Davie, Oh Davie Cooper, Davie Cooper Number 10?

[Shetland Bear 433]

My old man and I were watching the post game analysis of the Man Utd vs Sheffield Utd game on Saturday when Paul Scholes made the point about not knowing what position many of the Man Utd players were best suited to. After both agreeing that the modern day game had evolved so that players are now expected to be mobile and play a number of what would be classed as traditionally fixed 'positions' during the course of a match, the conversation turned to Davie Cooper.

Sadly I am too young to have watched Cooper play in the flesh but my Dad made the point of how interesting it would be to have seen him play in a modern day "Number 10" role just off of a main striker. My Dad reckoned he could have been an even better player as his skill set and intelligence would have been perfect for a Number 10, plus he believed he would have had even more assists and far more goals. However back then you played with 2 up top and a midfield 4 and that was it there was no place for Davie other than out wide.

I was wondering if those who were lucky enough to have seen him play also thought Cooper would have been better suited to playing as a Number 10, or if he would still be better suited to being on the wing?

[HuistraHairDo 12,490]

You could of played the great man in goal he would still get you a winner. He was magic

.

[RFC55 108,842]

Dryborough cup goal is IMO the greatest ever Rangers goal

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Would certainly have been interesting to see Davie play in there.

[Johnny Dangerously 7,562]

Dryborough cup goal is IMO the greatest ever Rangers goal

Sandy scored a peach tae that day

[TheLawMan 6,240]

Think i have said previously that i think the memory of Davie Coopers time at Rangers doesnt match the reality. For me, he was a 1 in 3 man. When he was on song, he was unplayable, but he just wasnt consistent enough. His goals/runs in Dryborough, Hearts away, Tampere were few and far between. I understand im in the minority on this but thats just my view.

[harlands plater 16,975]

I think he was a natural winger, he could put some terrific crosses in and that suited the way we played most of the time he was with us, with strikers like DJ on the end of those crosses.

[brazz1972 397]

Good shout. Think of the likes of David Silva back in the Davie Cooper era. He would've been a left winger rather than playing in behind the striker. Davie could well have been even better playing Central rather than out on the wing. It's difficult to compare modern day football to back in the day.

It's mad how football has changed so much in terms of positions and formations in the past few years. Suppose it's for the better really as most teams now play with a main striker and 3 or 4 other creative attacking players supporting.

[Big Al 55 9,248]

He naturally played that position anyway, he often came into the middle demanding the ball.

[Juniorsparkie 491]

I remember an interview he done and he always stated that he was always a left winger, but he did say that he fancied right midfield when he got older ??

It was maybe a wee dig at T McLean at the time who was his oppo.

Someone stated the Dryburgh Cup final goal which is my favourite, but Sandy Jardine scored that day after winning a tackle in his own box ran the length of the park and John MacDonald scored in what we thought was the start of a stellar career.

Coop was something special but you need to remember him being booed on as a sub back then also McCoist was vilified and a lot of Bears said that he should never have been given the 3rd chance to sign for Rangers after 2 previous knock backs.

What did we know ?

[left winger 14,153]

Think i have said previously that i think the memory of Davie Coopers time at Rangers doesnt match the reality. For me, he was a 1 in 3 man. When he was on song, he was unplayable, but he just wasnt consistent enough. His goals/runs in Dryborough, Hearts away, Tampere were few and far between. I understand im in the minority on this but thats just my view.

I would agree with this. Phenomenal player on form, but wasn't on form as much as most would have us believe.

[cushynumber 25,178]

every good player improves once they retire. Average games are not remembered, but I prefer to remember the good times anyway.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Think i have said previously that i think the memory of Davie Coopers time at Rangers doesnt match the reality. For me, he was a 1 in 3 man. When he was on song, he was unplayable, but he just wasnt consistent enough. His goals/runs in Dryborough, Hearts away, Tampere were few and far between. I understand im in the minority on this but thats just my view.

Your not alone, he was very hit or miss I think it just made those great moments even better.

[legalbeagle 3,734]

I think you would miss out on some of his excellent crossing but the number ten role could have really used his ability to pick a pass, more shooting opportunities and given that pace wasn't his big thing, he would be possibly more suited to that than out on the wing, certainly in the modern game.

[ianferguson 2,619]

Davie Cooper suffered in a poor team and and with an even poorer manager during the early eighties but still managed to win us a few cups, almost single handedly. In the late seventies and eighties surrounded by better players Davie showed the absolute class he was born with and he could have played for any Gers team in any era . He may have had some dips in form over a long Gers career but no way has time embellished his ability for Davie was a brilliant player and there's plenty footage of him drifting into the No10 position to assist in goals,his 1981 Scottish cup replay masterclass against Dundee United and his reverse ball to durrant against the tims are just two examples of his brilliance in that position.

