Mark Cooper has been ‘promoted’ according to Forest Green; by becoming Head Coach and not the manager of the club.
The son of former Leeds United legend Terry Cooper has been in charge at the New Lawn for since 2016 and saw them claim a play-off place in League Two last season. That followed him using the same method to get them out of the National League in 2016/17.
This is his ninth job in football, with Swindon, Notts County and Kettering all enjoying the benefits of his managerial experience, but the first in which he’s been promoted from manager to coach.
He seems happy enough with the change, claiming; “This structural change lets me spend even more time with players – we’ve got a focus on making this young group perform even better on the pitch, and develop some valuable assets for the club. Concentrating on what happens on the pitch, is a good place for me to be.
“I’d like to thank Scott Lindsey – my former Assistant Manager, he played a massive role in what we’ve achieved at FGR so far, and I wish him the very best for the future.”
Lindsay left the club last week by mutual consent, with Richard Hughes taking over as Director of Football, a role that is perhaps a step up from club manager. Hughes spoke passionately about his new role too, saying; “I’m really happy to have been given the opportunity to take on this new role at FGR – and I’m really looking forward to working more closely with Mark and Dale to drive us forward.”
Forest Green are fourth in League Two, just two points behind the leaders. This weekend, they registered their biggest win in their Football League history, beating another rich former non-league club, Salford City, 4-0.
Our View
Promoted from manager to head coach. That’s like being promoted from Prime Minister to Chancellor of the Exchequer, or from Chief Inspector to Sergeant. It’s a sideways promotion at best, a restructuring that seems unfairly weighted against Cooper.
Forest Green are doing well, the club seems to be challenging for promotion and they play nice football, so why these changes are happening now is anyone’s guess.
It’s long been known that chairmen of a football club like to meddle. This usually leads to the manager not signing the players he actually wants. Fair enough, Dale Vince saved the club from financial woes but as the comment suggests if it ain’t broke why fix it?