is 45 today.

i still find it strange that people consider cooper to be a legend. A bloody good manager but not a legend

2 Great years of league 1 football.
2 consecutive play-offs. (sorry but the 2nd one was his team)
Playing exciting football.
F.A. Cup 3rd round at Stadium of Light
Great communication with the fans

What other pools manager has done more

Hell of a manager and a hell of a guy.

Since i've supported pools those we're the most 2 best years.

Highs, lows, near misses, fantastic support, loads of fans at Sunderland, loads of fans at Cardiff, Sheff Wed, Tranmere etc etc

Many happy returns Neale.

Ah, the memories.

Peterborough, Tranmere, Sheff Wed, Bristol City (against a familiar face)....all stuff of legend now.

Was it good listening to it all on pools world?

The atmosphere in your computer room must have been amazing

Oi, I'll have you know I've been there at every major thing.

I was at Rushden when we lost the title when I was 13.

I couldn't be there for Tranmere, I would have absolutely loved to have been there that night but watched it live on Sky and danced round the back bedroom with my Dad in joy when Ritchie Humphries slotted home.

When I made the long trek to Cardiff, I nearly wept after we led Sheff Wed 2-1 in the Play OFF Final only for that idiot of a referee from Orpington to nause it all up, send Westwood off, give them a penalty etc.

I was inconsolable after Bristol City scored 2 late goals to knock us out of the Play-Offs when we all know it should have been us going to Cardiff that year.

I danced in joy when Adam Boyd equalised at the away end to send us through to the Div 2 Play-Offs when the rain teamed down, but we didn't give a toss that day.

You name it, I've been there.

How dare you!!!!!

Your so easy Pok

Well, what do you expect when you say a thing like that ?

I expected what i got.

Anyway....

Cooper = legend.

That, my friend, is something we do agree on !

Were you at the Man United game in 57 POK?

I was.

If you weren't you're an armchair fan, that is the barometer for such matters. I bet you listened to it on the wireless with all the other part timers.

Hell of a barometer, if it is.

Ill add a couple of things

8 goals against Grimsby at home coupled with 2 away must be the only time weve hit double figures against anyone in the same season.
An away win at Stockport that led to Carlton Palmer being sacked
Coopers debut had 4 debutantes scoring for us away from home


Yep,Cooper is a legend to me.

and me, fookin loved cooper me!

Full concurrenceness from me too!

you couldnt be more wrong. Dont get me wrong it was a fantastic time to be a poolie but he had one and a half great seasons and half a season that was terrible. One of our best? Yes but thats only because we used to be shit. Probably rate him as our 5th or 6th best manager. Legend? Not quite!

Name these five or six better managers?

I always remember his reaction to Sweeney's goal in the play off game at Aston Gate, his head looked like it was going to explode!

Things like him pulling his hamstring sprinting onto the pitch when we won in the League Cup at Hillsborough as well

murray, clough, turner, knowles to name 4. And im sure some of the older guys will be able to name a 5th. Its all about opinions! Just because i dont think he is a legend doesnt mean i dont think he was a good manager or that i didnt enjoy his spell in charge. I loved how straight talking he was. And he brought in some fantastic players dimi, joel etc.

i know its all about opinions but Turner was no better than Coops. There is a reason why CT is no longer in management!

turner was much better than cooper, for us. And its the same reason why cooper is managing some shit team in scotland.

Come on john, you know people wont let the facts get in the way of a stubborn opinion.

bloody hell i dont remember it happening like that! And pubey, how is it a stubborn opinion? I think cooper was a very good manager just not a legend, hardly as stubborn as, say, mr i with richie humphreys

Now I not even going to try to compare Cooper's full managerial career agains "ol big head's " as there is no comparison what so ever.

But you state Turner was better than Cooper,

Turner won just over 50% of games he managed Pools' in

Murray won just over 48% at Pools'

Clough won just over 46% at Pools'

Cooper won over 51% at Pools

The only one that won more ,of the one's you've named is Knowles (52%)

So on statistics 3 of the 4 you consider to have been better than Cooper did in fact not win as many games (% wise) while in charge at Pools'

So what do you base, that those 4 were better on. I really would like to know.

p.s THOSE FIGURES ARE BASED ON POINTS WON.

Mr I with Humphreys?

The guy just doesn't rate him, it's not stubborn, he'll still say if he plays well, he just rarely does, play well that is.

Your letting a freak result again Wrexham and Walsall cloud your judgement of a very very good period in Hartlepool United history.

Our away form was questionable towards the end of his time here, but whose hasn't been?

cooper had just taken over a team that was promoted and was on the up. All the other managers barring one (i think) had to turn them from a shit team into a good team. I think cooper was in the right place at the right time. He has since gone on to prove that he isnt THAT good as a manager. Although for the time he was here he was great and i was gutted at the time when he was sacked. But as i say, for pools, he was an excellent manager, but in my eyes at least, is not a legend

and Chris Turner and Alan Murray have done what?

