By Davie Herd
Whenever the name of Davie Cooper is mentioned amongst Rangers fans, there are invariably the same incredible memories recalled. That Dryborough Cup Final goal that defied football gravity. His other cup final goals (all five of them), but especially the late penalty against Celtic that secured a first trophy under Souness and the Exocet free-kick the following year against Aberdeen. His display of sheer genius in the 1981 Scottish Cup Final replay that bamboozled and destroyed Dundee United. The reverse pass to put Ian Durrant through on goal in 1986, and the mesmerising trickery to give Robert Fleck a tap-in against Ilves Tampere a few weeks later.
But as a fan who feels privileged to have watched Davie’s entire 12-year Rangers career, there were so many other moments of brilliance sprinkled across his time in royal blue. He was so much more than those iconic matches. He was the ultimate in natural football genius, who lit up the more ordinary occasions with that piece of outrageous ability that nobody else on the pitch possessed. In good times and in bad times, he left memories that were as special as they were magical. I’ve cast my mind back over those memories to list a dozen times when he had me both in ecstasy and in wonder. Some were televised and can still be found in the vast world of YouTube. Others had no cameras there, and are the preserve of the lucky few who were in the stadium at the time.
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Here are my personal Mostly Forgotten memories of the most naturally gifted Scottish footballer of my lifetime.
1 RANGERS V SOUTHAMPTON TENNENT CALEDONIAN CUP 06 AUGUST 1977
After a treble in season 1975/76, Jock Wallace’s Rangers were unable to defend any of their three domestic trophies, with the Ibrox support unhappy after watching Celtic lift the league and Scottish Cup. By the start of pre-season action in the summer of 1977, Wallace had signed Clydebank’s Davie Cooper for £100,000 to the delight of the Ibrox faithful, he was a player the fans had enthused about after he had tortured the Rangers defence in a series of League Cup matches the previous autumn. He would make his first-ever appearance at the stadium in the Tennent Caledonian Cup, a four-team tournament now in its second season at Ibrox. St Mirren and West Brom contested one semi-final, with the other being between the hosts and the holders Southampton, who had beaten Rangers in the inaugural final. As well as the sight of Cooper for the first time, the fans also saw new young midfielder Bobby Russell for the first time on the hallowed turf, after the youngster who had signed from Junior football had impressed in a Highland tour.
This was the last season of the “old” Ibrox before the redevelopment of the stadium took place. Around 40,000 were there to see the new boys take their bow, and they didn’t disappoint. Russell’s elegance and passing ability stood out as particularly impressive. But it was Cooper who provided the main talking point in the pubs afterwards. As the first half was nearing the end, Rangers had a 2-1 lead. Early goals by Alex MacDonald and Derek Parlane had given Rangers the perfect start, but a penalty by full-back David Peach for Southampton had given them a lifeline and the English team were now on the hunt for an equaliser. But Rangers repelled their attack and broke up field, their counter-attack ending with the award of a free kick some 22 yards out. Southampton’s World Cup winner Alan Ball started to organise a defensive wall in front of his goalkeeper. But he never got to finish the job. The quick-thinking Cooper looked towards referee Ian Foote for permission to take the kick, and when he got the nod, the winger blasted the ball through the wall and into the net. It was the last kick of the first half.
It was a first Cooper goal at Ibrox, but certainly not the last free-kick he would score for the club. The fans saw the game intelligence and dead ball artistry of Davie Cooper, and they liked what they had seen.
2 RANGERS V ST MIRREN LEAGUE CUP 04 OCTOBER 1978
Cooper’s first season as a Rangers player had ended with a memorable treble, with the winger scoring the opener in the League Cup Final against Celtic. But the summer saw Jock Wallace leave for Leicester and legendary team captain John Greig hang up his boots and take on the job of manager. The new boss had a more tactical and defensive approach to many matches, resulting in Cooper often dropping to the bench. By early October, Greig had overseen a remarkable win over the mighty Juventus in the European Cup, but the team’s domestic form was abysmal. None of the first six league games were won, with the support expressing their frustration at this run of results.
