Steve Harper’s new role at Newcastle has got the Magpies buzzing

It always goes down well with the fans when former players and club legends are appointed as coaches and managers at the club they played for and that’s exactly what’s happened at Newcastle United as Steve Harper has been named the club’s lead academy goalkeeping coach.

He knows the club, he knows goalkeeping, he knows me and I know him !
Welcome to your new role ⁦@steveharper37⁩ pic.twitter.com/ZhG0WSH5qf

— simon smith (@simonsmithgk) August 21, 2018

Harper knows Newcastle like no one else. The ex-Geordie shot-stopper spent 20 years at the club between 1993 and 2013 and despite six different loan spells he still managed to rack up 179 appearances for Newcastle, keeping 61 clean sheets for the club in that time. Now though, it’s time for Harper to give back to the club that he stayed with for so long and he’ll be keen to help the current crop of young ‘keepers in the club’s academy.

The fans are all on board with the decision to appoint Harper and they’ll be keen to see him work his way up to eventually coaching the senior squad at St James Park. His experiences at the club and many years that he spent there will make him an invaluable member of the coaching staff and he’s someone who the fans will recognise when he’s sitting in the dugouts.

You can read the Magpies’ verdict on Harper’s new role here:

Spent some time with Steve over our last two U23/U18 fixtures.
I’m sure his knowledge & Experience will be invaluable to the development Gk’s.
I wish him all the very best

— Mark Naylor (@Nailsgk) 21 August 2018