If Saturday’s trip to Wolves is indeed Steve Cooper’s farewell fixture in charge of Nottingham Forest – another defeat likely to cost him his job at the Premier League strugglers – then the Welshman should not be short of opportunities if he opts for an immediate return to the dugout.
Sunderland are in the market for a new head coach after Tony Mowbray’s departure, and Steve Cooper’s impressive knack for youth development coupled with his proven Championship record would likely see the former England U17 coach quickly emerge as one of the frontrunners.
Most at Swansea City, meanwhile, would welcome Cooper back to South Wales in an instant. Michael Duff was fired this week with The Swans in 18th, just two-and-a-half years after Cooper guided them to the play-off final at Wembley.
But what are the chances of Cooper returning to the City Ground as soon as March 2024, lining up opposite a Julen Lopetegui or an Oliver Glasner and going head-to-head with the club he guided back to the Premier League after a 20-year absence (The Guardian).
In short, don’t rule it out.
Steve Cooper fighting for Nottingham Forest future
Cooper is hanging by a thread at Nottingham Forest, that 5-0 shellacking at Fulham threatening to snip the string. Roy Hodgson, his Crystal Palace side booed off following a dreadful midweek defeat of their own, can probably sympathise, The Telegraph reporting that his job is also under serious threat.
With there a very real chance that both Hodgson and Cooper receive their P45s in the coming days, their futures appear somewhat intertwined.
Palace chairman Steve Parish is a long-term admirer of 43-year-old Cooper, and the uncertainty surrounding his future at the City Ground will not have gone unnoticed in South London as the pressure grows on Hodgson.
“He is a manager that Palace have admired for a while,” reporter Dean Jones told Give Me Sport last week.
“When they kept Hodgson on for this season, it was because they couldn’t find the right manager that fitted where they wanted to go next. But I know that Steve Cooper is one of the managers that they definitely admire.”
Roy Hodgson under pressure
If Cooper was available in the summer, there is a very good chance that he would be in the Palace dugout already. And, should this weekend prove to be the final ride for both Cooper at Forest and Hodgson at The Eagles, Steve Parish might finally get the opportunity he’s been waiting for.
The post Crystal Palace may be gifted chance to hire ideal Hodgson replacement next week appeared first on HITC.
from HITC https://ift.tt/64nKjiB
No comments: