About
"Gee the ball tae Cooper - he's gettin' frost bite oot there!", quipped my Uncle.

 

The time was the late 80s, the place the parent and child section in the Govan stand. I was a young teenager, taken to Ibrox by my Uncle to see his beloved Rangers. Invariably, it was a bitterly cold November day and there was little excitement on the pitch to warm us up. Cooper had done nothing all game and Souness was looking on impatiently from the sidelines. Indeed, Coops laconic style and Soueys work ethic didn’t make great bed fellows, and he was regularly left out the side.

 

Suddenly the ball flew out to the left wing - it skidded in the mud and looked destined for the advertising boards. Somehow Cooper brought it under control, and in one sweeping movement shimmied up the wing. He breezed past two players and swung an inch perfect cross in to the box. McCoist being McCoist was there, and met it on the half volley, squeezing the ball into the bottom corner. The stands erupted. Cooper hadn't broken sweat. Souness was proved wrong again...

 

This was when my fascination with Davie Cooper started. Some thought he was the churlish, "moody blue" who only turned it on in flashes. To me he was an enigmatic genius, and 5 minutes of magic from him easily surpassed a game's worth of huffing and puffing from the Terry Hurlocks of this world (no offence big man). Indeed, in a drab Scottish league full of grit and determination, he was a technicolour wizard who brought entertainment and glamour to the masses. To top it off, he was also a humble, self-effacing guy who didn't have any airs or graces, or pretensions about his God given talent.

 

Fast forward to 2007. Imagine my disappointment when after searching for Davie Cooper on the Internet I found no website in honour of his legend. I thought it was about time someone made amends for this glaring oversight, and paid homage to one of the most gifted and talented players ever to grace the Scottish game.

DavieCooper.com Administrator