Mark Cooper

[Tails]

He also seems to be drifting towards being a one-trick pony. 2nd half on Saturday Stevenage worked us out (and they're not one of the better teams in the division by a long way) and we seemed to have no plan b. I think its admirable to try and play passing football in L1, but a good manager will know when to mix it up and that the game needs something different. Not sure Cooper is capable of that from what I've seen so far.

Cooper had a plan B v Peterborough and it worked exceptionally well.

He also made two substitutions at half time that won us the game v Torquay.

FWIW I thought the subs he made v Stevenage were good, but a little too late. In the end you can hardly complain about our 'lack of a plan B' because we got 3 points. Plan A worked.

[Reg Smeeton]

Thanks Reg
Who is Inglethorpe ?

Did a stint at Exeter, pre Tisdale, then worked in the Spurs youth set up before getting the job of Liverpool reserve manager under Rodgers...3 years younger than Cooper, but very different experiences...Cooper has mostly managed non league basket cases....which I'm sure is a valuable learning curve, whereas Inglethorpe, would seem to have the coaching pedigree, especially as Rodgers wants to play a certain style, so will have picked Inglethorpe for that reason.

Liverpool reserve boss, would prob be on at least twice what we'll pay, so no real chance.

[kerry red]

Cooper had a plan B v Peterborough and it worked exceptionally well.

He also made two substitutions at half time that won us the game v Torquay.

FWIW I thought the subs he made v Stevenage were good, but a little too late. In the end you can hardly complain about our 'lack of a plan B' because we got 3 points. Plan A worked.

And, what people are forgetting, is that 2 of our more technical players who will no doubt be 'first on the team sheet'ers in Mason and Pritchard were not playing.

So give Cooper some credit.

When we get our CF sorted, let's see what we can do then

[Deptford Grinch]

And, what people are forgetting, is that 2 of our more technical players who will no doubt be 'first on the team sheet'ers in Mason and Pritchard were not playing.

So give Cooper some credit.

When we get our CF sorted, let's see what we can do then

Yep - the bench was weaker because those two are injured, thats fair enough, but the only come back so far seems to be about players & subs. There's more to being a manager than making subs. His formation was wrong versus Stevenage and he isn't getting the best out of Storey as he clearly struggled with that wide position.

I'm ignoring Torquay by the way as they are a lower half L2 side so that's not an indication of how good we're going to be this season.

There are some positives for Cooper too, I get that. The style of football has been enjoyable to watch. I'm just maybe cautious (like others) in that I wouldn't give him the job on the back of one home win versus Stevenage. Perhaps giving it to him till Christmas is the answer. The "Malpas lesson" alone should prove that.

[Simon Pieman]

it's pretty impressive he's pulling it off so well

Tee hee.

[Tails]

Yep - the bench was weaker because those two are injured, thats fair enough, but the only come back so far seems to be about players & subs. There's more to being a manager than making subs. His formation was wrong versus Stevenage and he isn't getting the best out of Storey as he clearly struggled with that wide position.

I'm ignoring Torquay by the way as they are a lower half L2 side so that's not an indication of how good we're going to be this season.

There are some positives for Cooper too, I get that. The style of football has been enjoyable to watch. I'm just maybe cautious (like others) in that I wouldn't give him the job on the back of one home win versus Stevenage. Perhaps giving it to him till Christmas is the answer. The "Malpas lesson" alone should prove that.

OK then, well I'm 'not counting' Peterborough as they are clearly too good for this league. So a 100% record isn't too bad I don't think the result is anything to be snuffed at given the shocks that did occur in the first round. That could easily have been us... instead the team were not complacent and did the job required of them. You can't not count that, Cooper deserves credit for that.

He changed the formation at Peterborough and used Storey to good advantage, increasing our domination. Storey should probably not play out wide, no, but you must be able to see the logic in putting a youngster with ligthtening quick pace out wide? I'd also suggest that his formation v Stevenage was spot on. Especially first half. Would changing to a 4-4-2 second half have helped? They were pressing our midfield hard and we don't have the outlets up top at the moment. 4-4-2 would have seen us barraged towards the end, which fortunately we were not. So I'm afraid I can't agree with you there.

It's a sensible option to give him until christmas, but I don't see the point in shaking up a team and a system that is, so far at least, very decent.

[Tails]

Tee hee.

I wondered who'd be the first to pick that up! Well done Si, never let me down!

[RWB Robin]

Yep - the bench was weaker because those two are injured, thats fair enough, but the only come back so far seems to be about players & subs. There's more to being a manager than making subs. His formation was wrong versus Stevenage and he isn't getting the best out of Storey as he clearly struggled with that wide position.

I'm ignoring Torquay by the way as they are a lower half L2 side so that's not an indication of how good we're going to be this season.

There are some positives for Cooper too, I get that. The style of football has been enjoyable to watch. I'm just maybe cautious (like others) in that I wouldn't give him the job on the back of one home win versus Stevenage. Perhaps giving it to him till Christmas is the answer. The "Malpas lesson" alone should prove that.

I love the self-confidence of people on here who feel able to tell the manager that he got the formation wrong!  I saw a team playing superb football for a lot of the first half, during which the opposition barely got a look i, and which caused their local newspaper to declare that Swindon would be pushing for promotion again.  Well in that case I hope Cooper continues to et it so wrong.

[bigbobjoylove]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24188270

Article on the beeb.

[BruceChatwin]

He's really doing an outstanding job. Seems to be something we don't talk about much. That's all.

[ronnie21]

He's really doing an outstanding job. Seems to be something we don't talk about much. That's all.

And Lee Power is backing him, perhaps not the wide boy several made him out to be!!

[OOH! SHAUN TAYLOR]

And Lee Power is backing him, perhaps not the wide boy several made him out to be!!

Power had a lot of bad press from his previous football ventures but from what I've seen and heard (which is all I can comment on) I really like him.

And Cooper for that matter. People seem to be really, really reluctant to give him any credit.

I'm still gob smacked at how well we/they are doing.

not a patch on Bath RFC of course

[singingiiiffy]

The progression from last season is outstanding. Both the team and from cooper. You only have to view the previous comments to see that, that "one trick pony" has made us into a team that is extremely hard to beat, we struggled away last season against numerous teams and even at home, his substitutions and selections are really working.

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

And yet the public don't support.
The football is fantastic......well done Mark Cooper.

[THE FLASH]

He's worked wonders with only one real signing and Obika joined late.

I will never take to him after last seasons after match sessions but I have to eat my shit where this season is concerned...