Alex Cooper (footballer)

Alex Cooper
Personal information
Full name Alex Cooper
Date of birth (1991-11-04) 4 November 1991[1]
Place of birth Birmingham England[1]
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Cheltenham Town
Number 19
Youth career
0000–2007 Ross County
2007–11 Liverpool
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Ross County 35 (1)
2011-2012 → Elgin City (loan) 10 (0)
2014–2016 Falkirk 33 (6)
2016 St Mirren 12 (1)
2016– Cheltenham Town 1 (0)
National team‡
2007–2008 Scotland U17 7 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 March 2012

Alex Cooper (born 4 November 1991) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cheltenham Town. He is a former Liverpool youth player and former Scotland youth international. He currently plays for Cheltenham Town FC.

Career

Club career

Alex Cooper began his playing career with Ross County's youth team.[1] He immediately showed signs of great potential, sparking interest from several major clubs. At 14, he was invited to take part in a tournament in Switzerland with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.[2] and to train with both Celtic and Rangers. At the age of sixteen he went on a week-long trial to Liverpool which was cut short by injury.[3] He returned a month later for a further three-day trial playing one match after which he was offered a contract.[3]

He joined Liverpool on 28 December 2007 for a £100,000 fee signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[2] After his arrival he started playing for Liverpool's Academy before progressing to the Reserve side managed by John McMahon.[3] During his time at Merseyside he suffered numerous injuries the most severe being a broken ankle ruling him out for six months during the 2009–10 season.[1][3]

Cooper winning the Young Player of the Year award at Ross County F.C.

Cooper was released by Liverpool in the summer of 2011 along with three other players following the expiration of his contract.[4] In the wake of his release, there was interest from a number of clubs, north and south of the border[5] and Cooper eventually re-joined Ross County on 18 October 2011 until the end of the season after nearly a four-year absence from Dingwall.[6] He appeared on the bench a day later for County's Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers but remained an unused substitute.[7] He made his senior debut on 7 January 2012 as a substitute in a 7–0 victory against Stenhousemuir in a Scottish Cup fixture replacing team mate Paul Lawson.[8] His next outing for County was again in the Scottish Cup, against SPL side St Mirren in a fifth round replay defeat.[9]

On 16 March 2012, he joined Scottish Third Division side Elgin City on loan until the end of the season.[10] He made his debut the following day, starting in a 2–2 draw with East Stirlingshire.[11] Ross County were promoted to the Scottish Premier League with Cooper signing a new one-year contract in May 2012 keeping him at Dingwall until the end of the 2012–13 season.[12] His performances during that season earnt him his club’s Young Player of the Year award [13] and subsequently a similar new deal for the 2013–14 season. Cooper scored his first league goal in spectacular style during the New Year’s Day Derby against County’s close rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle which ultimately made the difference in a 2–1 win.[14] At the end of the 2013–14 season, his father left his role as an assistant manager at Ross County and Cooper was among three players to be released.[15]

On 3 July 2014, Cooper signed for Scottish Championship club Falkirk.[16] He scored on his Falkirk debut, a 7–1 win against East Stirlingshire in the Scottish Challenge Cup.[17] He was a substitute in the 2015 Scottish Cup Final squad.

On 29 January 2016, St Mirren signed Cooper until the end of the 2015–2016 season after he was released from Falkirk.[18] He was released by St Mirren at the end of the 2015/16 season.[19]

On 8th October, Cooper signed for Cheltenham Town.[20] The deal was completed in time for him to start in a match against Accrington Stanley

International career

Cooper made his international debut at the age of 14 and scored in a 1-1 draw for Scotland against Belgium, who had Eden Hazard playing.[21][22] He represented Scotland at under-15 and under-16 levels including participation in the Victory Shield tournament.[23][24] He also played for the Scotland under-17 side on seven occasions, featuring in the age group's European Championship.[25] Cooper was involved in the UEFA under-17 European Championship in Turkey and named as a player to watch by UEFA.[26]

Personal life

Cooper is the son of former Aberdeen player Neale Cooper who previously managed Ross County and has since returned to be assistant manager.[27]

Career statistics

As of 2 May 2016.[28]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other[nb 1] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Liverpool U21 2010-11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Ross County2011–120020000020
2012–13150100000160
2013–14171000000171
Total 32 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 35 1
Elgin City (loan)2011–1280000020100
Falkirk2014–15243103131315
2015–160000101121
Total 24 3 1 0 4 1 4 2 33 6
St Mirren2015–16121000000121
Total 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
Career total 76 5 4 0 4 1 6 2 96 8

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Scottish Challenge Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alex Cooper". rosscountyfootballclub.co.uk. Ross County F.C. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Liverpool sign Ross County kid Alex Cooper". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Carroll, James (19 October 2010). "Flanno loves to rave in my car". liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  4. ↑ Carroll, James (17 June 2011). "Reds release quartet". liverpoolfc.tv. Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Loughlin, Nick (24 August 2011). "Pools take Cooper on trial". The Northern Echo. Newsquest. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Ross County snap up former Liverpool youth". STV. STV Group. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Ross County 4 – 0 Albion Rovers". albionroversfc.com. Albion Rovers F.C. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "Ross County 7 – 0 Stenhousemuir". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Ten-man St Mirren held off a fightback by Ross County to secure a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie away to Hearts". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Crowther, Stuart (16 March 2012). "Jack adds to his midfield as City set to face bottom club". STV. STV Group. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "East Stirlingshire 2 – 2 Elgin City". Scottish Football League. 17 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Ross County announce new signings". Rossshire Journal. Scottish Provincial Press. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Player of the Year Awards 2013". The Jailender. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 21 Jan 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ross County 2 – 1 Inverness". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Transfer news: Ross County to release Michael Fraser, Alex Cooper and Gary Glen". Sky Sports. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "HOUSTON BLITZ BOLSTERS SQUAD". Falkirk F.C. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "EAST STIRLINGSHIRE 1 FALKIRK 7". Falkirk F.C. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  18. ↑ "St Mirren add Gary Irvine and Alex Cooper". BBC. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  19. ↑ "Squad Update". St Mirren FC. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "Alex Cooper: Cheltenham Town sign former St Mirren midfielder". BBC Sport. BBC. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Scottish Football Association". scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  22. ↑ "Fact or Trash! Jan 2008 - Round 1". World Soccer Talk. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  23. ↑ "Under 15s draw with Belgium". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  24. ↑ "Under 16s go goal crazy". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. 13 September 2006. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  25. ↑ "Alex Cooper Profile". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  26. ↑ uefa.com (2008-05-04). "Aleksić acrobatics stun Scotland - UEFA.com". Retrieved 2016-09-08.
  27. ↑ "Liverpool snap up teenager Cooper". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  28. ↑ "A. Cooper". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 8 April 2016.

External links

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