I watched Harper closely a couple of seasons ago in a home game when we had someone unavailable in midfield (cant remember the details). Harper was supposed to be playing the right side of a three and the starter of the press, which Livermore had been doing previously.
He (Harper) was absolutely dreadful he didnt have a clue where he was supposed to be in or out of possession and he hadnt got a clue what do or when to do it. The game just went on around him the whole time.
Herein lies his biggest problem for me, he lacks footballing intelligence and tactically is nowhere near aware enough.
I wish him well but he's never been good enough. Technically, he's not bad but other aspects of his game leave him well short of what we need.
If fans could spot this 2 years ago why couldnt the club?
It is as if the club hopes we will breed a superstar that will slot straight in to the premier league as a teenager and instantly be worth £20m. When the evidence shows 95% of the academy players produced by us who have gone on to reach decent levels in the past 10 years have needed to get out and get experience and ply their trade.
Being accountable in league one for 50 games, 90 minutes week in week out is far better than 200 minutes a season from our bench. That game mentality and experience will come in time as it does with most players.
If we think they can play for a club at the top of league one, send them to a mid table side. If we think the can play mid table, send them to a side likely fighting relegation. Try and guarantee them minutes first of all. They will hopefully have to battle if they come back here so battle harden them. It also sets a minimum level / foundation for the youth player too which i've heard seen an academy coach talk about before.
Once they've got 50 games and 5000 minutes as a pro you can worry about what they do next.