- Neale Cooper
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Neale Cooper Personal information Full name Neale James Cooper Date of birth 24 November 1963 Place of birth Darjeeling, India Playing position Midfielder Youth career 1978–1979 King Street Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1979–1986 Aberdeen 132 (6) 1986–1988 Aston Villa 20 (0) 1988–1990 Rangers 17 (1) 1990–1991 Aberdeen 0 (0) 1991 Reading 7 (0) 1991–1996 Dunfermline Athletic 103 (4) 1996–1998 Ross County 1 (0) Teams managed 1996–2002 Ross County 2003–2005 Hartlepool United 2005 Gillingham 2008–2011 Peterhead * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Neale James Cooper (born 24 November 1963, in Darjeeling, India) is a Scottish football manager and former professional player. A big, muscular player once likened to "a Sherman tank with legs",[1] his nickname was "Godzilla" because of his ferocious tackling [2]
Contents
Playing career
He began his senior career with Aberdeen. A first-team regular from the beginning of the 1981–82 season, he starred in midfield for the Dons for five seasons in which he won two Premier Division Championships, four Scottish Cups, one League Cup, the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson. Having initially moved into a flat in Aberdeen as a young player, Cooper was 'persuaded' by Ferguson to return to his mother's home to help ensure that Cooper was shielded from the obvious temptations arising from youthful independence. In the summer of 1986, he signed for Aston Villa but made only twenty league appearances in the next two years, partly because of injuries. In the 1988–89 season, he transferred to Rangers but injuries restricted him to only seventeen league appearances. In the summer of 1990, he re-joined Aberdeen but was never fit to play. Next season he signed for Reading but after only seven appearances moved to Dunfermline Athletic where he at last was able to play regularly. After three seasons in the First Division, he moved into management with Ross County. He is also tipped to be the new Whitby Town manager after he left Peterhead.
Managerial career
He guided the Staggies through two successful promotions campaigns before stepping down after a run of only one win in eleven games and joining Hartlepool United, who were newly promoted from the Third Division to the Second Division. Cooper took them to the play-offs in his first season where they lost to Bristol City in the semi-finals after two last-minute goals. In his second season, Cooper took Hartlepool within points to securing another play-off spot before resigning with one match remaining. Hartlepool then went on to make the final of the play-offs, where they lost to Sheffield Wednesday. For the 2005–06 season, he took over the reins at Gillingham who were in financial trouble and had lost the majority of their first team: but he resigned in November of that year after poor performances and an FA Cup defeat to Northern Premier League side Burscough.
In October 2006, Cooper returned to Scottish football with Second Division Peterhead, as he took on the role of first team coach under the management of Steve Paterson. When Paterson left Peterhead in early 2008, Cooper took over as manager. Peterhead narrowly missed out on the end of season playoffs for a place in the Scottish First Division in 2008 finishing 5th, however he guided the Blue Toon to 4th the following season and a playoff against 2nd bottom Airdrie United from Division One.[3] Peterhead struggled in the following season, however, and Cooper left the club in March 2011 with them sitting bottom of the Second Division table.[3]
Honours
As a Player
Aberdeen
Scottish Premier League Champion 1983–84; 1984–85
Scottish Cup Winner 1982; 1983; 1984; 1986
Scottish League Cup Winner 1986
European Cup Winners Cup Champion 1983
European Super Cup Champion 1983
Dunfermline Athletic
Scottish Division One Champion 1996
As a Manager
Promotions
- 1998–99: Scottish Division Three Champion (promotion to Scottish Division Two) – Ross County
- 1999–00: Scottish Division Two 3rd (promotion to Scottish Division One) – Ross County
Personal life
Cooper has a 19-year-old son, Alex, who is currently playing for the Liverpool youth academy, after a £100,000 move from Ross County in December 2007. Alex spent the summer of 2006 at a training camp in Switzerland with Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho had reportedly tracked his development.[4]
References
- ^ Bob Crampsey, Aberdeen – Final Edition, Keith Murray Publishing, 1990, ISBN 1 870978307, page 134.
- ^ http://www.aberdeen.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=69425
- ^ a b "Peterhead part with manager Cooper and line up Sheran". BBC Sport. 22 March 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/peterhead/9432204.stm. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ^ Liverpool Sign Young Winger, accessed 19 June 2009.
External links
Neale Cooper – managerial positions Ross County F.C. – managers Hartlepool United F.C. – managers Priest (1908–12) · Humphreys (1912–13) · Manners (1913–20) · Potter (1920–22) · Gordon (1922–24) · Manners (1924–27) · Norman (1927–31) · Carr (1932–35) · Hamilton (1935–40) · Westgarth (1943–57) · Middleton (1957–59) · Robinson (1959–62) · Chilton (1962–63) · Gurney (1963–64) · Williams (1964–65) · Twentyman (1965) · Clough (1965–67) · McLean (1967–70) · Simpson (1970–71) · Ashurst (1971–74) · Hale (1974–76) · Horner (1976–83) · Duncan (1983) · Docherty (1983) · Horner (1983–86) · Bird (1986–88) · Moncur (1988–89) · Knowles (1989–91) · Murray (1991–93) · Busby (1993) · MacPhail (1993–94) · McCreery (1994–95) · Houchen (1995–96) · Tait (1996–99) · Baker and Honour (1999) · Turner (1999–2002) · Newell (2002–03) · Cooper (2003–05) · Scott (2005–06) · Stephenson (2006) · Wilson (2006–08) · Turner (2008–10) · Wadsworth (2010–)
Peterhead F.C. – managers Grant (1976–80) · D'Arcy (1980–81) · Harper (1981–82) · Smith (1982–83) · Hamilton (1983–90) · Adams (1990–91) · Guyan (1991–93) · Wilson (1993–94) · Watson (1994–95) · Wilson (1995–98) · Brown (1998–2000) · Wilson (2000–04) · Stewart (2004–06) · Paterson (2006–08) · Cooper (2008–11) · Sheran (2011) · McInally (2011–)
Categories:- 1963 births
- Living people
- People from Darjeeling
- Scottish footballers
- Aberdeen F.C. players
- Aston Villa F.C. players
- Reading F.C. players
- Rangers F.C. players
- Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
- Ross County F.C. players
- Scottish football managers
- Ross County F.C. managers
- Hartlepool United F.C. managers
- Gillingham F.C. managers
- Peterhead F.C. managers
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