Neale Cooper RIP

[TheMalandro]

Another sad day. Atkinson, Taylor, Samuel, Ugo and now this. RIP.

[pooligan]

Sad to hear about the death of Neale Cooper .i watched him in the reserves as well as his few first team games and believe me he was as hard as nails R I P Neale

[Villa Lew]

Very sad news, he had won 3 league titles and the European Cup Winners Cup with Aberdeen under the managership of Alex Ferguson and came highly recommended, when we bought him. Sadly due to injuries only played 22 games in 2 seasons.

[Damo70]

I remember being at the Frank Worthington testimonial at the sty as a fifteen year old and hanging around outside for autographs afterwards. Some guy approached Graham Turner to see if he could attend a function regarding a youth football team and Turner said he couldn't as he would be scouting at the Scottish Cup final. I remembered that conversation when we signed Neale Cooper a few weeks later and realised that must have been who Turner was going to watch. I met Neale Cooper briefly outside Portman Road after SGT's first game in charge. Cooper seemed to have had a few post match swift ones in the players bar. I have told a story on H&V in the past regarding his time going out with an old manageress of mine from way back but now isn't an appropriate time to repeat it. When J Lloyd Samuel died I posted how Villa had seemed to have suffered more than their fair share of premature deaths with the likes of Birchy, Ugo, Bernie Gallagher, big Cyrille and Dalian and it has happened again.

[russon]

Bleed on the brain I understand from people who know him up here, not suspicious at all.

[garyshawsknee]

Very said news, no age at all, R.I.P.

[OzVilla]

A typical no nonsense get stuck in type midfielder that were around at that time, a poor mans Greame Souness. Looked like he could improve us but injuries took their toll.  A particularly terrible shooter iirc.

Sad news.

[b23]

Very sad news, he had won 3 league titles and the European Cup Winners Cup with Aberdeen under the managership of Alex Ferguson and came highly recommended, when we bought him. Sadly due to injuries only played 22 games in 2 seasons.

Neale Cooper: Alex McLeish devastated by former team-mate's death

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44284275

[Lastfootstamper]

I took as little interest in Scottish football then as I do now, so I had no idea of what type of player we'd signed.

It soon became clear to me when I first saw him play, at home to Forest I think it was, and his first 'touch' was to deposit one of theirs in the Witton Lane!

Another one gone too young.

[sickbeggar]

No pun intended, but they've sadly sort of died out today, the insane scottish player who used to deposit the opposition into the first row of the stands. Doug Rougvie was another one.  RIP.

[PeterWithe]

It soon became clear to me when I first saw him play, at home to Forest I think it was, and his first 'touch' was to deposit one of theirs in the Witton Lane!

That might have been a young Stuart Pearce, I certainly remember him being left in a crumpled mess in a game and he wouldn’t have played against Forest many times.

[darren woolley]

Very sad news RIP Neale.

[Rotterdam]

Very sad.
I remember a programme cover featuring him (maybe his debut), whereby he is kicking a ball; he looked massive.

[Chris Jameson]

Remember watching him in a Central League match at Newcastle and a bloke near me spent the entire match shouting "I can what you're up to Cooper, you're a thug". He didn't hold back in a tackle but all looked perfectly fair to my biased eyes!

[paul richard]

RIP Neale