MAGIC O THE COO
Dad Terry was an FA Cup legend for L now son Mark hopes to follow in foo
FA Cup: 3pm
EXCLUSIVE MARK COOPER comes from a family with a great FA Cup history.
Barrow boss Cooper’s dad Terry, who died last July, played in the 1970 final for Leeds against Chelsea, one of the most memorable Wembley showdowns of all time.
Cooper Jnr has played his part in keeping the family’s FA Cup tradition going, having enjoyed impressive runs with Tamworth, Kettering and now Barrow, who are eyeing another upset at Barnsley.
“I know he’ll be watching on Saturday, looking down from above,” said Cooper. “The tributes when he passed were so special. We were invited to the Royal Box at Wembley for the England against Andorra game. It helped my mum get some closure and it was special.
“I remember playing at Harrogate at the start of the season. We drove past Elland Road and it was incredible to see so many flowers, scarves and banners. The Leeds fans are something special.”
Cooper, a much-travelled player, has made a name for himself as a manager. He had five successful years at Forest Green Rovers and is now defying the odds at Barrow.
The League Two club have been on television three times this season – losing to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup, knocking out nonLeague Banbury, and then causing an upset at Ipswich (Cooper celebrating with fullback Remeao Hutton, right) to earn themselves a place in the third round.
That’s all been done without a regular training ground as the club operates in an almost nomadic existence, using different facilities in the north west, with the players sometimes only going to Barrow on a matchday. And Covid chaos has made it even more challenging. Cooper, 53, said: “It’s the toughest year I’ve had. The difficult thing is trying to get an infrastructure. We’ve
trained on a quarter of an astroturf pitch and been thrown off other places. It’s hard because you have to try and attract players to come to you.
“That’s why the cup is massive for smaller clubs. The prize money and the TV money can keep a club going for a year, maybe even two if you’re lucky. I get that it might not be a priority for the big clubs but it might just help us get a training ground. It’s everything for us.”
Cooper Snr would have won more than 20 England caps but for a broken leg just a month before Leeds won the 1972 FA Cup final.
His proud son said: “When
you’re living it, you ju realise at the time. Yo is playing for England winning trophies. Ev used to say to me: ‘Yo was some player’ an you look back and it f with pride.
“Just before he pas told a great story abou he came back from th World Cup. to my mum: can go to Ju They’re gonn me a million going to se Revie tom and tell him to go.’ So, h back home mum said: ‘What’s w He said: ‘Don made down, sign a new cont an extra fiver a week, a me I should be really about it!’
“That was the ho had on them. If he ‘jump out of that w
they’d have done it.”