Paul Cooper (footballer born 1953)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul David Cooper | ||
| Date of birth | 21 December 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Cannock, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Boney Hay Juniors | |||
| Cannock Athletic | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1971 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 8 | (0) |
| 1971–1974 | Birmingham City | 17 | (0) |
| 1974 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1974–1987 | Ipswich Town | 446 | (0) |
| 1987–1989 | Leicester City | 56 | (0) |
| 1989–1990 | Manchester City | 15 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | 22 | (0) | |
| Total | 565 | (0) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Paul David Cooper (born 21 December 1953) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, most of them for Ipswich Town, where he won the 1978 FA Cup and the 1981 UEFA Cup and also gained a reputation for saving penalties. With 575 appearances for Ipswich, he is ranked fourth in the club's all-time appearances list.
Cooper was born in Cannock, Staffordshire; his father ran a pub in Brierley Hill. Initially a striker, he had trials at Shrewsbury Town before becoming a goalkeeper. He played for Staffs County Boys, Boney Hay Juniors and Cannock Athletic and went on to join Sutton Coldfield Town, who were playing in the Midland Combination. He made his debut for Sutton Coldfield on 15 August 1970 in a Midland Combination match against Evesham United and went on to play eight league matches and five cup games before signing for Second Division Birmingham City as an apprentice in June 1971. The following month he was given a professional contract. After first team goalkeeper Dave Latchford broke his finger in a match against Bristol City, Cooper made his Birmingham debut on 8 January 1972 against Portsmouth. Although he conceded three goals, Birmingham still won 6–3 and Cooper then kept five clean sheets in the next six matches. Latchford was subsequently recalled during the Easter period, but was dropped after losing form and Cooper brought back into the team for a crunch promotion match against Millwall on 8 April. Cooper kept his place in the team for the club's FA Cup semi-final defeat the following weekend against Leeds United, and played every match until the end of the season as Birmingham finished second, earning promotion to Division One. Cooper was only on the losing side in one match (the FA Cup semi-defeat) and kept seven clean sheets in his 12 league matches.
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