Neale Cooper
Scottish footballer and manager (1963-2018)
Neale James Cooper (24 November 1963 – 28 May 2018) was a Scottish football player and coach. He was born in Darjeeling, India to Scottish parents. He was raised in Aberdeen, Scotland.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Neale James Cooper[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1963[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Darjeeling,[1] West Bengal, India | ||
| Date of death | 28 May 2018 (aged 54)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Aberdeen,[1] Scotland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1978–1979 | King Street | ||
| 1979–1980 | Aberdeen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1980–1986 | Aberdeen | 133 | (6) |
| 1986–1988 | Aston Villa | 20 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Rangers | 17 | (1) |
| 1990–1991 | Reading | 7 | (0) |
| 1991-1996 | Dunfermline Athletic | 103 | (3) |
| 1996–1996 | Ross County | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 285 | (10) | |
| National team | |||
| 1981–1985 | Scotland U21[3] | 13 | (0) |
| 1983 | Scotland U19 | ||
| Teams managed | |||
| 1996–2002 | Ross County | ||
| 2003–2005 | Hartlepool United | ||
| 2005 | Gillingham | ||
| 2008–2011 | Peterhead | ||
| 2011–2012 | Hartlepool United | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Cooper played as a midfielder during the 1980s and 1990s, mainly for the Aberdeen team managed by Alex Ferguson. He later played for Aston Villa, Rangers, Reading, Dunfermline Athletic and Ross County.
Cooper then became a coach, and worked as a manager in England with Hartlepool United and Gillingham, and in Scotland with Ross County and Peterhead.[4]
On 28 May 2018 it was reported that Cooper was in a critical condition after being found collapsed in the stairwell of flats in Aberdeen.[5] He died later that day of suspected cardiac arrest, aged 54.[5]
Career statistics
changeClub
change| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1978-79 | Scottish Premier Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1980-81 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1981-82 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 46 | 5 | ||
| 1982-83 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 0 | - | - | 52 | 3 | ||
| 1983-84 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 0 | - | - | 49 | 1 | ||
| 1984-85 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 27 | 1 | ||
| 1985-86 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 38 | 0 | ||
| Total | 133 | 6 | 27 | 3 | 27 | 1 | 33 | 0 | - | - | 220 | 10 | ||
| Aston Villa | 1986-87 | First Division | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 15 | 1 |
| 1987-88 | Second Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 0 | |
| 1988-89 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 1 | ||
| Rangers | 1988-89 | Scottish Premier Division | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 17 | 1 |
| 1989-90 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 1 | ||
| Reading | 1991-92 | Third Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 0 | ||
| Dunfermline Athletic | 1991-92 | Scottish Premier Division | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 23 | 0 |
| 1992-93 | Scottish First Division | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 35 | 1 | |
| 1993-94 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 30 | 2 | ||
| 1994-95 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 18 | 0 | ||
| 1995-96 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 103 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | 112 | 3 | ||
| Ross County | 1996-97 | Scottish Third Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 0 |
| 1997-98 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1998-99 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 285 | 10 | 34 | 4 | 36 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 389 | 15 | ||
Managerial statistics
change- As of 24 October 2012[11]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Ross County | 1 July 1996 | 11 November 2002 | 299 | 130 | 89 | 80 | 43.48 |
| Hartlepool United | 26 June 2003 | 4 May 2005 | 110 | 48 | 26 | 36 | 43.64 |
| Gillingham | 21 May 2005 | 15 November 2005 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 31.82 |
| Peterhead | 10 January 2008 | 22 March 2011 | 143 | 50 | 39 | 54 | 34.97 |
| Hartlepool United | 28 December 2011 | 24 October 2012 | 40 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 17.50 |
| Total | 614 | 242 | 173 | 199 | 39.41 | ||
Honours
changePlayer
change- Aberdeen
- Scottish Premier Division: 1983–84, 1984–85[12]
- Scottish Cup: 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86[12]
- Scottish League Cup: 1985–86[12]
- European Cup Winners Cup: 1983[12]
- European Super Cup: 1983[12]
- Rangers
- Dunfermline Athletic
Manager
change- Ross County
- Individual
- Football League One Manager of the Month (at Hartlepool): January 2005[14]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Neale Cooper". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
- ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
- ↑ "Scotland U21 Player Neale Cooper Details". Fitba Stats. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ↑ "LMA Manager Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Ex-footballer Neale Cooper dies after collapsing". BBC News. BBC. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ↑ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ↑ "Neale Cooper, Villa Defender, 1986-87, 1987-88". AVFC History. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ↑ "Rangers Player Neale Cooper Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ↑ "ParsDatabase.co.uk - Dunfermline Athletic FC Results Database". parsdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ↑ "Neale Cooper | Player Statistics | Ross County (Staggie Archive)". staggiearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ↑ "Neale Cooper". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 "Neale Cooper: his football career". Aberdeen F.C. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
- ↑ Hart, Ross (28 May 2018). "Former Par Cooper passes away". Dunfermline Press.
- ↑ "Neale Cooper". League Managers Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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