His pie-arm has been doing some heavy lifting.
2 May 2023
587
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Back to D*rby after Warne says "fuck this shit I'm off to Brum" would be funny.
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From Craig Courtney on BBC
He didn't as a player. I said. He didn't as a player. Eh? Is it? Steps? Forward? Ey?
Tough crowd.
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15 games wasn't long enough for him to implement his style etc apparently.
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Those "if"s are doing a lot of work.
If Nuno wins a few more games with this squad then Cooper could be out of consideration for more Prem clubs.
Saying which, I don't disagree. Another option might be a promotion-chasing outfit white bandage gets poached, like Ipswich. But it would still be a heck of a gamble. And I'm not sure Brum are in worse shape than we were, squadwise, when he took over. -
Well, no it wasn't.
The club needs to be already doomed to relegation, in administration and under existential threat due to shystering and con-men. Then plaudits and statues are guaranteed whatever happens.
So he does have a point. Well, 8(?). Arf.
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Quite a few claimed ITKs on Twitter are claiming it's a done deal, but perhaps a bit more relevantly both the Sun and Rob Dorsett are saying that while SSC is Birmingham's first choice they are likely to have trouble convincing him.
Honestly, I think his stock is higher now than asking him to do the same thing again that he already did with us. He'll get better looks than that.
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Nuno doing well isn't going to tarnish Cooper's reputation.
He will get the Palace job when it comes up.
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Cooper's reputation as a superb Championship manager will be undamaged.
His reputation as a relegation battler will be fine.
His reputation as a Premier League manager will look less good.
Brighton and Palace would possibly be good fits, but they might be more ambitious now. -
Plus his reputation as an under 18 world cup winner and developer of talent, plus his reputation as someone who can get 30 new signings and general chaos into some form of order.
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You seem to think that is a marketable skill. Or that he might want to do that again.
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He interviewed for Palace after he left Swansea and, supposedly, was contacted by them last summer. I doubt anything since then has made him less attractive to them.
I’m not entirely convinced by him as a developer of players. As England under 17 manager he wasn’t much responsible for developing Foden, Gibbs-White et al, that’s their clubs he’s getting them to play together (another order from chaos job). And there aren’t many young players he developed with us - only really Brennan.
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Agreed, in that context. But he was a youth development coach at liverpool, so probably not talentless. Not sure he's been manager anywhere long enough to have a track record of youth development...and at the florists he was too busy dealing with twenty new players a season, to bring through yuth as well. But I agree that leading a youth team to an age group world cup means nothing about your ability to develop players...you are playing against like for like, not bringing them into teams against senior pros.
Of course a fan can have a view...but within football, from players and fellow coaches, Cooper is well regarded in a number of skillsets. He will likely get a good job, and it will likely be the pale arse one. Maybe quite soon.
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Cooper is 5/1 for Palace and 6/4 for Brum. My personal view is that he would be good for Palace, and would be excellent for Birmingham. Not much idea how football-smart the hirers at Palace are, but he would seem the sort of gamble they might take. But if, say, Lopategui, was interested, it would be a big call.
Dropping down to Brum would be a risk for Cooper, especially since this season will not be a promotion one (the top 4 look to be a class above). -
Lopetegui is apparently only interested in top 6/8 clubs, hence his refusal to talk to us.
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Sixth place is currently on track for 71. To get to 72, Birmingham would need 44 points from 20 games, which is a big ask but we’ve seen what Cooper can achieve quickly at that level.
