Davie Cooper

Oso de España

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Seeing the commemorative posts on the great man's passing, it made me wonder if he would've have stayed at rangers if he was coming through now or recently.

I'm not sure if he would've stayed in today's market. I think one of the giants would swoop in with crazy money that we simply couldn't have said no to. Although I'm not convinced that he'd have went.

Thoughts?
 
Seeing the commemorative posts on the great man's passing, it made me wonder if he would've have stayed at rangers if he was coming through now or recently.

I'm not sure if he would've stayed in today's market. I think one of the giants would swoop in with crazy money that we simply couldn't have said no to. Although I'm not convinced that he'd have went.

Thoughts?
So sad seeing all the posts, who knows but he was amazing.
 
Seeing the commemorative posts on the great man's passing, it made me wonder if he would've have stayed at rangers if he was coming through now or recently.

I'm not sure if he would've stayed in today's market. I think one of the giants would swoop in with crazy money that we simply couldn't have said no to. Although I'm not convinced that he'd have went.

Thoughts?
He didn't come through the ranks though
 
I think there was interest in Cooper from down south at the time from what I remember, but it never really came to anything and I’m not convinced he would have left anyway.

Different times back then of course, but it probably does need stressed that Cooper was a real enigma as a player - absolutely unplayable when he was in the mood, but equally a passenger in a lot of games. That inconsistency probably saw some clubs turn their attentions elsewhere.

He flourished after Souness’s arrival though and had he been a bit younger could have attracted interest from further afield had he kept up that level of performance.
 
Was speaking to a bear much older than myself a few months back who said Rangers fans are nostalgic about Cooper and in reality he was a great player for us, but not a legend.

I didn’t have anything to add myself but wondering what others think?
 
Could have been managed so much better during John Greig’s tenure.
He said it himself “Greig didn’t fancy him” , Cooper was 22 when Greig got the job, should have been building the team round him, instead he often found himself benched.
 
He was very talented but inconsistent and could go through spells of poor form.

He was however surrounded by mediocrity apart from the early and later years of his Rangers career.

A hero to many who grow up with late 70's through the 80's Rangers teams. Like me.

He would be a number 10 in modern football.
 
It's always difficult to compare a player from different eras against others. Such views are subjective to the individual making them and, of course, nobody is incorrect in their reasoned case.

However, and whilst admitting I have blinkers on as Coop was my first ever hero, it's difficult for me to have any other opinion than Cooper was absolutely top drawer. Very few players are "World Class" but he could have played anywhere such was his ability. His Ibrox career was bookended with exceptional performances where he had better players around him. The largely inconsistent period (for all it was substantial) was in a team of mainly average players aided by poor management from Greig in the main.

If someone such as Ruud Gullit can say he was one of the greatest he ever saw, then that is testimony to his ability.
 
If someone such as Ruud Gullit can say he was one of the greatest he ever saw, then that is testimony to his ability.
Was just about to post this Craigie if a world class player like Gullit is of the opinion he could play then some nobody from nowhere’s opinion is irrelevant. Guy was class. The amount of times I stood thinking how the fu*k did he do that there? Simply the Best a Legend.
 
Grew up watching DC, he was probably my 1st Rangers hero, and the Greig teams relied on him at times but looking at the opinions people on here have on guys like Kent & Alfie I dread to think what the opinions on Davie would have been with his inconsistency. In todays market I'm sure someone down south would take a punt on him, on his game he was brilliant, but I'm not sure he would have been happy to leave Scotland.
 
Was speaking to a bear much older than myself a few months back who said Rangers fans are nostalgic about Cooper and in reality he was a great player for us, but not a legend.

I didn’t have anything to add myself but wondering what others think?
His length of service, honours won (albeit not as many as we would have liked in early 80s) and some absolutely iconic moments of sheer brilliance mark him down as a legend.

I'm not sure how else to define "legend".
 
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Was speaking to a bear much older than myself a few months back who said Rangers fans are nostalgic about Cooper and in reality he was a great player for us, but not a legend.

I didn’t have anything to add myself but wondering what others think?
He was a club legend, no doubt about it - being included in our greatest ever XI would tend to say as much - but far too inconsistent to be considered genuine world class.

