Harper - whats he worth?

[Casper]

I am so excited by the signing of James Harper. I cant believe it; ever since Brown left and Macca retired we have had a massive hole in our midfield. Tonge went downhill and Jags was far better suited to central defense. At last, i genuinely feel that we have made that special signing that we have been crying out for - and the problem has been as plain as Glenn Little's nose!

Just listening to Harper inspires me. He will not hide or pass the buck like so many other pretenders in our midfield over recent years. Monty, is Monty, is Monty and he will always be in my championship side but the type of player we have been missing alongside him is James Harper.

Its obviously difficult to quantify but he could make all the difference and add those few extra points we need to have a real shout of automatic, or dare i say it, win the blinkin playoffs!!

Well done Blackie and well done board. We are still a couple of squad players short but i now feel we have the quality to go up this season.

 

[beightonblade]

he might be sh!te.

 

[mattco2001]

absolutely quality signing. and tbh it doesnt matter how he plays for us now after that interview. that was worth signing him alone!

 

[Casper]

he might be sh!te.

he certainly might, but i prefer to look at 'glass half full' and with Harper, i see a 8 pint glass of magnet full

but hey thats just me so im probably not a real blade like thee

 

[Bladesman]

worth more than Howard surely?

 

[beightonblade]

two problems perhaps.............his fitness and 'cheap as chips' style of play.

here is what a reading fan thinks:
He seemed always ready to talk to fans. When we were compiling the Fans' Calendar a few years ago and had to go to the training ground to get some of the shots(in the days of Sonning Lane) he was the only one who seemed interested and took the trouble to ask us about it.

I always felt that some people do not appreciate his skill. I can't think of anybody else in recent times who could make a pinpoint cross every time to the far wing. There was so much that was good about James - I think most of it has been mentioned on here but I, for one, will miss him. Who is now going to be the last on the pitch every time and touch the ground as he goes?

It is sad to see the last (except Ivar) of the 106 points season go. We shall never have another like it and now it is almost as if it never happened., but while he was here along with Murts and Marcus it felt as if we could get back up. I think his injury, along with that of Ivar, with the apparent dropping of spirits, was the real reason why we didn't. With those two and Murts still in the team heads would not have dropped.

Harps will probably profit from a new challenge, but it is a pity it is not in the Premiership like so many of his former team-mates. I just hope the fans of Sheffield United appreciate him as much as most of us did. Good Luck Harps, and here's hoping you get to the Premiership again and let's hope we can get there too.

 

[Casper]

two problems perhaps.............his fitness and 'cheap as chips' style of play.

who knows, i wonder whether he's breathing out of his ring piece yet. I dont know what 'cheap as chips' style of play is. From what ive seen of the guy - ie about 8 times live against the blades and numerous times on tv he looks just like the type of player who would slot seamlessly into our side.

We will wait and see, but Howard or Harper?? Come on, its like asking......... Chicken Madras, rice, keema nan & a gallon of ale OR a stick of celery!

 

[beightonblade]

I dont know what 'cheap as chips' style of play is.

hoooooooooooooooooooooooooofball..........................................

 

[tomtheblade]

is it true that we're getting 1 mil for Howard? That's an immense deal if true, given that Harper has good premiership experience

 

[judge]

i heard £300k

 

[Casper]

is it true that we're getting 1 mil for Howard? That's an immense deal if true, given that Harper has good premiership experience

dont know mate, ive seen 300k, 500k and 'the money we paid Barnsley for him' quoted in different papers.

I was disappointed with Howard, because he always seemed just a little bit short in every aspect of the game. Hopefully Harper will be the real deal

 

[Casper]

hoooooooooooooooooooooooooofball..........................................

oh i see!

Well ill not dress it up cos, yes we do like to hit the front man early with long balls. But, can you remember the mid-late 80's when we tip-tapped the ball all over the place and invariably got done by the more muscular side who played to a system? Everton for example played a very direct game at that time and turned the tables on the big boys by enjoying their best period of success for many years. We, in contrast, went back down to the old 3rd division until Bassett turned it all on its head, and made us proud to be blades again (not that were always proud but im sure you get my drift).

For what its worth i dont think we just hoooooooooooooooooooooooof the ball. Yep as i said, invariably we dont like to mess and get it forward, or to the wings early. But there is much more to our game than just hoofing it. Thats another reason why i think James Harper will be a success - he has the quality to get the ball down, play and dictate the tempo of the game. From what ive seen of him, id rather have him in my trench than the enemy's!

 

[Muttley]

If we played the big HOOOOOOOOOF then Harper would just get a stiff neck.

 

[Fiery Blade]

If the Blades get any more than £250k for Howard they will be guilty of fraud

 

[JohnDenver]

I thought Howard was the player we were missing - an advanced midfielder with touch, vision and the odd goal in him. But even when he dragged his fat arse to be up with play, he seldom contributed.

