Paul Cooper (footballer, born 1953)

Last updated

Paul Cooper
Personal information
Full name Paul David Cooper
Date of birth (1953-12-21) 21 December 1953 (age 69)
Place of birth Cannock, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Boney Hay Juniors
Cannock Athletic
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1970–1971 Sutton Coldfield Town 8 (0)
1971–1974 Birmingham City 17 (0)
1974 → Ipswich Town (loan) 1 (0)
1974–1987 Ipswich Town 446 (0)
1987–1989 Leicester City 56 (0)
1989–1990 Manchester City 15 (0)
1990–1991 Stockport County 22 (0)
Total565(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paul David Cooper (born 21 December 1953) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, most of them for Ipswich Town, where he won the 1978 FA Cup and the 1981 UEFA Cup and also gained a reputation for saving penalties. With 575 appearances for Ipswich, he is ranked fourth in the club's all-time appearances list. [2]

Contents

Playing career

Birmingham City

Cooper was born in Cannock, Staffordshire; [3] his father ran a pub in Brierley Hill. [4] Initially a striker, he had trials at Shrewsbury Town before becoming a goalkeeper. [5] He played for Staffs County Boys, Boney Hay Juniors and Cannock Athletic and went on to join Sutton Coldfield Town, [6] [7] who were playing in the Midland Combination. He made his debut for Sutton Coldfield on 15 August 1970 in a Midland Combination match against Evesham United and went on to play eight league matches and five cup games before signing for Second Division Birmingham City as an apprentice in June 1971. The following month he was given a professional contract. [6] After first team goalkeeper Dave Latchford broke his finger in a match against Bristol City, Cooper made his Birmingham debut on 8 January 1972 against Portsmouth. [8] Although he conceded three goals, Birmingham still won 6–3 and Cooper then kept five clean sheets in the next six matches. [8] Latchford was subsequently recalled during the Easter period, [4] but was dropped after losing form and Cooper brought back into the team for a crunch promotion match against Millwall on 8 April. [9] Cooper kept his place in the team for the club's FA Cup semi-final defeat the following weekend against Leeds United, [10] and played every match until the end of the season as Birmingham finished second, earning promotion to Division One. Cooper was only on the losing side in one match (the FA Cup semi-defeat) and kept seven clean sheets in his 12 league matches. [11]

Cooper started the 1972–73 season as first choice, but after conceding six goals in his first three matches, he lost his place to Mike Kelly. [6] At the start of the 1973–74 season Latchford was first choice again, but after conceding eight goals in four games, Cooper returned to the first team. However, he conceded seven goals in his two matches and was replaced by Latchford. [11] Birmingham then signed Leeds goalkeeper Gary Sprake for £100,000, a world record for a goalkeeper, [12] pushing Cooper further down the order. After failing to make another appearance, Ipswich manager Bobby Robson signed Cooper on loan in March 1974. [3]

Ipswich Town

Cooper initially played in the reserves, making his debut against Arsenal reserves on 16 March. [13] After four more matches in the reserves, he made his Ipswich first team debut on 20 April in a 3–2 defeat at Leeds United, Ipswich's penultimate game of the season. [13] First team goalkeeper Laurie Sivell returned for Ipswich's final league match of the season, but Cooper was signed on a permanent contract in June 1974 for a fee of £23,000. [3] Sivell continued as the club's main goalkeeper for the 1974–75 season, with Cooper making only two appearances in the league, one of which was against former club Birmingham. [14] He spent most of the season in the reserves, where he and the club's other reserve goalkeeper David McKellar played 20 matches each. [15]

The 1975–76 season saw Cooper make his breakthrough. After Ipswich lost their first league match 3–0 at home to Newcastle United, Cooper replaced Sivell in the team and went on to play in 40 of Ipswich's 42 league matches that season. [3] He made his debut in European football on 17 September 1975 as Ipswich won 2–1 at Feyenoord and continued as first choice goalkeeper in 1976–77, making 34 league appearances as Ipswich finished third in the league, with Sivell deputising for the remaining eight games. [16] At the end of the season Robson attempted to sign Tottenham goalkeeper Pat Jennings, but an injury to Trevor Whymark meant he was forced to sign an outfield player instead. [17] In 1977–78 Cooper played in 40 of the club's 42 league matches, and although Ipswich had their worst season in the league since 1970–71, finishing eighteenth, they reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their history. Cooper missed the league match a week before the final with a back injury and was replaced by Paul Overton, who, in his only appearance for Ipswich, conceded six goals as Town lost 6–1 to Aston Villa. [18] Cooper returned for the final and kept a clean sheet as Ipswich won 1–0, the club's first major honour since winning the First Division in 1961–62. At the time Cooper was developing a reputation for saving penalties; the following season he played in all but one of Ipswich's league games, [19] saving five of the seven penalties he faced. [18] He made 40 league appearances in 1979–80 (with Sivell playing in the other two games), [20] saving eight of out of ten penalties, the most ever saved by a goalkeeper in a season. [1] [21] Cooper had studied the technique of the best penalty takers, analysing the likely direction and power of the shot. [22] At the time goalkeepers could not move their feet before the ball was struck, but he attempted to distract penalty takers by waving his arms and leaning to one side, a technique David James later copied. [23]

In 1980–81 Cooper made 61 appearances as Ipswich reached the League Cup fourth round, the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the UEFA Cup, in which they defeated AZ Alkmaar 5–4 on aggregate to win the club's first European trophy. However, they missed out on the league title after losing seven of their last ten matches, something that Cooper has said is the only disappointment of his career. [24] At the end of the 1980–81 season Cooper was named Player of the Year by Ipswich supporters. During this time, Cooper was the only regular first team member at Ipswich not to play for his country, [22] although he was considered unlucky not to do so, facing competition from Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence. [2] In 1981, he was also one of several Ipswich players to appear in the film Escape to Victory, with Cooper used as a stand-in for Sylvester Stallone, whose character played in goal. [25] The following season saw Ipswich finish as league runners-up for a second consecutive season, although Cooper missed 10 league games, Sivell playing in nine and John Jackson making his only Ipswich appearance in the other. [26]

After Robson left to manage England in 1982, his assistant Bobby Ferguson took over as manager. Ipswich finished only ninth in 1982–83, with Cooper playing in 35 league matches and Sivell in the remaining seven. [27] He made 36 league appearances in 1983–84 as Ipswich finished twelfth; Sivell, in his final season at Ipswich, [28] played in the other six games. [29] Cooper played 36 league games again the following season, with Ipswich slumping to seventeenth as the 1981 team began to break up. Mark Grew, a £60,000 signing in March 1984, played the remaining six matches. [30] In 1985–86 Cooper was still first choice goalkeeper, with Grew going out on loan and Jon Hallworth standing in for Cooper in six league games. [30] [31] Ipswich were relegated to Division Two at the end of the season, but Cooper stayed at the club and made 36 league appearances as the club qualified for the promotion playoffs in their first season in Division Two. Cooper saved a penalty in the first leg against Charlton as the match ended 0–0, but Ipswich lost 2–1 in the away leg. One of the last members of the Robson-era team still at the club, he left Ipswich on a free transfer in June 1987 and signed for Second Division Leicester City, [3] who were managed by former Ipswich teammate Bryan Hamilton. [24] Hallworth became Ipswich's first choice goalkeeper for the 1987–88 season.

Leicester City

Cooper made his Leicester debut on 12 September 1987 in a 2–1 defeat at Crystal Palace, [32] having replaced Ian Andrews in the team after Leicester lost four of their first five matches of the season. He went on to make 39 appearances in his first season for Leicester as they finished thirteenth in the division. The season saw him save his 59th penalty during a Full Members Cup match against Stoke City. [33] Although Martin Hodge was bought to replace him, injury meant that Cooper remained first choice goalkeeper for the first half of the 1988–89 season, playing until mid-January. However, when Hodge recovered, Cooper was allowed to leave; he did not play for Leicester again after a 2–1 win at home to Portsmouth on 14 January, [5] and subsequently signed for Second Division rivals Manchester City for £20,000 on the March 1989 transfer deadline day to serve as backup to Andy Dibble. [34]

Manchester City

Dibble suffered an injury in the next match, [34] meaning Cooper made his City debut in a 2–1 win against Stoke on 27 March. [35] He went on to make seven more appearances as the club finished as Second Division runners-up, earning promotion to the First Division. [36] Although Dibble was in goal for the first two matches of the following season, [37] [38] he then suffered a back injury that kept him out for six weeks. [39] Cooper came into the team, but only kept his place for nine matches, [40] his final appearance for Manchester City and in the top division being a 4–0 defeat at Arsenal on 14 October 1989, [35] although he remained at the club until the following summer, [3] when they signed another goalkeeper, Tony Coton. [39]

Stockport County

Cooper joined Fourth Division Stockport County in August 1990, [3] and made his debut on 25 August against Halifax Town in a 0–0 draw. He played 25 more matches before making his final appearance on 2 February in a 1–0 defeat to Carlisle United, [41] after which he retired due to injury. [42]