To be fair I don’t think there were any world class players playing in Scotland during the ‘80s, but there was no one with his skill or ability when he was in the mood and it’s with a certain degree of sadness that he was already into his thirties when Souness arrived.
 
Was speaking to a bear much older than myself a few months back who said Rangers fans are nostalgic about Cooper and in reality he was a great player for us, but not a legend.

I didn’t have anything to add myself but wondering what others think?

I'd vehemently disagree.

Even during one of our least successful modern eras, he won 3 leagues, 4 Scottish Cups and 7 League cups (including a treble)

He has much natural talent as any of the best ever players to play for us like Laudrup, Gascoigne, de Boer and Baxter.

He maybe didn't always deploy it as consistently as some / all of those players but they (Baxter aside) were here fleetingly by comparison.

Even then, he won more trophies than Baxter despite Jim having played in what was arguably our best ever team.

He represented the club for more than a decade and was awarded a testimonial.

He's very much a Legend of Ibrox.
 
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Was speaking to a bear much older than myself a few months back who said Rangers fans are nostalgic about Cooper and in reality he was a great player for us, but not a legend.

I didn’t have anything to add myself but wondering what others think?
His best years should have been pre souness but we had a poor team, due to the manager and only signing our ain kind catching up with us.
Cooper lacked pace but was a Rangers great and a supporter of the club as well.
Its a pity he didnt have the likes of Hately at the end of his crosses rather than the likes of sandy clark or davie mitchell.
 
A great player and club legend for sure.

He was never close to being world class though.

Skill-wise allow me to show you why you are talking bollocks

davie-cooper-2.gif
 
I'd vehemently disagree.

Even during one of our least successful modern eras, he won 3 leagues, 4 Scottish Cups and 7 League cups (including a treble)

He as much natural talent as any of the best ever players to play for us like Laudrup, Gascoigne, de Boer and Baxter.

He maybe didn't always deploy it as consistently as some / all of those players but they (Baxter aside) were here fleetingly by comparison.

Even then, he won more trophies than Baxter despite Jim having played in what was arguably our best ever team.

He represented the club for more than a decade and was awarded a testimonial.

He's very much a Legend of Ibrox.
Well said Sir. I could’t agree more.
 
I think there was interest in Cooper from down south at the time from what I remember, but it never really came to anything and I’m not convinced he would have left anyway.

Different times back then of course, but it probably does need stressed that Cooper was a real enigma as a player - absolutely unplayable when he was in the mood, but equally a passenger in a lot of games. That inconsistency probably saw some clubs turn their attentions elsewhere.

He flourished after Souness’s arrival though and had he been a bit younger could have attracted interest from further afield had he kept up that level of performance.
I've read and watched a lot about those days, being quite young at the time, and his "renaissance" happened before Souness; Jock Wallace it was that helped him rediscover his form, after he arrived back as manager.
 
taking the rangers hat off, he would have been a superstar if he went to play in europe back then, and even more so today, always thought his game was more suited to the continent rather than scottish/british football
 
For ability, he's one of the best we've had. For consistency there's a lot with lesser talent leave him behind.
 
Super Davie Cooper
My footballing hero watching the Bears, his skill and dribbling was a joy to behold, not the fastest winger or great in the air and a right foot for keeping his balance that lad was a genius, he played in a struggling Rangers team to be fair before Souness arrived and it’s a huge shame he wasn’t at his peak during the Souness era playing among some of the finest players that were signed then just how great he could have been for us then going on to play for Motherwell and playing for Scotland again in his 30s was a testament to his ability and a true Rangers legend, I will never forget the noise of that net rippling against Aberdeen when Coop thundered the free kick in the cup final
He played for the team he loved and was
Simply The Best
 
Cooper had bags of ability and a brilliant left foot.

He won a stack of medals and seemed to love the league cup in particular.

He did suffer from inconsistency but even when having a quieter game he could change it with a moment of brilliance, a cross, a free kick, taking three players on creating space etc.

Greigs management and a period where the club lost its way on the pitch never helped super Cooper and several years of the likes of Gregor Stevens, Dave MaKinnon, Craig Patterson, Cammy Fraser types never helped him showcase his talent as much as he should.

The moody blue tag that was applied was possibly fair as you never knew what Cooper was turning up to play but even at that, he could do things with a ball most couldn't..

