Oh please, Chic! If you’re resorting to “ITK” posts, you really are scraping the barrel; we’ve slipped through a worm-hole and are back on the original board with Hannah, Ivy the Teddy, EBP, Donny and that bloody Argentinian gimp.
If Cooper doesn’t think Scarpa is up to it - and it’s been pretty clear for a while now that he has question marks on that front, at best - then he would simply be wasting a place in his already tight squad. See Steve Cook last year. ‘Being a people person’ doesn’t mean he can’t be ruthless; you’re just trolling now.
We can argue on here about whether we agree with Cooper’s assessment of Scarpa, but frankly I don’t think any of us has seen enough of him to be sure either way. Cooper sees him every day in training and, for whatever reason, doesn’t fancy him in the side. That being the case, the only sensible course of action is to ship him out if possible, just like everyone else who isn’t going to get a game.
I don’t know why Cooper doesn’t rate Scarpa, but my hunch (FWIW) is that, though he has obvious ability, Cooper thinks he lacks the physical presence needed to thrive in this league. Listen to recent post-match interviews and how often Cooper mentions athleticism, pace & power. Watch Taiwo & Elanga combine for our goal at Arsenal; that’s what he’s on about. Scarpa is about 5 stone wringing wet and isn’t notably quick, for all his ability with a ball at his feet. Perhaps that’s why he reached his late-20s before a European club took a punt on him. Maybe not; who knows?
We have our best manager in 20+ years at the moment; I think we have to go with his judgement rather than throwing our Ivy the Teddies out of the pram.
