Nottingham next manager odds
Nottingham next manager after Steve Cooper
Who is Nottingham's manager?
Nottingham's manager Steve Cooper was born in Pontypridd, Wales in 1979, making him one of the division's younger managers. Swansea was his first senior position, he has spent his time predominantly in youth departments - on both the national and international stage. Before he began his coaching career, however, Cooper was a player; a defender who played for five clubs over the course of a short five-year career.
As a teenager, Cooper would be part of the academy setup at his local club Wrexham. He stayed at the Welsh team for nearly two seasons but did not make a senior appearance in this time. He would move on to The New Saints where he would stay for a year. Although he did make a handful of appearances for the club, Cooper was unable to nail down a position in the manager's starting 11 and consequently went elsewhere in search of first-team football.
He would remain in Wales, this time making the switch to Rhyl. Again, however, his time there was anti-climactic. He made four starts in his brief stint with the club. He would leave the club for the same reasons he moved there in the first place: to find first-team football. Bangor was the club where he was eventually able to achieve this. Over two years, Cooper made just shy of 60 appearances for the club, scoring three times. This was as close to a footballing home as Cooper found in his short-lived career, he would leave in 2003 for non-league team Porthmadog where he made a few appearances at centre-half before hanging up his boots.
Cooper's career was cut short by injuries. Unfortunately, he was just 23 when he left the playing side of the game for good. His overall career record stands at 65 appearances, in which he scored four goals.
His time in football was not over, however. A man who always showcased an excellent understanding of the sport, his was a natural progression into coaching. Two years after he had left the sport, he returned. His destination was Wrexham, the club where Cooper had spent his formative years and gained his footballing education. After gaining his coaching badges, he was offered an attractive position as the head of youth development at the club. At this point still only 25 years old, Cooper would mature into a visionary coach and an excellent man-manager in his first position.
He would eventually vacate the role to work for European giants Liverpool. This was a huge step up from lowly Wrexham. But, in his position as academy manager, Cooper showed no signs of being overawed by the stature of the club, nor the quality of the players. Under his stewardship, Liverpool produced something of a 'golden generation' of footballers, many of whom have gone on to represent their countries, play to an elite level and command huge transfer fees. Cooper, it became apparent, was excellent at nurturing precocious talent.
This made his next job a natural movement and a hugely successful one at that. After five years on Merseyside, Cooper was approached by the English F.A to see if he would be interested in taking on a role in their youth setup. Of course, this was something of a dream move for Cooper, and he duly accepted - he took the reins for the under 16 side initially. He stayed in this position for one year before being promoted to managing the now internationally acclaimed under 17 side,
It was with this talented squad that Cooper really made a name for himself, effectively setting himself up for the rest of his career. He was tasked with implementing the England 'DNA' scheme which required that players coming through the youth systems at a national level were taught how to play fluid, attacking and attractive football. The aim of the campaign was to install a new English footballing philosophy which stood in diametric opposition to the old way the English were expected to play.
Needless to say, Cooper did exactly that. His side played magnificently as they narrowly missed out to Spain in the 2017 Under 17s European Championship and subsequently won the following World Cup at the same level, again against the Spaniards. The England youth teams now have an internationally excellent reputation and, in some part, this is down to Cooper. His feats on the international stage did not go unnoticed; in 2019 he was appointed Swansea City boss - this was his first senior position. The Swans, who have a young squad, will be hopeful that Cooper, bringing his youth coaching experience, will be capable of extracting the best from them.
Steve Cooper was appointed head coach of Nottingham Forest on 21 September 2021 on a two-year contract. On 7 October 2022, he signed a new contract with the club until 2025.
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