Post-football

After retiring from football, Cooper worked for a company selling nuts and bolts. [43] He married his second wife, Sue, in 1991, with whom he had a daughter. [44] He did some scouting in north-west England for Ipswich manager and former teammate George Burley, before moving to Tenerife where he runs a golf business. [44] In 2014, he was inducted into the Ipswich Town Hall of Fame. [45]

Honours

Ipswich Town

Individual

Career statistics

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupLeague Cup Europe OtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Birmingham City 1971–72 Second Division12040000030190
1972–73 First Division300010000040
1973–74 First Division200000001030
Ipswich Town First Division100000000010
1974–75 First Division200000000020
1975–76 First Division40030104000480
1976–77 First Division34030100000380
1977–78 First Division40070306000560
1978–79 First Division41050106010540
1979–80 First Division40040204000500
1980–81 First Division380705011000610
1981–82 First Division32030802000450
1982–83 First Division35020101000390
1983–84 First Division36010400000410
1984–85 First Division36040900000490
1985–86 First Division36050500000460
1986–87 Second Division36010300050450
Leicester City 1987–88 Second Division32000400030390
1988–89 Second Division24010500010310
Manchester City Second Division800000000080
1989–90 First Division700020000090
Stockport County 1990–91 Fourth Division22010200020270
Total55705105703401607150
Source: Pride of Anglia, Neil Brown, Foxes Talk, Blue Moon, Go Go Go County

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipswich Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, that compete in the Championship, the second tier of English football, following promotion from League One during the 2022/23 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Wright (footballer)</span> English footballer and coach

Richard Ian Wright is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is a goalkeeping coach for Premier League club Manchester City.

George Elder Burley is a Scottish former football player and manager. He had a professional career spanning 21 years as a player, making 628 league appearances and earning 11 Scotland caps. His most successful spell came while at Ipswich Town making 394 senior appearances, and being part of the squad that won the FA Cup and UEFA Cup in 1978 and 1981 respectively.

Robert Dennis Latchford is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, playing for Birmingham City, Everton, Swansea City and Coventry City in the First Division, and won 12 full caps for England.

Trevor Whymark is a former England international footballer who played in the Football League in the 1970s and 1980s, notably with Ipswich Town. He is currently (2016) the team's sixth highest goal scorer.

Gilbert Arthur Alsop was an English professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Coventry City, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town.

Kieron Richard Baker is an English retired professional footballer who made over 210 appearances as a goalkeeper in the Football League for AFC Bournemouth. He also played in Canada.

Laurence Sivell is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for Ipswich Town and Lincoln City.

Trevor Anthony Putney is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Anglian derby</span>

The East Anglian derby is a term used to describe football matches held between Norwich City and Ipswich Town, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring East Anglian counties of Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. In recent years it has sometimes been humorously called the Old Farm derby, a reference to the Old Firm derby played between rival Glasgow clubs Celtic and Rangers, and to the prominence of agriculture in East Anglia. The derby has been described as the second-fiercest rivalry in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Ipswich Town F.C.</span> History of Ipswich Town Football Club

Ipswich Town Football Club is an English association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, which was formed in 1878. The side played amateur football until 1936 when the club turned professional and was elected to the Southern League. Ipswich Town were elected into the Third Division South of the Football League in place of Gillingham on 30 May 1938.

David Barry Latchford is an English former footballer who made 208 appearances in the Football League and 8 in the Scottish League playing as a goalkeeper. He is the older brother of former England international striker Bob Latchford and Celtic goalkeeper Peter Latchford.

Philip James Whelan is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender.

James Henry "Jack" Southam, also known as Jimmy Southam, was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for Newport County, Birmingham City, and most notably Northampton Town, where he amassed 145 league appearances between 1949 and 1955.

John Stirk is an English former footballer. His primary position was as a right back. During his career he played for Ipswich Town, Watford, Chesterfield and North Shields. He also made two appearances for England at youth level.

Robin David Turner is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. An England youth international, he began his career at Ipswich Town. After being part of the FA Youth Cup winning squad of 1973, he made his first-team debut in October 1975. Despite failing to become a first-team regular, he remained at the club until 1985 when he signed for Swansea City. He scored twice on his home debut for his new club, equalling the number of league goals that he had scored in nine seasons at Ipswich, but left later in the year to return to East Anglia when he signed for Colchester United. At the end of the 1985–86 season he dropped into non-League football with Bury Town.

During the 1980–81 English football season, Ipswich Town F.C. competed in the Football League First Division. In one of the most successful seasons in the club's history, they finished as runners-up in the league championship, were semi-finalists in the FA Cup and won the UEFA Cup. In all, Ipswich played a total of 66 competitive games during the season, winning 37, drawing 13 and losing 16.

