James Harper

Personal information
Full name	James Alan John Harper
Date of birth	9 November 1980 (1980-11-09) (age 29)
Place of birth	Chelmsford, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sheffield United (on loan from Reading)
Number	15
Youth career
	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2001	Arsenal	0	(0)
2000–2001	→ Cardiff City (loan)	3	(0)
2001–	Reading	309	(25)
2009–	→ Sheffield United (loan)	16	(3)
Total		329	(28)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:14, 29 December 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

James Alan John Harper (born 9 November 1980 in Chelmsford, Essex, England) is a professional footballer playing in central midfield for Sheffield United on loan from Reading in the Football League Championship.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Reading 1.2 Sheffield United 2 International career 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Club career

Harper attended the Anglo European School in Ingatestone, Essex. He started his career as a trainee with Arsenal, but as his first team opportunities were limited, he first went on loan to Cardiff City, before signing permanently for Reading for an undisclosed fee, said to be "a substantial six-figure fee" at the end of February 2001.^[1]

[edit] Reading

After helping Reading to win the 2005–06 Football League Championship, and thus win promotion to the Premier League, he scored his first Premiership goals for Reading in a clash with Newcastle United at St James' Park, scoring twice despite losing 3-2.^[2]

At the start of July 2007, Harper signed an improved three–year contract to keep him at Reading until the end of the 2009–10 season.^[3]

[edit] Sheffield United

Harper joined Sheffield United in September 2009, on loan until the end of the season.^[4] With his contract set to expire at the same time, Reading manager Brendan Rodgers admitted it was likely that he had played his last game for Reading.^[5] Harper duly made his début for The Blades in an away victory at Derby County just under a fortnight later.^[6]

[edit] International career

Harper rejected the chance to go to the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Ghana, saying: "I've never even been to Ghana." He would have qualified to play for Ghana because his mother was born there.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• James Harper profile at readingfc.co.uk
• James Harper career stats at Soccerbase

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Persondata
NAME	Harper, James Alan John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH	9 November 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chelmsford, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH