Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 8:53 am
Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sunday 30th May 2021
Cooper has followed in the line of a string of left-field appointments who proved to be a roaring success with Swansea, walking into a job previously held by Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez, Paolo Sousa and Garry Monk.
It was another huge gamble to choose him, but Cooper gave what was dubbed an 'X-Factor interview' with his football philosophy and vision for the future when meeting Trevor Birch, Alan Curtis and Leon Britton two years ago.
Swansea could easily have gone with more experienced candidates such as Michael Appleton and Gus Poyet, but Birch and his colleagues were bowled over by how Cooper conducted himself and were adamant he was the right man.
The rookie boss has fully justified that belief shown in him by taking the Swans to successive top-six finishes and coming within 90 minutes of the Premier League.
There were more talented and certainly deeper squads than Swansea's in the Championship this season, but those teams didn't finish fourth and reach Wembley. That the Swans punched above their weight was down to the shrewdness and capability of their manager.
However, success always creates interest from others.
As former Swans chairman Huw Jenkins put it the other day, "when you're successful, sometimes you just have to deal with decisions".
He was talking specifically about when Liverpool came in for Rodgers and Wigan prised Martinez away.
Crystal Palace and West Brom have been among the clubs heavily linked with moves for Cooper and some Swans fans will watch on anxiously to see if that materialises into the form of a genuine approach for him in the next few weeks.
Cooper has achieved success on a limited budget, has played stylish football, gives youngsters a chance. No-one knows the cream of England's finest young talent, and what makes them tick, better than Cooper, who brought through so many of them in that Three Lions World Cup winning age-grade team.
What's not to like there for a Premier League chairman, or a club who've just come down and expect to go straight back up with parachute money helping?
Immediately after the Wembley loss, the Sky Sports pundits were saying they felt Cooper will be a Premier League manager soon anyway.
They also claimed the financial shackles need to be released if he is to achieve that with Swansea who, according to ex-Preston boss Alex Neil, are 'miles away from where Brentford were' when losing to Fulham in the play-off final a year ago.
Brentford were ready to have another crack at it, Swansea are likely to have a rebuilding job on their hands in the summer.
Cooper isn't accustomed to failure. He was clearly hurting after the game and said the right things about regrouping and the players being ready to go again.
When he analyses everything, how will Cooper view it? With Swansea failing to go up, will he feel he has taken the team as far as he can, or is he confident of another play-off push and making it third time lucky next season?
The biggest hurdle to that, he will probably know, is the issue of potentially losing so many key players.
Sunday 30th May 2021
Cooper has followed in the line of a string of left-field appointments who proved to be a roaring success with Swansea, walking into a job previously held by Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez, Paolo Sousa and Garry Monk.
It was another huge gamble to choose him, but Cooper gave what was dubbed an 'X-Factor interview' with his football philosophy and vision for the future when meeting Trevor Birch, Alan Curtis and Leon Britton two years ago.
Swansea could easily have gone with more experienced candidates such as Michael Appleton and Gus Poyet, but Birch and his colleagues were bowled over by how Cooper conducted himself and were adamant he was the right man.
The rookie boss has fully justified that belief shown in him by taking the Swans to successive top-six finishes and coming within 90 minutes of the Premier League.
There were more talented and certainly deeper squads than Swansea's in the Championship this season, but those teams didn't finish fourth and reach Wembley. That the Swans punched above their weight was down to the shrewdness and capability of their manager.
However, success always creates interest from others.
As former Swans chairman Huw Jenkins put it the other day, "when you're successful, sometimes you just have to deal with decisions".
He was talking specifically about when Liverpool came in for Rodgers and Wigan prised Martinez away.
Crystal Palace and West Brom have been among the clubs heavily linked with moves for Cooper and some Swans fans will watch on anxiously to see if that materialises into the form of a genuine approach for him in the next few weeks.
Cooper has achieved success on a limited budget, has played stylish football, gives youngsters a chance. No-one knows the cream of England's finest young talent, and what makes them tick, better than Cooper, who brought through so many of them in that Three Lions World Cup winning age-grade team.
What's not to like there for a Premier League chairman, or a club who've just come down and expect to go straight back up with parachute money helping?
Immediately after the Wembley loss, the Sky Sports pundits were saying they felt Cooper will be a Premier League manager soon anyway.
They also claimed the financial shackles need to be released if he is to achieve that with Swansea who, according to ex-Preston boss Alex Neil, are 'miles away from where Brentford were' when losing to Fulham in the play-off final a year ago.
Brentford were ready to have another crack at it, Swansea are likely to have a rebuilding job on their hands in the summer.
Cooper isn't accustomed to failure. He was clearly hurting after the game and said the right things about regrouping and the players being ready to go again.
When he analyses everything, how will Cooper view it? With Swansea failing to go up, will he feel he has taken the team as far as he can, or is he confident of another play-off push and making it third time lucky next season?
The biggest hurdle to that, he will probably know, is the issue of potentially losing so many key players.
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Re: Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 10:35 am
Thought that meant he was linked to us then 
Re: Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 11:16 am
Nothing new really all their managers tend to leave around 18mnths to go from a small club to bigger one? If he goes will his new club want an England under 23 side? But cannot fault for getting mistbout of the players he brought in.....
Re: Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 11:24 am
Reading Planet Swans SC doesn't seem very popular with the great Caravan of unwashed Jacks. Strange as he seems to have done a decent job there although I did wonder if his slight Cardiff connection through his Father might have had something to do with it?
Re: Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 11:57 am
Tony Blue Williams wrote:Reading Planet Swans SC doesn't seem very popular with the great Caravan of unwashed Jacks. Strange as he seems to have done a decent job there although I did wonder if his slight Cardiff connection through his Father might have had something to do with it?
They must be more stupid than we thought. If it wasn't for Cooper and his connections they would have been in the lower half of the table for last two seasons not in the play offs for those two seasons.
Re: Steve Cooper's links to bigger clubs
Sun May 30, 2021 6:03 pm
Tony Blue Williams wrote:Reading Planet Swans SC doesn't seem very popular with the great Caravan of unwashed Jacks. Strange as he seems to have done a decent job there although I did wonder if his slight Cardiff connection through his Father might have had something to do with it?
Well most Jacks I know well, there are a few realistic ones believe it or not, will tell you they are a mid championship club and have over achieved with Cooper. Why these Planet Swans posters wont him gone is strange considering what he has achieved. if he does go then this could be the season they will have egg on their faces.