[HG5 11,112]

I think you would miss out on some of his excellent crossing but the number ten role could have really used his ability to pick a pass, more shooting opportunities and given that pace wasn't his big thing, he would be possibly more suited to that than out on the wing, certainly in the modern game.

The goal he set up for Durrant vs the scum at the start of Souness's reign was a good example of picking a pass, as you describe.

[DrLaudrup 4,599]

Agree about 1 in 3 player....I started going in '85-86 and remember his brilliance but also he took pelters a lot for being inconsistent. Unplayable when on form.

Would be interesting as a 10, or even to see him in modern football. He had no pace so that might hinder him in that position. Also he wasn't an enthusiastic trainer, which might be held against him now when it all about being professional to make it right to the top, as opposed to a maverick. I'd like to think his ability would have shone through in the end.

Feel privileged to have seen players like him, Laudrup and Gascoigne play for us.

[hammer93 15,057]

Davie Cooper suffered in a poor team and and with an even poorer manager during the early eighties but still managed to win us a few cups, almost single handedly. In the late seventies and eighties surrounded by better players Davie showed the absolute class he was born with and he could have played for any Gers team in any era . He may have had some dips in form over a long Gers career but no way has time embellished his ability for Davie was a brilliant player and there's plenty footage of him drifting into the No10 position to assist in goals,his 1981 Scottish cup replay masterclass against Dundee United and his reverse ball to durrant against the tims are just two examples of his brilliance in that position.

I was about to post something similar but you have saved me the job.

I agree 100% with this.

[Tom0411 1,226]

I am afraid that I have to agree re Davie Cooper he was not as good as we all seem to think, like all wingers on his day unplayable but also had a lot of hellish games. I think it is the tv footage of some of the games mentioned that seem to raise him up in peoples esteem.

Over the years I have seen far better wingers like Willie Henderson, Bud Johnston & Tommy McLean to name three.

[StewGer 606]

Clydebank used him in there a fair amount in his 2nd spell when I used to go to Kilbowie all the time. The amount of assists he got from through balls was impressive. I remember one game against Dundee he created 4 in a 5-2 win. As others have stated he often drifted in there anyway for Rangers, there are Highlights of an Old Firm game somewhere that I have where he was doing it all game.

[ianferguson 2,619]

I am afraid that I have to agree re Davie Cooper he was not as good as we all seem to think, like all wingers on his day unplayable but also had a lot of hellish games. I think it is the tv footage of some of the games mentioned that seem to raise him up in peoples esteem.

Over the years I have seen far better wingers like Willie Henderson, Bud Johnston & Tommy McLean to name three.

"One of the greatest players I ever seen "

Ruud Gullit.

"Was as technically gifted as any player I seen or played with "

Graeme souness.

[BlueRD 138]

I'd have liked to see him stay with us and get used the way that Motherwell used him, made them play. Their manager at the time obviously saw something in him that not too many others had seen.

[siddiqi_drinker 14,635]

Not comparing the two obviously but I have often, thought and wondered, about McKay in that role just off Waghorn.

[tannerall 25,935]

Think i have said previously that i think the memory of Davie Coopers time at Rangers doesnt match the reality. For me, he was a 1 in 3 man. When he was on song, he was unplayable, but he just wasnt consistent enough. His goals/runs in Dryborough, Hearts away, Tampere were few and far between. I understand im in the minority on this but thats just my view.

I tend too agree on that.

I saw him at Clydebank a few times and he did stand out a mile, the press quickly caught on and with the Clydebank League cup tie at Ibrox, took his chance and impressed with some great, wing play and crossing, and provided a couple of goal assists from great corners in a 3-3 draw if i recall correctly.

In his early days Tommy McLean was the more skilful player, and better crosser of the ball, a traditional winger. Cooper really started to impress after that Drybrough Cup goal, when he was played a little bit further back and allowed to drift in and unleash a shot or great pass with his left foot. Definitely agree he was a bit of a confidence player, was good when we were winning and he had space (which happened often, we had a good experienced team then), but could disappear during tougher games. And though he was good at corners and assists I think a lot of his goals were free kicks or games when we were ahead.

I still rate McLean, MacDonald, Russell and Bett as being just as important to us then,

I think the lack of full match action on video from then tends to cloud the judgement, we tend to see only the big games and highlights He was sublime when in full flow in many and I think it is mostly these highlights we remember.

And of course the Drybrough Cup goal probably was the greatest ever Rangers goal I saw.

[WeeJim 92]

I think it's the nature of being a wing player in those days that you were kind of a 1 in 3 player, plus when you had the ability he had you made a rod for you're own back as you were the one everybody was looking to. If the team was on song it's set up for players like that to shine like a beacon but if it's one of those games that's a bit of a dirge or the conditions are poor that's the position that's most likely to suffer. It amplified any quiet games you had, if someone else dropped 20% in performance they'd get away with it largely unnoticed but if you're the skill in the team, if you're Cooper, it's more noticeable.