The 1974–75 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 72nd in the Football League and their 41st in the First Division. They finished in 17th position in the 22-team division, four points above the relegation positions. They entered the 1974–75 FA Cup at the third round proper and lost to Fulham in the last minute of the semi-final replay, lost to Crewe Alexandra in their opening match of the League Cup in the second round, and reached the semi-final of the Texaco Cup.

Noel David Parkinson is an English former footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder, beginning his career at Ipswich Town, playing on loan at Bristol Rovers and Brentford and later permanently signing for Mansfield Town, Scunthorpe United and Colchester United. Alongside making over 200 Football League appearances, he also played for England youth between 1977 and 1978.

References

  1. 1 2 In praise of short(er) goalkeepers The Guardian, 20 May 2015
  2. 1 2 Ipswich's '78 FA Cup-winning team BBC Sport, 1 May 2008
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Paul Cooper Pride of Anglia
  4. 1 2 "Super-kid Cooper is favourite" Daily Express, 14 April 1972
  5. 1 2 Paul Cooper Archived 20 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine Foxes Talk
  6. 1 2 3 Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 79. ISBN   978-1-85983-010-9.
  7. ↑ Ramsbottom United v Sutton Coldfield Town programme Ramsbottom United, p16
  8. 1 2 "Dave Latchford set for recall" Daily Mirror, 25 January 1972
  9. ↑ "Goodwin warns: This is our Cup Final", Daily Mirror, 8 April 1972
  10. ↑ 15 April 1972 – Leeds United 3 Birmingham City 0 Mighty Whites
  11. 1 2 Matthews, pp. 207–209.
  12. ↑ Gary Sprake dies aged 71: How former Leeds United goalkeeper became an Anfield legend The Telegraph, 19 October 2016
  13. 1 2 Games played by Paul Cooper in 1973–74 Pride of Anglia
  14. ↑ Games played by Paul Cooper in 1974–75 Pride of Anglia
  15. ↑ Season 1974–75 Football Combination Pride of Anglia
  16. ↑ Season 1976–77 Division 1 Pride of Anglia
  17. ↑ Pat looks back Tottenham Hotspur, 13 November 2002
  18. 1 2 Cooper's mascot came up trumps Ipswich Star, 28 March 2008
  19. ↑ Season 1978–79 Division 1 Pride of Anglia
  20. ↑ Season 1979–80 Division 1 Pride of Anglia
  21. ↑ Quirky facts Goalkeepers are different
  22. 1 2 Dean Hayes (2006) The Who's Who of Ipswich Town Cromwell Press, pp. 41–42
  23. ↑ Spot luck: Europe's top penalty-savers UEFA, 6 February 2015
  24. 1 2 Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Paul Cooper reflects on the glory years Green 'Un, 21 March 2014
  25. ↑ Escape to Victory: The Film's Footballing Cast Revisited Inside Futbol, 22 September 2010
  26. ↑ Season 1981–82 Division 1 Pride of Anglia
  27. ↑ Season 1982–83 Division 1 Pride of Anglia
  28. ↑ Laurie Sivell Pride of Anglia
  29. ↑ Season 1983–84 Canon League Division One Pride of Anglia
  30. 1 2 Mark Grew Pride of Anglia
  31. ↑ Season 1985–86 Canon League Division One Pride of Anglia
  32. ↑ Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Leicester City Archived 23 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine Foxes Talk
  33. ↑ Stoke City archive: Spot on! 28 years since the Potters' first ever penalty shoot-out success [ permanent dead link ]Stoke Sentinel, 19 January 2016
  34. 1 2 "City wait for diagnosis of Dibble's injury". The Times. 27 March 1989.
  35. 1 2 Paul Cooper Blue Moon
  36. ↑ 1988–89 Blue Moon
  37. ↑ Liverpool vs Manchester City Blue Moon
  38. ↑ Manchester City vs Southampton Blue Moon
  39. 1 2 Andy Dibble Manchester City Info via the Alps
  40. ↑ 1989–90 Blue Moon
  41. ↑ Paul Cooper Go Go Go County
  42. ↑ Paul Cooper at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
  43. ↑ Where Are They Now? Birmingham City's Division 2 runners-up 1971/72 The Football League Paper, 15 January 2016
  44. 1 2 Paul loves life in Tenerife Ipswich Star, 28 Marcy 2009
  45. ↑ Five honoured including John Lyall and Wembley winners Ipswich Town, 14 March 2014
  46. ↑ Pearce, Steve (30 March 2014). "Hall of Fame 2014". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.