And so we move on but Cooper’s departure leaves questions

[PSumbler]

https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/07/22/and-so-we-move-on-but-coopers-departure-leaves-questions/

 

[monmouth]

https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/07/22/and-so-we-move-on-but-coopers-departure-leaves-questions/

Well said Phil. Lackey ‘journalists’ not doing any kind of job.

But Jeff Winter? Unbelievable…

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[RWPower10]

The overriding feeling I get is Cooper knows his squad won’t be as strong as the last two seasons so he wanted to leave with his reputation in good shape. With the return of crowds if we started the season poorly with that style of football the Liberty would have soon been toxic.
The fact it’s taken two weeks to sort this out in the middle of pre-season and you’ve got a guy who is not going to be there taking training is incredibly incompetent. Surely he should have been on gardening leave? When Trevor Birch was chairman you were confident there was a man who knew what he was doing sadly Julian Winter is a pale imitation.

The Cooper era will be remembered with mixed emotions. He was clearly a very good man manager with excellent contacts. He led the club during a difficult period and always spoke well about the club and the city.
His style of football was clearly not as advertised and he wasn’t brave enough last season or capable of using substitutions to change a game. I actually think from a coaching side he is very limited compared to a Martinez, Rodgers or Potter.

 

[Nocountryforoldjack]

I know it's still early doors but I fear for us this season.

 

[swan65split]

If he was keen to talk to 3 clubs , he should have been kicked out sooner never mind any compo, shows his heart isn't in the club regardless, leaving it till now on both parties is a a "fe$$ing disgrace. for the club players and fans.

 

[Ringwood Jack]

We have enough about us to stay up unless we sell 3 of our assets in this window.

 

[Nocountryforoldjack]

We have enough about us to stay up unless we sell 3 of our assets in this window.

Which we might well do.

 

[CurtessECarr]

I know it's still early doors but I fear for us this season.

I felt the same when we were relegated. I also felt the same when we sold Dan and Ollie. Then I feared when we appointed Cooper. So no different this year or is it the pessimist in me. Hopefully the latter.

 

[bakajack]

If he was keen to talk to 3 clubs , he should have been kicked out sooner never mind any compo, shows his heart isn't in the club regardless, leaving it till now on both parties is a a "fe$$ing disgrace. for the club players and fans.

Pretty sure there are laws against firing someone just because they are looking for alternative employment

 

[MrSwerve]

I know it's still early doors but I fear for us this season.

I felt the same when we were relegated. I also felt the same when we sold Dan and Ollie. Then I feared when we appointed Cooper. So no different this year or is it the pessimist in me. Hopefully the latter.

Yep, there’s doom and gloom every pre-season.

We’ll be ok. Whether we hit the playoffs is another thing, probably out of reach but who knows. Mid-table is probably fair, which is where we would have been last year were it not for Ayew’s goals out of nowhere.

 

[Swanjaxs]

We have enough about us to stay up unless we sell 3 of our assets in this window.

No parachute money means saleable assets will be next up, it's what hedge funds do...

 

[legoman]

I'm no football tactician, God knows, but I look forward to welcoming in a new broom. I have always believed that enthusiasm and desire goes a long way to producing positive outcomes. I felt Cooper strangled the life out of the team and I just hope the new man has the stones to allow the players a little more freedom on the pitch.

As to the arguments about playing boring but winning versus a bit more fluidity and losing, well I don't buy that they are mutually exclusive. I have faith that the players we have are sufficiently skilled in their craft, and so we just need a coach who is not afraid to change things up.

I don't want to spend another season yelling "make a sub, for feck's sake". Cooper may have got us good results over the last two seasons but as others have said in more erudite ways than me, how he would have fared in front of a full Liberty I do really wonder.

 

[monmouth]

I know it's still early doors but I fear for us this season.

Aye we’re probably ducked. It would have been worse being ducked and having to watch Cooperball. At least now there’s a chance of something better. So far we’ve lost Ayew and Guehi and a very ordinary keeper. More to come though, no doubt.

Then again, we’ve said this for the last three seasons.

 

[Vetchonian]

https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/07/22/and-so-we-move-on-but-coopers-departure-leaves-questions/

Great article Phil, and as one who questioned the breaking news post of yours at the weekend again please accept my apologies.

