Leigh Vernon Cooper (born 7 May 1961) is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player. He progressed through the youth system at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

to make his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut in November 1979 against

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

."Leigh Cooper profile"
Greens on Screen. Retrieved 5 February 2010. Having established himself as a regular on the left side of midfield, he scored his first of 18 goals for the club in January 1981 against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

. Cooper became one of the youngest players to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

a side in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, at the age of 22, when he was given the armband by

Johnny Hore John Hore (born 10 February 1947) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. He made 593 appearances in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City. He also served as manager at both clubs. Hore appeared for Plymou ...

, the club's manager and a former Argyle player. He helped the club reach the semi-finals of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in 1984, leading the side out against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

, but his stray pass led to the winning goal for their opponents. He lost his place in the side the following year before being converted into a full back, and he was a key member of Dave Smith's team that gained promotion to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1986. Cooper was not far from making his 400th Argyle appearance when he broke his leg in the autumn of 1988, which effectively ended his career with the club. He returned to make two appearances in the 1989–90 season, taking his total tally to 387, before being released that summer. His next move was to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, where he made 33 league appearances,"Leigh Cooper profile"
Neil Brown. Retrieved 29 July 2010. before they were wound up at the High Court in March 1992 and forced to resign from the Football League. He returned to the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

to play non-league football for Truro City, before retiring. Cooper is fondly remembered for his pace, creativity and consistency, which made him a crowd favourite throughout his career. After retiring from playing, he has combined several managerial roles with a career at a training and development company in Plymouth. Among the clubs he has managed are Truro City,

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Cor ...

, Saltash United and Liskeard Athletic, his most recent club."Cooper walking away was a shock"
''Cornish Guardian''. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.

References

;General * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Leigh 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Reading, Berkshire English footballers Association football wingers Association football fullbacks Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Truro City F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Truro City F.C. managers Holsworthy A.F.C. managers Saltash United F.C. managers Liskeard Athletic F.C. managers Launceston F.C. managers Footballers from Berkshire