Legend taken too soon.
 
Davie Cooper is my original Gers hero ..we all know he was a bit inconsistent but ive always put that down to the poor Gers team of the early to mid 80s . The whole team was inconsistent but he was the jewel in our crown in those dark days . When Souness arrived we seen the real Davie Cooper in 86/87 . He was brilliant that season .
 
Imaging Cooper in our side today I think he’d be less effective as a wide player and more suited to the role Raskin has, pulling the strings from deeper.

When he went to Motherwell I think he played more centrally, did he not, and he excelled as a result.

I loved Ray Wilkins as a player and was gutted when he left, but I did think that Cooper could have played the same role for us.

Souness admitted that he made a mistake letting Cooper leave, but part of the reason he did was because we had Walters when perhaps Davie could have been accommodated elsewhere in the team?
 
Cooper had bags of ability and a brilliant left foot.

He won a stack of medals and seemed to love the league cup in particular.

He did suffer from inconsistency but even when having a quieter game he could change it with a moment of brilliance, a cross, a free kick, taking three players on creating space etc.

Greigs management and a period where the club lost its way on the pitch never helped super Cooper and several years of the likes of Gregor Stevens, Dave MaKinnon, Craig Patterson, Cammy Fraser types never helped him showcase his talent as much as he should.

The moody blue tag that was applied was possibly fair as you never knew what Cooper was turning up to play but even at that, he could do things with a ball most couldn't..

Legend taken too soon.
Mr Waddell described Davie Cooper as one of those rare players with "inborn instinct" in his ability; "instinctive". Jock Wallace and Cooper, according to Wallace, "clicked", and being that he was a huge influence on so many players, most of all Gordon Smith, Robert Russell, and Davie Cooper, his influence on Cooper seems have been fundamentally crucial, because like Willie Waddell Wallace appears to have understood the player with this natural instinct just as acutely; the absence of Wallace appears to have affected these three players, at the time relatively young in their Rangers careers, dramatically from the what might have been had he stayed, none more so than Cooper. Jock Wallace is probably the most underrated of managers, he truly was one of the greats in terms of what he could do with players, and had his influence extended on Davie Cooper for longer, then Cooper would quite probably have achieved a great deal more for Rangers over a longer period.
 
Mr Waddell described Davie Cooper as one of those rare players with "inborn instinct" in his ability; "instinctive". Jock Wallace and Cooper, according to Wallace, "clicked", and being that he was a huge influence on so many players, most of all Gordon Smith, Robert Russell, and Davie Cooper, his influence on Cooper seems have been fundamentally crucial, because like Willie Waddell Wallace appears to have understood the player with this natural instinct just as acutely; the absence of Wallace appears to have affected these three players, at the time relatively young in their Rangers careers, dramatically from the what might have been had he stayed, none more so than Cooper. Jock Wallace is probably the most underrated of managers, he truly was one of the greats in terms of what he could do with players, and had his influence extended on Davie Cooper for longer, then Cooper would quite probably have achieved a great deal more for Rangers over a longer period.
I tend to agree though didn't Wallace leave due to a falling out of sorts with Waddell? I was very young at the time so don't remember the full details.

I'm sure they three players above, all who were silky and skillful would have benefited with Jock being around longer as would the team.
 
In Greigs tenure Davie was very inconsistent, that was more down to Greig than Davie IMO. On his day DC was world class and we were very lucky to have him.
 
I tend to agree though didn't Wallace leave due to a falling out of sorts with Waddell? I was very young at the time so don't remember the full details.

I'm sure they three players above, all who were silky and skillful would have benefited with Jock being around longer as would the team.
I can only go by what I've read, but I think it may be along those lines. It's interesting listening the Jock Wallace speaking of Rangers, and how player orientated he was as a manager; I'm not sure he gets credit for the all round ability he had as a manager, especially with players and the getting the best out of them. Had he indeed fallen out with Mr Waddell it's interesting, because as a youngster Waddell was one of his heroe in his younger years watching Rangers, then he goes on to be his assistant, then he manages the club under Waddell. The Waddell and Wallace relationship is very dynamic at a time of eventual success for Rangers; it's a pity if it ended because of a fall out.
 
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