You highlight salient points which will be lost as many "rejoice" in Coopers deaprture.
What was so bad that the manager was happy to walk away with no job?
Why did it take so long to sort the deal? Many have said the club wanted him gone all summer if this was the case why ask for compensation?
I expect the Yanks who have previous with Gylfi would have stood fast on this .....its an American trait or where was plan B ie the "mutual consent" agreement ready to be discussed as soon as it was known he hadnt landed an other job?
Why not put him on garden leave immediately instead of getting him to lead the pre-season I mean we will have no manager on Saturday....Tate and O leary could have done things at a push.
It sounds as though Kaplan is trying ot be too hands on...I do suspect sending over Morris and Arriola did not help when Cooper was aking for a "proper" no9 and I am sure he was none to happy at being exploited financially.....
As you say we will never know all the answers but it throws up more questions about the club and are we really as stable as many of us had started to hope and believe.

 

[ARQS]

https://planetswans.co.uk/2021/07/22/and-so-we-move-on-but-coopers-departure-leaves-questions/

Great article Phil, and as one who questioned the breaking news post of yours at the weekend again please accept my apologies.

You highlight salient points which will be lost as many "rejoice" in Coopers deaprture.
What was so bad that the manager was happy to walk away with no job?
Why did it take so long to sort the deal? Many have said the club wanted him gone all summer if this was the case why ask for compensation?
I expect the Yanks who have previous with Gylfi would have stood fast on this .....its an American trait or where was plan B ie the "mutual consent" agreement ready to be discussed as soon as it was known he hadnt landed an other job?
Why not put him on garden leave immediately instead of getting him to lead the pre-season I mean we will have no manager on Saturday....Tate and O leary could have done things at a push.
It sounds as though Kaplan is trying ot be too hands on...I do suspect sending over Morris and Arriola did not help when Cooper was aking for a "proper" no9 and I am sure he was none to happy at being exploited financially.....
As you say we will never know all the answers but it throws up more questions about the club and are we really as stable as many of us had started to hope and believe.

I suppose they probably reached a place where both parties felt things had come to a natural end. Cooper probably didn't think that he would improve on last season given the weaker squad. Better for him to leave on a high than sacked by Christmas with us in 15th place. From our perspective, better that we get someone in now with a couple of weeks of pre-season left and a month+ of transfer window. Probably also allowed us to tie up the compensation package more favourably given the fact that Cooper wanted to leave, as opposed to us sacking him. Sounds like its the most 'mutual consent' departure in the history of mutual consent.

Whilst the decision may have been made a couple of weeks ago, I doubt the finer details were all agreed until yesterday. Everything over the last couple of weeks will have been playing to the gallery from both sides, especially Cooper who is taking a professional risk walking out of a decent job and who can't be seen to be throwing his toys out of the pram. There is no way that an employee so high up in a multi million pound business walks away without high levels of negotiation.

I don't think Cooper was ever top of the lists of Palace and Fulham. Both have made decent appointments. Vieira and Silva hardly scream "second choice behind Cooper" to me. I doubt we'd have held firm on compensation if push had come to shove and I doubt Palace would have baulked at the £4.5m had they felt he was the right man for the job.

Not sure why you think Cooper was exploited financially. He came from nowhere to sign a contract with us. He agreed the salary, the bonus and the length of the contract. Not sure how the club can be criticised for giving an unproven manager a less lucrative contract, especially if they have tried to open up discussions about a new one (though I am sceptical of that). There is no obligation on them to give him a better contract just because he did relatively well. They'd have only given him a better contract if they'd been particularly keen to tie him down - doesn't look like they were.

For what its worth, I've thought we have recruited fairly sensibly over the last 12 months or so and I think he was quite well backed. We'd have all liked an established goal scorer but they aren't easy to come by cheaply so it isn't unreasonable of us to take punts on fairly cheap prospects like Lowe, Whittaker, Piroe, Joseph and hope a couple come good. Morris looked handy before he got injured and Ariola should have added more than he did. Hourihane probably didn't come cheap and looked a superb loan signing on paper. All the loanees he wanted from his time as England manager would also have undoubtedly cost money.