Lee Harper's Goalkeeping Academy

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I had a wonderful professional career starting in 1994 when Arsenal manager of that time, George Graham, bought me from non-league Sittingbourne for a then record fee of £150,000. This was the year after Arsenal won the European Cup. 

I  made my premier league debut for Arsenal in March 1997 against Southampton winning 2-0 under the great Arsene Wenger. However despite Arsene offering me an additional two year contract I decided to move clubs mainly due to the fact that the England number one, the legend that is David Seaman, stood in my way.

I joined Queens Park Rangers in 1997, under the management team of Stewart Houston and Bruce Rioch (who were assistant manager and manager at Arsenal when I was there) for a fee of £250,000. I spent 4 years playing almost 180 league and cup matches and winning two player of the year awards. One of these awards was Players Player of the year which is a real honour for any professional footballer and more recently, on the 8th January 2017, I was honoured to be inducted into the Queens Park Rangers hall of fame, also known as "The Forever R's Club." Pictured are myself and former QPR Striker and fans favourite John Byrne being inducted by former QPR and England international winger Andy Sinton. 

In 2001 i joined Walsall on a 2 year contract remaining in the Championship unfortunately I failed to settle in the midlands and after playing three games asked to leave the football club which Manager Colin Lee agreed was best for all parties.

In the summer of 2002 I joined NorthamptonTown FC where I spent the next five years playing almost 200 league and cup games. I also won the highly prestigious PFA divisional player of the year award in 2003. In addition to this I won the club's player of the year award, and the supporters player of the year award.

This was also a particularly memorable season for me, not only for winning three fantastic awards, but also for playing against Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA cup and saving a Diego Forlan penalty which was one of many highlights on the day. In this seaon I also set a club record of 22 clean sheets.

In January 2007 I joined MK Dons Football Club On loan until the end of the season. The team had been conceding a lot of goals and we managed to concede a lot less in the short time I was there. I left in the summer of 2007. 

In the summer of 2007 I joined Kettering Town FC under Manager Mark Cooper. In our first season we went on to win the Blue Square North division gaining promotion to the Blue Square premier League. We managed to finish in the top half of the division. During the 2008/2009 season we had notable F.A. Cup victories against Lincoln City and Notts County, which resulted in a tie against Premier League Fulham FC managed by Roy Hodgson. We narrowly lost 3-2 in what was a tremendous effort for a non-league team. The following season we again had a successful run in the FA cup beating Hartlepool FC, this time earning a plum tie with Leeds United FC. Mark Cooper subsequently left his position as manager, and I took over as player manager.  We managed to draw 1-1 at home, earning a replay at Elland Road. Unfortunately we lost away at Leeds in extra time, with a fourth round tie away to Manchester United awaiting the winner. The remainder of the season I managed to steer the team to a 6th place finish in the Blue Square Premier League. Sadly, I left  in 2010 after a difficult period for everyone associated with the football club.     

Fouled when the corner kick came in but got up, got set and took off.

These are some of the many trophies and awards that I won throughout my career, all of which are player of the year awards. These awards are from my time at both QPR and Northampton Town FC and includes the prestigious PFA divisional Player of the season.
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