In the League Cup, straightforward wins over lower league Albion Rovers and Forfar were as expected, but the third round draw saw Rangers paired with a dangerous St Mirren team who had been assembled by previous boss Alex Ferguson and were now managed by Jim Clunie. They had shocked Rangers at Ibrox on the opening afternoon of the league season, and were capable of competing with anyone on their day. The two-legged tie would start with a match at Ibrox, and 20,000 were in the stadium to watch the action. Cooper hadn’t started any of the last six games, and was again named as a substitute.
Saints dominated most of the early play, and enjoyed a deserved half-time lead with a goal by Tony Fitzpatrick. The unrest on the terraces started to turn mutinous when he then doubled the Paisley lead a few minutes into the second half. The defence of the treble was in big trouble, and Greig responded by sending on both of his substitutes, Cooper replacing Tommy McLean. And within minutes of his arrival, the Super Sub turned the tide with a moment of jaw-dropping magic. After 65 minutes, Rangers were awarded a free kick almost thirty yards from goal That distance was no obstacle to the brilliance of Cooper. He smashed an unstoppable shot that whistled into the top corner despite it brushing the fingertips of the diving Billy Thomson. Jeers turned to cheers, and Rangers were then inspired.
Alex Miller grabbed the equaliser with a fine goal just three minutes later, and a remarkable 3-2 comeback win was secured thanks to a last-minute goal by Derek Johnstone. Rangers fought out a 0-0 draw in the second leg, and went on to retain the trophy by beating Aberdeen 2-1 in the final. It was a final that would never have happened without that Cooper thunderbolt a few months earlier.
3 KILMARNOCK 1 RANGERS 6 LEAGUE CUP 22 SEPTEMBER 1982
1981 saw Davie Cooper score memorable goals in both the Scottish Cup and League Cup finals, with Dundee United his victims on both occasions. But these early 80s were a time of great frustration for the Rangers support, the team’s terrible inconsistency preventing any title challenge season after season. The cup competitions were the team’s best chance of silverware, but hopes were high early in season 1982/83 that maybe a challenge would now materialise.
Rangers qualified for the quarter-finals of the League Cup in a solid unbeaten start to the campaign, and they entered October in buoyant mood. Kilmarnock would be their cup opponents, a team who had already lost 5-0 at Ibrox. They would suffer another thrashing, on a night remembered for a vintage and deadly Cooper display.
He opened the scoring after 20 minutes with a close-range finish. Then just a minute later, he had the 8000 crowd in disbelief. The winger took possession fully 40 yards out, and proceeded to waltz past four Killie challenges before firing it past goalkeeper McCulloch for a wonder goal. 2-0 at the interval was soon 3-0, this time it was Cooper the creator with a brilliant in swinging cross that was headed home by John MacDonald.
Rangers might have eased off at this point with a second leg at Ibrox to come. But the home team made the mistake of pulling a goal back within two minutes, and they were then severely punished for their cheek. MacDonald scored his second (the only Rangers goal on the night with no Cooper involvement), before the Rangers number 7 sent the away fans home with even more to remember. He completed his first competitive Rangers hat-trick after 62 minutes when he scored his second incredible solo goal of the evening, again leaving several defenders in his wake. “Cooperman” then completed the scoring with ten minutes to go by instantly controlling a pass then crashing an unstoppable left foot shot into the net. Four goals, three of them in the unbelievable category. It was a Cooper masterclass.
4 RANGERS 2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 0 UEFA CUP 29 SEPTEMBER 1982
Just a week after that dazzling Rugby Park display, Cooper was named in the starting eleven for the second leg of the UEFA Cup First round tie against German giants Dortmund. After a fine defensive display in the first game saw Rangers grind out a 0-0 draw, hopes were high that manager Greig could add Dortmund to the teams he had beaten in Europe as manager. Fantastic wins over Juventus and PSV Eindhoven were now four years earlier, however, and the tie was seen by most as still very much in the balance.
Ibrox was packed to capacity and there was a superb atmosphere when the teams emerged. It would be a game where both sides created chances, and both goalkeepers made important saves. And it would also be a night where the difference between the teams could be summed up in two words – Davie Cooper.
