Neale Cooper

Born in Darjeeling, India, Cooper attended Airyhall Primary School and Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen and began his senior career with Aberdeen, the team he had supported as a boy. A first-team regular from the beginning of the 1981–82 season, he starred in midfield for the Dons for five seasons in which he won two Premier Division championships, four Scottish Cups, one League Cup, the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup and the European Super Cup under the management of Alex Ferguson. Having initially moved into a flat in Aberdeen as a young player, Cooper was 'persuaded' by Ferguson to return to his mother's home to help ensure that Cooper was shielded from the obvious temptations arising from youthful independence. In the summer of 1986, he signed for Aston Villa. Cooper made only twenty league appearances in the next two years, partly because of injuries. In the 1988–89 season, he transferred to Rangers but injuries restricted him to only seventeen league appearances and he failed to make a single first team appearance in the 1990–91 season – instead, he was restricted to sixteen appearances in the reserves, the final one coming against Motherwell on 30 March 1991 In 1991, Cooper signed for Reading, where he linked up with his former Aberdeen teammate Mark McGhee. Cooper made seven league appearances in a brief stint with Reading, before he moved to Dunfermline Athletic. At Dunfermline he was able to play regularly, helping them win promotion to the Premier Division in 1995–96…

Ross County

In 1996, Cooper moved into management with Ross County. He guided the Staggies through two successful promotion campaigns climbing from the fourth to the second tier, before stepping down after a run of only one win in eleven games.

Hartlepool United

After a break from the game, Cooper was appointed manager of Hartlepool United. Pools had been promoted from the bottom tier of English football to Division Two for the third time in their history, but manager Mike Newell had been sacked. He was a surprise choice of chairman Ken Hodcroft, but Cooper's strong Aberdeen links, with Pools owners IOR Ltd based in the Scottish city, helped his cause. Hodcroft was impressed by Cooper from their first encounter. Upon appointment, Cooper joked "I've come from Ross County, which is somewhere up near Iceland". His first game in charge of Hartlepool was a memorable 4–3 opening day of the season win at Peterborough United – with four new signings all getting on the scoresheet, creating history in the process. Cooper described it as "One of the most emotional games of football I've ever been involved in" after his new side came back from 3–1 down to win. That momentum carried Hartlepool forward, coupled with Cooper's charisma and touchline passion. New signing Marco Gabbiadini made an impact before he was forced to retire. Another new striking recruit Paul Robinson scored a hat-trick in a Friday night 8–1 thumping of Grimsby Town at Victoria Park. Cooper then…

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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In November 2017, Cooper was one of four inductees into the Aberdeen Hall of Fame. His son Alex played in Liverpool youth academy, after a £100,000 move from Ross County in December 2007. Alex spent the summer of 2006 at a training camp in Switzerland with Chelsea, and Jose Mourinho had reportedly tracked his development. He was released by Liverpool in 2011 and has since played first team football for several clubs, mainly in Scotland.