| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… 10:53 - May 18 with 2584 views | TIB |
Bumped into him on holiday last week and had a couple of chats by the pool with him. A really down to earth guy who didn’t want to say he was a footballer and it was only when I threw the hook-line and sinker out that I was from Ipswich that he mentioned “he’d spent time there”…to which I asked “is your name Rekeem?”. He laughed.
He said he’d had a strong season at Barrow despite them having six different managers and the club being relegated.
I thought he was older than 26 and asked him what level he felt he could play at now and he said it was always hard to judge until you got to a club and experienced the coaching and tactics, but that he did feel L1, maybe Champ was his level. More so than anything, he just wanted to be playing and at a club with stability whilst being near his family.
He touched on leaving just as KMc arrived, choosing to move to be with his family. It did get me wondering if circumstances had been different for Rekeem and he’d stayed, how working under KMc would have played out for him as his natural talent was always evident. He did mention the nothing but positive praise he hears for KMc…with a constant trend of people mentioning his attention to detail being second to none as well as man management.
I did say his name still gets mentioned here when he pops up on the scoresheets, that we like to see ex-Blues and what they’re doing after they leave.
Randomly, an ex-KMc back room staff member was also at the hotel…donning I think a match worn Tuanzebe orange away shirt. [Post edited 18 May 10:56]
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 10:57 - May 18 with 2463 views | NthQldITFC |
I thought he was going to be a fantastic player for us. Looked to have the sort of power and pace off the mark (ability to step away from a marker with the ball) that would work really well in CM.
Shame it didn't work out here, hope he does well elsewhere. |  |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:00 - May 18 with 2411 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
That midfield 2 of Evans and Harper was diabolical but not because either were bad players, they just were so out of their depth off the ball.
Evans ended up being a really solid player for us and putting in some great performances alongside Morsy.
Harper certainly had talent. I was really excited by him when we signed him, it just didnt work out but I hope he goes on to have a good career. |  |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:13 - May 18 with 2266 views | Radlett_blue |
Young player of the year at WBA in 2018-19, but Harper seems to have drifted down the leagues subsequently & has never really carved out a regular place anywhere & has a couple of relegations on his CV. Obviously talented but just hasn't happened for a player of whom I had high expectations when he joined. Some managers have criticised his lack of application. |  |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:19 - May 18 with 2163 views | portmanking |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:13 - May 18 by Radlett_blue |
Young player of the year at WBA in 2018-19, but Harper seems to have drifted down the leagues subsequently & has never really carved out a regular place anywhere & has a couple of relegations on his CV. Obviously talented but just hasn't happened for a player of whom I had high expectations when he joined. Some managers have criticised his lack of application. |
I believe Inter Milan and Spurs were very keen on Harper when he was at WBA. I think the former even had a bid turned down for his services. It's probably quite the head-f*k when you go from that reputation in the game to turning out in front of one man and his dog at the Pirelli Stadium or in a footballing outpost like Barrow. |  | | |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:28 - May 18 with 1976 views | RonFearonsHair |
"hard to judge until you got to a club and experienced the coaching and tactics,"
" nothing but positive praise he hears for KMc…with a constant trend of people mentioning his attention to detail being second to none as well as man management."
We can argue about rotation policies and 'Plan Bs' all we want but McKenna's reputation amongst players is undoubtedly massive for us. |  | | |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:30 - May 18 with 1965 views | homer_123 |
I think he's a 'confidence' player. He can certainly play, the lad has a lot of talent, I think his resilience has maybe been his achilles heel. |  |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:33 - May 18 with 1921 views | mellowblue |
Looked completely lost on the pitch for us, maybe it was a confidence thing at the time. Hopefully he is pushing on now and reaches his full potential. When we bought him, I felt it was a Mike O'Leary (ex WBA CEO) purchase rather than a ITFC management purchase. Certainly was not a McKenna purchase as he was not even through the front door then. | | | |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 12:00 - May 18 with 1618 views | TIB |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:30 - May 18 by homer_123 |
I think he's a 'confidence' player. He can certainly play, the lad has a lot of talent, I think his resilience has maybe been his achilles heel. |
He did touch on the importance / impact of working with a manager you have a rapport with. | |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 12:02 - May 18 with 1599 views | TIB |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:33 - May 18 by mellowblue |
Looked completely lost on the pitch for us, maybe it was a confidence thing at the time. Hopefully he is pushing on now and reaches his full potential. When we bought him, I felt it was a Mike O'Leary (ex WBA CEO) purchase rather than a ITFC management purchase. Certainly was not a McKenna purchase as he was not even through the front door then. |
He left as KMc was arriving, having been signed by Cook. Wonder if he could end up at Chesterfield back with PC. | |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 13:57 - May 18 with 967 views | Radlett_blue |
| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 11:33 - May 18 by mellowblue |
Looked completely lost on the pitch for us, maybe it was a confidence thing at the time. Hopefully he is pushing on now and reaches his full potential. When we bought him, I felt it was a Mike O'Leary (ex WBA CEO) purchase rather than a ITFC management purchase. Certainly was not a McKenna purchase as he was not even through the front door then. |
Harper has spent the last 4 seasons in & out of the team at Exeter, Burton, Port Vale & Barrow, who have just been relegated from the Football League. He is now 26 years old.
He ain't got the power anymore, he's sinking in the quicksand of his career. | |
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| Nice chat with Rekeem Harper… on 14:10 - May 18 with 894 views | SamWhiteUK |
Got to be honest, I've quite enjoyed reading this thread, but all I could think was I wouldn't be able to pick him out of a lineup |  | | |
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