Neale Cooper

Neale Cooper
Personal information
Full name Neale James Cooper[1]
Date of birth (1963-11-24)24 November 1963[1]
Place of birth Darjeeling,[1] West Bengal, India
Date of death 28 May 2018(2018-05-28) (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

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.

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

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[6][7][8][9][10]

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

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 80 043.48
Hartlepool United 26 June 2003 4 May 2005 110 48 26 36 043.64
Gillingham 21 May 2005 15 November 2005 22 7 5 10 031.82
Peterhead 10 January 2008 22 March 2011 143 50 39 54 034.97
Hartlepool United 28 December 2011 24 October 2012 40 7 14 19 017.50
Total 614 242 173 199 039.41

Honours

Player

Aberdeen
Rangers
Dunfermline Athletic

Manager

Ross County
Individual

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Neale Cooper". Barry Hugman's Footballers.
  2. ↑ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. ↑ "Scotland U21 Player Neale Cooper Details". Fitba Stats. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "LMA Manager Profile". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Ex-footballer Neale Cooper dies after collapsing". BBC News. BBC. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  7. ↑ "Neale Cooper, Villa Defender, 1986-87, 1987-88". AVFC History. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  8. ↑ "Rangers Player Neale Cooper Details". www.fitbastats.com. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  9. ↑ "ParsDatabase.co.uk - Dunfermline Athletic FC Results Database". parsdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  10. ↑ "Neale Cooper | Player Statistics | Ross County (Staggie Archive)". staggiearchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  11. ↑ "Neale Cooper". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Hart, Ross (28 May 2018). "Former Par Cooper passes away". Dunfermline Press.
  14. ↑ "Neale Cooper". League Managers Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2018.