Post by QPR Report on Feb 5, 2009 14:26:23 GMT
Always was a fan of "Local Hero" - Ex-Leeds goalie, David Harvey, is now living and working in the Orkney islands.
Football League - WHERE ARE THEY NOW: DAVE HARVEY
Former goalkeeper David Harvey retired from the game a while ago - but he still uses his hands to make a living.
Harvey excelled at Leeds United and Bradford City, and also became a successful keeper at international level for Scotland.
He turned his back on the game in 1985 following a long and successful career.
His skills would command a multi-million pound transfer fee in today's market, but now those same hands that frustrated dozens of strikers are being put to different use in an entirely different environment.
Harvey, who turns 60 on Saturday, has spent the last decade delivering post for the Royal Mail on the Orkney outpost of Sanday.
It is a far cry from his glory days of World Cups, European and FA Cup Finals and League titles - but the father of seven could not be happier.
In the mid-90s, he left his home in Harrogate, Yorkshire, for the tranquility of the Orkney Islands.
And the man who was once rated the best goalkeeper at the 1974 World Cup Finals has no regrets.
After shunning the limelight in favour of a simple, rural lifestyle, Harvey harbours no ambitions to join the after-dinner circuit or media bandwagon so many ex-professionals choose to exploit.
He has become so accustomed to avoiding the spotlight and his own famous past that even if he won the Lottery he would spend it all on buying his own island.
Harvey said: "I would try to buy an island on Loch Lomond. That would only be to make it easier to travel and see family.
Harvey was born in Leeds and joined his hometown club at the age of 17. He got his big break in 1972 when first-choice keeper Gary Sprake was injured.
Harvey had the game of his life in Leeds' 1-0 FA Cup victory over Arsenal and never looked back.
His life became a whirlwind of fame, fortune and finals.
And that mad existence included the double disappointment in 1973 of conceding Ian Porterfield's winner for Sunderland in one of the great FA Cup shocks - followed by just a runners-up medal after the defeat by AC Milan in the European Cup Winners' Cup final.
A car accident in 1975 cost him his Leeds place to David Stewart.
Harvey joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in 1980 before returning to Leeds in 1983. Two years later he joined Bradford City.
He admits he was an overpaid and pampered star when he was younger, and firmly believes his life is much more rewarding now.
Harvey added: "I've been lucky and unlucky. When I wasn't in the team at Leeds, I was still paid phenomenally well.
"I don't envy the players of today. The boys who were back then earning £20 a week would say my few hundred a week was just astronomical.
"It would worry me to be earning today's kind of money, to be honest.
"I can only go on my own time. I thought I was grossly overpaid when I got my wages. I did fine out of the game.
"Now it is a true breath of fresh air to get up in the morning.
"Life is far better. The only mistake I made was not coming up to Scotland sooner!"
Football League - WHERE ARE THEY NOW: DAVE HARVEY
Former goalkeeper David Harvey retired from the game a while ago - but he still uses his hands to make a living.
Harvey excelled at Leeds United and Bradford City, and also became a successful keeper at international level for Scotland.
He turned his back on the game in 1985 following a long and successful career.
His skills would command a multi-million pound transfer fee in today's market, but now those same hands that frustrated dozens of strikers are being put to different use in an entirely different environment.
Harvey, who turns 60 on Saturday, has spent the last decade delivering post for the Royal Mail on the Orkney outpost of Sanday.
It is a far cry from his glory days of World Cups, European and FA Cup Finals and League titles - but the father of seven could not be happier.
In the mid-90s, he left his home in Harrogate, Yorkshire, for the tranquility of the Orkney Islands.
And the man who was once rated the best goalkeeper at the 1974 World Cup Finals has no regrets.
After shunning the limelight in favour of a simple, rural lifestyle, Harvey harbours no ambitions to join the after-dinner circuit or media bandwagon so many ex-professionals choose to exploit.
He has become so accustomed to avoiding the spotlight and his own famous past that even if he won the Lottery he would spend it all on buying his own island.
Harvey said: "I would try to buy an island on Loch Lomond. That would only be to make it easier to travel and see family.
Harvey was born in Leeds and joined his hometown club at the age of 17. He got his big break in 1972 when first-choice keeper Gary Sprake was injured.
Harvey had the game of his life in Leeds' 1-0 FA Cup victory over Arsenal and never looked back.
His life became a whirlwind of fame, fortune and finals.
And that mad existence included the double disappointment in 1973 of conceding Ian Porterfield's winner for Sunderland in one of the great FA Cup shocks - followed by just a runners-up medal after the defeat by AC Milan in the European Cup Winners' Cup final.
A car accident in 1975 cost him his Leeds place to David Stewart.
Harvey joined the Vancouver Whitecaps in 1980 before returning to Leeds in 1983. Two years later he joined Bradford City.
He admits he was an overpaid and pampered star when he was younger, and firmly believes his life is much more rewarding now.
Harvey added: "I've been lucky and unlucky. When I wasn't in the team at Leeds, I was still paid phenomenally well.
"I don't envy the players of today. The boys who were back then earning £20 a week would say my few hundred a week was just astronomical.
"It would worry me to be earning today's kind of money, to be honest.
"I can only go on my own time. I thought I was grossly overpaid when I got my wages. I did fine out of the game.
"Now it is a true breath of fresh air to get up in the morning.
"Life is far better. The only mistake I made was not coming up to Scotland sooner!"