You can't really judge him on what he has done since. He was at Gillingham for half a season when they were financially ruined and still didn't have a disgraceful record considering what was going on around him. He has since done a decent job at Peterhead.

You say yourself that you were gutted when he was sacked. How often does that happen in lower league football?

The thing is there is no real disagreement. We all agree he WAS a good manager, some of you hold him in higher esteem than me, just like some hold Humphreys in higher esteem than Mr I. The same can be said about Porter & Boyd, some moan that they were too lazy (boyd) and did a lot of tea-potting (porter) where as i thought they were both outstanding.

Fair do's.

They were both outstanding together. Anyone who thinks different shouldn't be allowed to hold an opinion!

They were both at their peak then, although Joel has been excellent this year I don't think he has the same zip about him that he did from that season; defenders couldn't get the ball off him and he would play a part in every single one of our goals.

Best strikeforce in my lifetime and would be surprised if anyone could offer a better one in theirs.

The one thing nobody has mentioned is how Cooper got a very lazy Adam Boyd to play to his potential week in, week out. Boydy, since he came back from Boston, was almost untouchable. An absolute legend! Him and Porter together were awe inspiring to watch.

In fact i'm coming round to the idea that Cooper may actually be a legend, signing Porter, Dimi & getting the best out of Boydy.......and lets not forget signing the BEST free kick taker in the WOLRD, Huuuuuuugh.

Cooper for Prime Minister!

See, if you think about these things properly, you come to the correct conclusions.

Neale Cooper will always be held in the highest regard by me - he made me proud of my team being able to compete at the top of this division on a sustained basis for the first time in the history of HUFC - and there isn't one other single solitary other manager in the club's history who ever did that.
Neale Cooper's blue and white army!!!


















PS I couldn't hold Scott in any less regard, the diametric opposite to Cooper. Hate that little c-unt with a passion to this day - clueless, clueless little man.

I have no time at all for the people who apparently refuse to go to pools while wilson is in charge, but i'd bet a weeks wages if Neale Cooper was appointed manager of pools tomorrow morning we'd have an extra 500 home fans there tomorrow night!

legend IMHO but I don't remember too much fuss when he was sacked, think we have been over this before mind

a great man someone who would listen and communicate with the fans. He was a true gentleman and a shining light in the football world.

Neale Cooper is the best manager I have known at Pools and I have been going since 1978.

I did. I still do. My initial gripe with Humphreys was listening to him bragging about how he and a couple of others got rid of Cooper. Since then he has gradually become less and less important to Pools. These days he's in the team because he's become part of the fixtures, not on merit.

well here's a fact - no other manager has led Pools to the play-offs in the third tier of professional football before or since.
Cooper did it TWICE in two years - the only two years he was here.
Therefore he IS a legend, and it is debateable whether him or Knowles had the biggest impact in the history of HUFC in such a short time. Even Clough was boss for 4 years or so, and it took him that time to mould the first promotion winning side..
To be honest, if that doesn't qualify Cooper for legendary status, then there has never been any legends at our club, because attaining of such status would therefore be classed as unattainable.
Him and Knowles are my favourite ever Pools managers, I can't decide which one so they can both be joint first for me.

i never hear this - digress

Neale Cooper = legend.

End of debate.

I concur as usual Chip. I never once liked Tubby. Strodder kept us up almost single handidly that season and am I right in thinking that he was signed a day or two before Turner arrived? The money he was given for Jones and Freestone was something Tait etc never ever saw and although their goals helped, they hardly set the place on fire. I still recall the Mail comparing them to Allon and Baker and asking which was our best partnership

I was chuft when Turner left and to be honest I wish he never came back.

what the fook? We played some of the best football we ever have under turner. We went from a nothing team to a team to be feared. We regularly scored more than 4 goals in a game including a 7-1 victory over swansea. He may have had more money but he still helped sort the club out from top to bottom. I honestly cant believe you can ignore what he did. He IS the legend!

Clough was nowhere near manager for 4 years or so, if my memory right and Madjohn will put me right, if I'm not. Clough became manager in Oct/Nov 1965 Left at the end of 67 season (so about May) meaning one full season in charge and about 7/8 months of the previous season. Over to you , Madjohn to put me right.

ooh -what a crime for not remembering something properly from before I was born!!!!!

My point was that Knowles and Cooper made a bigger impact at Pools in their times, because they produced the goods immediately - i.e. Knowles saved the club from oblivion in 6 months, which is all the time he had to save it!!! Cooper put us straight to our highest league positions ever, without any build-up whatsoever!!! He just came in and did it!!!

Cooper's a legend for me too like.

Has anyone ever felt more proud to be a Pools fan, or looked forward to going to the match more than when Cooper was the manager???

Cos I haven't!!
Some of the games, some of the goals, it was unbelievable!

I totally agree with everything you've put there! It was very, very exciting going to see a Coopers Pools team. I always remember him doing that group huddle with everyone including him and his coaching staff at Bristol City, Great bloke and I also think the guys a legend!

I think it's pretty fair to say everyone, even now misterb after persuasion, reckons cooper is a legend at pools.

Top bloke.