Right on half-time, a Robert Prytz cross caused panic in the German penalty box, with Bobby Russell getting in a shot that was desperately blocked by a defender. The rebound fell at the feet of Cooper, and he stroked it into the net with that deadly left foot. Ibrox then endured a nervous second half, the crowd knowing one away goal for Dortmund could prove fatal. But those nerves were banished with seven minutes left. Some Cooper magic on the wing, a precision cross to the back post, and there was Derek Johnstone with the simplest of headers to make the game safe. This would be the last full season under John Greig as manager, and the last major European scalp he would take. It was perhaps ironic that the man mainly responsible was trusted in so few major continental matches by the manager.
5 CELTIC 3 RANGERS 2 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 30 OCTOBER 1982
I thought long and hard about including this one, who wants to read about an Old Firm defeat? But I’ve kept this in my list, as the game contained a unique Cooper moment, one that I never thought possible.
Everyone knows that Davie had a magic wand of a left foot, which rendered his right leg as something only needed to stop him falling over. He wasn’t the quickest, he wasn’t the hardest working, and he wasn’t strong in the tackle either. And, of course, he was not noted for his aerial ability. These shortcomings were all totally irrelevant, as his unequalled ability with that one good foot was just so special. But on a rainy day at Parkhead in 1982, he showed us that he could head a ball after all!
Rangers had scored first through Robert Prytz, but Celtic had equalised moments later. The game was heading towards half-time, a titanic struggle between two evenly matches teams both looking to win. Rangers were awarded a free kick around 40 yards out. Jim Bett chipped it into the penalty area, Derek Johnstone won the header and the ball arced towards the six-yard box. And there was Davie Cooper, rising above his marker to send a beautifully judged looping header over the Celtic goalkeeper and into the corner of the net. The 20,000 or-so Rangers fans behind the goal erupted both in celebration and in disbelief. Cooper had scored a header against Celtic at Parkhead!
Unfortunately, two goals were conceded in the second half, and the defeat seemed to derail the Rangers season. But I can always say I saw Davie Cooper score a Derek Johnstone-like Old Firm goal.
6 RANGERS 2 DUNDEE UNITED 0 LEAGUE CUP 22 FEBRUARY 1984
In the autumn of 1983, John Greig resigned as Rangers manager and Jock Wallace returned to the club. This seemed to give a new lease of life to Cooper, and he turned in some excellent displays in the early months of the second Wallace era. None of these displays were better than in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against a Dundee United team who were champions of Scotland.
The first leg had been drawn 1-1 at a foggy Tannadice, and a big Ibrox crowd of 36,000 were in expectant mood. Rangers hadn’t lost since Wallace’s first match in charge against Aberdeen, and were putting together an impressive run of results. A United defence containing Stark, Malpas, Hegarty and Narey were a difficult one to breach, however, so Rangers needed to be at their attacking best. Quite simply, one man tore that exalted tangerine backline to shreds. That was Davie Cooper.
In the first half in particular, he was virtually unplayable. He beat defenders on the inside and the outside, the ball seemingly on a string. Cooper popped up on the left and the right, tormenting United, and probing for weaknesses. Somehow they held out for 42 minutes, before finally the Cooper tide had worn them down. Goals either side of half-time saw Rangers through to the final, with the one huge surprise that Cooper was not involved in either. Centre forward Sandy Clark scored a superb opener, then set up midfielder Ian Redford to score with a sublime lob from fully 25 yards for the killer second. But despite his lack of direct involvement in the goals, there was no doubt the man of the match, and the player who had set the tone for this convincing victory. It was the name of Davie Cooper that rang around the Ibrox stands as another League Cup triumph was on the horizon.
7 RANGERS 1 HIBS 0 LEAGUE CUP 09 OCTOBER 1985
Rangers were going for a third successive League Cup in season 1985/86, but suffered a dismal 2-0 defeat to Hibs at Easter Road in the first leg of the semi-final. With the team in inconsistent form, many fans thought a comeback unlikely from this deficit. But there were still 39,000 inside Ibrox to see if the unlikely could happen.
