Irishman’s understudy for much of that time.

But Harper was, in his prime, the best No 2 keeper in the Premier League which has led some fans to question his ambition, arguing that he could have played for England had he moved to another club, rather than warming the substitute’s bench.

But isn’t there also something laudable about the fact that he didn’t, that he opted instead to stay and fight for his place?

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At a time when the Premier League gravy train continues to soar ever higher into the financial stratosphere, and with some clubs prepared to shell out six-figure sums each week for top players, it’s perhaps little wonder that loyalty has gone out of the window and players have become little more than guns for hire.

It’s not hard to imagine someone like Trevor Brooking, who made more than 500 appearances for his boyhood team West Ham United, doing the same thing if he was playing today, but characters like that are a rare breed.

We hear a lot of talk about the importance of role models these days but too many of our football stars have fallen short in this department. Which makes the likes of Steve Harper all the more laudable. He doesn’t throw tantrums when he’s not picked, he simply puts his head down and when he’s called into action he does his job.

We often hear the phrase “unsung hero” used to describe players like this, and others like them, those who quietly, and effectively, go about their work.

Perhaps it’s time we started singing their praises a little more often.