Harper is a far better athlete. With a bit of luck Monty's graft will free Harper to break forward and do some damage.

What I don't expect is Harper to be the player who gets us passing it short. Only McCall and Cowans have really achieved that in my entire time watching Utd.

We'll still be direct, but I really hope we'll be cleverer about it now.

COYR&WW!

 

[Big Mart]

Just listening to Harper inspires me. He will not hide or pass the buck like so many other pretenders in our midfield over recent years. Monty, is Monty, is Monty and he will always be in my championship side but the type of player we have been missing alongside him is James Harper.

Houston I think we have a problem here. Think too many have got too used to the barnstorming, yet often clueless antics of the splay footed one. Harper is a defensive midfielder with a bit of creativity. He's always had a cracking engine on him but he has a little guile about him too. Sidwell certainly benefited from his graft but the problem at the Lane is that we have no Sidwell. Coupling Harpers undoubted grafting ability, his ball winning and his short passing would be great if we still had Hendrie for example, or maybe even Howard to distribute the ball better for receiving it that bit earlier, who knows.

Harper could have been a great signing, but your post inadvertently sums up our failings. Building a team that aspires to play football around a Nick Montgomery or a Stephen Quinn just isn't going to work. Buying Harper solves half of our midfield problems, but only if selected instead of and not as well as the current two. Let's go out and get one who can pass a ball, play him with Harper and yes, I'll get excited

:gallop:

 

[BladeInThatcham]

I teach down in reading so obviously I know a lot of reading fans. I am yet to meet one fan who is not disappointed with Harper's exit. They rate him very highly and cannot understand why he hasn't been getting a look in.
However, many of them are excited about the arrival of Brian Howard with views of him being man of the match at the madejski a couple of weeks ago. He may suit their style of play who knows? I think we've done a cracking bit of business getting back what we paid for him and getting in someone of Harper's calibre.
I reckon we're a centre half and a striker away from a top 2 side (and perhaps even cover for right back).
Damn the international break, I want us to get on that pitch now!
Wizards.

 

[SwissBlade]

Just watched the Harper interview on Bladesworld.

The guy just looks like he's a fan playing football, I mean that in the best possible sense. He's excited to be at the lane. He wants to play for us and sounds a very honest lad. And seems to tell it like it is.

I hope he fits in well and starts to fill the gap that we've had in the middle for far to long.

If he plays well then the Blades will take to him straight away.

Hopefully he'll start to get the buzz back that some Blades have lost

Of course if he does well then it'll be in spite of Blackwell signing him

 

[Casper]

Houston I think we have a problem here. Think too many have got too used to the barnstorming, yet often clueless antics of the splay footed one. Harper is a defensive midfielder with a bit of creativity. He's always had a cracking engine on him but he has a little guile about him too. Sidwell certainly benefited from his graft but the problem at the Lane is that we have no Sidwell. Coupling Harpers undoubted grafting ability, his ball winning and his short passing would be great if we still had Hendrie for example, or maybe even Howard to distribute the ball better for receiving it that bit earlier, who knows.

Harper could have been a great signing, but your post inadvertently sums up our failings. Building a team that aspires to play football around a Nick Montgomery or a Stephen Quinn just isn't going to work. Buying Harper solves half of our midfield problems, but only if selected instead of and not as well as the current two. Let's go out and get one who can pass a ball, play him with Harper and yes, I'll get excited

:gallop:

Fair points. However, we are talking about getting out of this division. The season Reading had with Harper and Sidwell in midfield was a definite one off - 106 point ffs wow! Teams tend to get out of this division by being very very solid but having that little bit of quality to turns games when it really matters. Of course id love a Sidwell type player in our midfield - hey i might even put Monty of the bench for him lol, but lets face it, it aint going to happen. With Harper we will certainly be more difficult to beat - and we are pretty difficult already! But i think he will also had that little mid more quality when it really matters. Then when\IF we get to the prem its a whole new ball game and, of course, we will need to re-think our approach.

I, too, was very disappointed with Howard in the end. I desperately want it to come off for him, but a bit like Billy Sharp he just never seemed to get into top gear.

I cant wait for Derby!

 

[Melbourne Blade]

On FIFA 09 skill level he has a massive 75 pts, which now takes him to top spot in the Blades team after his official transfer on my PS3 version... Howard was only 65 or max 69 I think?!

 

[Melbourne Blade]

On FIFA 09 skill level he has a massive 75 pts, which now takes him to top spot in the Blades team after his official transfer on my PS3 version... Howard was only 65 or max 69 I think?!

 

[Greg]

That's on the PS3, though... and has no relevance to this topic. I come here trying to find out views on James Harper and I see a post about his stats on a PS3 game.

I mean, thanks for that contribution, mate.

 

[grafikhaus]

If the Blades get any more than £250k for Howard they will be guilty of fraud

Hmm, don't think so. It's being reported that Boro will get £12m for Afonso Alvez