Steve Harper does stuff which isnt related to football but is worth mentioning because he is a footballer and this site's about football & footballers

Newcastle's Steve Harper may go down in history as one of football's great under-utilised talents. The County Durham-er (County Durham-ite?) joined the Magpies in 1993 during Kevin Keegan's first reign at the helm and when King Kev returned 15 years later he was the only player from that original era remaining at the club.

Yet despite his long tenure with the Magpies and his obvious talent, Harper has spent almost his entire career in the shadow of others, most notably the undeniably brilliant Shay Given.

However there are positives to come from playing second fiddle as it has allowed Harper to pursue activities outwith playing. Such as furthering his refereeing career, obtaining a Social Sciences degree from the Open University and indulging in his love of autobiographies.

Still despite all this self-improvement he is yet to demonstrate cultural significance outside of the Football arena unlike gangly Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand who produced possibly the defining moment in the history of television with his comedic tour de force: "Rio's World Cup Wind-ups". Merked!