The Edinburgh side understandably decided that a defensive approach was best for them, packing their penalty area when necessary and frustrating Rangers. After half an hour, that frustration had transmitted to the stands, Rangers were needing inspiration. In 31 minutes, they got it.
Referee Mr McGinlay awarded a free kick, some 25 yards out towards the right hand side of the Hibs penalty area. It looked both too far out and too much of an angle for a direct attempt, unless there was a Brazilian on the pitch. There wasn’t, but Rangers had the closest thing possible to a Zico or Rivelino. Cooper stepped up and arced a simply sensational shot that exploded into the far top corner. Scotland international goalkeeper Alan Rough had been in excellent form for Hibs, but he could do nothing other than admire the sheer brilliance of it all as the ball whizzed past him. In a career of superb dead ball goals, it was as good as any before or since.
This moment of magnificence should have been the spark to ignite the comeback. But the Rangers team of 1985 were short on confidence and short on wins. They huffed and puffed for the next hour, but failed to find the second goal they required. Hibs went on to lose in the final to Aberdeen, and Rangers fans went on to endure a terrible season that ended with a new player-manager being appointed. A man who would bring silverware back, and who would bring the best out of Davie Cooper again.
8 HEARTS 1 RANGERS 1 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 04 OCTOBER 1986
The Souness Revolution would bring success, and big crowds, back to Ibrox. But the early weeks of that first Souness season were not plain sailing. After nine league games, Rangers sat in fourth place in the league, and had already lost three times. A trip to third-placed Hearts was next, a tough fixture against a team who were unbeaten at home all year and who came within a few minutes of being champions themselves in May. Manager Alex MacDonald had built a battle-scarred and ferociously competitive team, and they were confident of defeating Souness and his big-money buys.
Defender Neil Berry gave Hearts the lead in the first half, and his goal was starting to look as if it would be the winner as the match headed into the last twenty minutes. Then, some Cooper magic rescued a point. The winger got the ball a good 35 yards out, and with the entire Hearts backline all in position before him. There looked no way through. A few seconds later, with some nimble footwork and a couple of changes of direction, that unique left foot had danced it’s way into the Hearts penalty area. Goalkeeper Henry Smith came out just as the last defender also launched into a tackle. But Cooper was just too quick, he got his shot away, and it was in the net despite a desperate goal line attempt to clear it by another Hearts defender.
A goal entirely down to one man, and it was typical of those early months under Souness. Cooper was a man reborn, and in a team of many greats, he was the undisputed star of the show. It would be an important point come the end of the season, but Cooper hadn’t finished for the week…
9 ST MIRREN 0 RANGERS 1 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 08 OCTOBER 1986
Four days later, Rangers travelled to Love Street. After the draws at the weekend, the gap to the top two of Dundee United and Celtic was not giving too much concern, but at the same time it felt like a win was needed to get the ship back on course. Player-manager Souness named himself on the bench as he returned from suspension, and a big Rangers travelling support swelled the Paisley attendance to over 28,000 on a wet Wednesday night.
The night was one of growing frustration and unease. As news filtered through of goals from both leaders, a goal for Rangers never looked particularly close. The game entered the last ten minutes, still scoreless, and with the terracing discontent growing louder. Souness decided to bring himself on, hoping he could unlock a determined and well drilled home defence.
With just three minutes to play, Rangers found the combination to unpick the lock. Souness dispossessed Saints defender Tommy Wilson and released Cooper through on goal. Standing in his way was goalkeeper Campbell Money, who had pulled off some outstanding saves on the infrequent occasions that Rangers found a way to his goal. Many lesser players would have folded under the pressure of the situation. But this was Davie Cooper. The calmest and most composed player afield simply drew the goalkeeper off his line and placed the ball behind him into the net. A vital win at a crucial stage of that first Souness season.
10 RANGERS 3 HEARTS 0 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 29 NOVEMBER 1986
By the end of November, Rangers had lifted the League Cup, thanks to Cooper’s late penalty winner in the final against Celtic at Hampden. But the league challenge had suffered a couple of severe setbacks, defeats to Motherwell and Aberdeen meaning Rangers were now eight points behind leaders Celtic, back when a win was worth just two points. Hearts were next up, with some newspapers stating that the Hearts defence were determined not to allow Cooper to make a fool of them again.
He did. In a quite breathtaking display of skill, Cooper ran Hearts ragged all afternoon. He had already got the fans on their feet with a number of trademark runs down the wing before Ally McCoist opened the scoring in 17 minutes. Twenty minutes later, he repeated his Tynecastle masterclass. He burst into the Hearts area, defenders trailing in his wake, before producing the cheekiest of finishes, nutmegging defender Roddie McDonald to beat goalkeeper Smith.
The second half seemed to be Cooper v Hearts, as he teased and tormented them time and again. He twice set up Robert Fleck, who twice hit the woodwork. Then in the closing minutes, more Cooper magic ended with a pinpoint pass to Ian Durrant, and the midfielder made the scoreline more realistic.
11 RANGERS 2 DUNDEE 0 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 14 APRIL 1987
By mid-April, Rangers had overtaken Celtic at the top of the table, but they had lost at Parkhead in the last Old Firm clash of the season to cut their advantage. When Dundee arrived at Ibrox for a midweek match, the Old Firm were locked together on the same points but this was the Rangers game in hand. There were just four more games to play afterwards. The Rangers fans hadn’t seen a title win for nine years, this would be a potentially decisive night to determine whether the wait was nearly over.
A packed Ibrox was both noisy and nervy. Dundee had a decent record against the Ibrox team, and they frustrated Rangers till half-time. The second half started with a huge scare, Dundee having a goal correctly ruled out for offside. Then in 51 minutes, came the Cooper moment, and some controversy too. A cross ball was punched away by goalkeeper Bobby Geddes under pressure from McCoist, but it landed at the feet of Cooper who then expertly guided it into the net from the edge of the box. But the linesman had put up a flag, signalling that McCoist was offside. The striker was lying inside the goal from his earlier challenge, and nowhere near interfering with play. The referee overruled the linesman, the goal was given, and Cooper celebrated scoring possibly the most important league goal of his career.
McCoist added a second midway through the second half, and Rangers were never headed after this in the title run-in. They would win the title at Pittodrie with a Terry Butcher header. The creator, of course, was Davie Cooper with yet another precise delivery.
12 RANGERS 2 ST MIRREN 1 SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE 24 SEPTEMBER 1988
By season 1988/89, Cooper now had seven League Cup medals, his famous thunderbolt against Aberdeen the previous season probably the most famous free kick in club history. He was now into his 30s and seen more as an impact substitute by Souness, who had brought the brilliant Mark Walters to the club at the start of 1988. But in September, Cooper was a starter again as Rangers suffered an attacking injury crisis. Ally McCoist and Kevin Drinkell were both out, and although Souness brought old warhorse Andy Gray to the club, he opted to play Cooper through the middle against St Mirren.
Saints took the lead, stunning Ibrox with a magnificent billy Davies opener early on. And as the game went into the second half with that the only goal, the 36,000 crowd were fearing a bad day. That fear intensified when Ian Durrant missed a penalty after 52 minutes. Then up stepped the old maestro. A handball in the box saw another penalty awarded ten minutes after the Durrant miss. Cooper took the responsibility, and showed the same icy cool temperament from the spot as he had on many previous occasions. With the crowd now roaring the team on, the winner arrived seven minutes later. It was all down to Cooper again, an exquisite chip to the back post giving Walters a simple finish.
Rangers went on to win the first of their nine-in-a-row that season. But that penalty was the last goal Davie Cooper scored for Rangers, and he left for Motherwell the following summer. He spent 12 years at the club he loved, and left behind a legacy of sheer genius that will be talked about long after the last fan who saw his has gone. He was my hero, he was the player I wished I could have been. Simply the best, as the song goes.
Super Cooper, thanks for the memories. Even these not as obvious ones.