Kenny Cooper is headed back to England, well, sort of.
Cooper is on the verge of making a transfer move to Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in England’s Coca-Cola Championship First Division, sources with knowledge of the transfer told SBI on Monday. The transfer fee is between $3 and $4 million. (Update-Cooper is not in Europe today. He is in Frisco, Texas.)
Cooper’s representatives traveled to Wales on Monday to finalize contract negotiations with Cardiff City (Cooper is still in Texas), which finished 12th in the English First Division last season, and sources tell SBI that the sides are finalizing the contract, which would clear the way for the transfer to be completed.
The deal would end a tug-of-war between Cardiff City and Norwegian power Rosenborg, which had been the favorites to land Cooper initially.
Cooper returns to English soccer some three years after leaving Manchester United and signing with FC Dallas. He has notched 11 goals and three assists for the Hoops this season and has recorded 26 goals and nine assists in 63 matches for FC Dallas.
Cardiff City, which reached the FA Cup final before losing to Portsmouth last spring, will call on Cooper to help replace English legend Robbie Fowler and Dutch forward Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink.
I think it is the right decision for Cooper, who would have the chance to play one level below the Premier League, with a chance to help Cardiff City gain promotion, or earn himself a transfer to an established team in the English Premier League.
What do you think about Cooper going to Cardiff City? Is it a good move? Should he have gone to Rosenborg instead? Should he stay in MLS?
As an FCD season tix holder this is tough to swallow. He’s the face of the franchise, popular with all of the fans, and a local boy to boot. They sure as hell better sign someone phenomenal in this window or the lose what little momemtum they gained last night with the sold-out house.
As a USMNT fan, I hope it will get him some looks, since KC can FINISH- EJ is not the answer.
Bigger question- why can’t he get DP money from Dallas? Other than Reyna (OK, bust), no US player has in the MLS. Isn’t Cooper the most perfect candidiate for it? Is it our domestic inferiority complex at work? Maybe if he grew a mullet and changed his name to De la Cooper they would think he was worth it….c’mon- Denilson?
I love regional independence, whether it’s Quebec, Basque country, or Wales. Good stuff!
As far as US keepers, BBD, that’s usually the one thing most people agree we get right here in the states, so it’s funny to see that as a criticism. But I guess most of the good ones have been snapped up (Brad Guzan to Villa as the latest US keeper to transfer to Europe).
As you can tell, you’ll find almost nothing but positives about Cooper on this board, most people are dying to see him feature regular for the National Team. So we don’t want to see him on the bench.
Cymru am byth!
“Rosenberg are obviously in mainland europe but the norwegian league is very weak, and it is not a hotbed for scouts.”
Ok, explain how come Rosenborg have sold players to Liverpool, Tottenham, Rangers,Celtic, Valencia, B.Dortmund too manetion a few?
Last week Rosenborg sold a player to Fulham by the way.
I really hope that he chooses us (Cardiff City) because I believe that this really could be our year to gain promotion to the English Premier League.
Yes, he may play three or four champions league games with Rosenborg but they will be out after the first round and he will be forgotten. This will do his international prospects no good at all.
The championship is one of the most well supported leagues in world football so he will be doing his reputation no harm by joining us (providing he performs 🙂 ).
He looks to me like a right handful & he is exactly what we are looking for.
C’mon Cooper, you know it makes sense!!
If he does leave, I hope you (Dallas) get a suitable replacement and have a good season.
Bob Bank Dave – I think your sytem of football clubs preceded the formation of leagues. It will be hard to re-create that process in reverse. I would agree that most SOCCER fans in the US would love to have a pyrimad system as well it’s just not viable here. We have another lower league – the USL. it is completely separate from the MLS. I would guess that they would jump at an opportunity to have promotion opportunity to the MLS or whatever the would call that new league but it would be hard to convince the Galaxy, Red Bull NY and so forth that the possibility of relegation is good for them and the growth of soccer in the US.
Great choice. In the Championship he will have the time to get adapted to the different pace of the game, and being with Cardiff he will have a lot more space than in some other bigger club.
I really hope he could improve and become a real possibility for Bradley, keeping the spot until Altidore will be ready.
Last season, had Cooper (if he lives up to potential) been playing for us I think wed be in the premier league right now! we would also have WON the FA CUP and not been runners-up. Cardiff City have a brand new 30,000 seater stadium ready for the season after this one and will be pulling out all the stops to get into the premier.
I also think his salary will be 6 times more than he’s on now. Rosenberg are obviously in mainland europe but the norwegian league is very weak, and it is not a hotbed for scouts…I hope we get this lad Cooper, he’ll love our fans, though we used to have a reputation for violence its near enough gone now and they concentrate on getting behind the team more theses days….. diolch yn Fawr, all the best from Wales (not part of England)
I’ll be so glad if we sign this guy.
He looks absolutely outstanding in the MLS.
Can any of you shed some light on the quality of goalkeepers and defenders in your league though?
I’ve watched some youtube videos and some of the goalkeepers look awful.
In saying that though, I know many a bad Championship goalkeeper too *cough*Turnbull*cough*Oakes*cough*
I hope football continues to rise in the MLS to overtake American Football so you can finally call it FOOTBALL (which is what the sport is called!) not Soccer!
Sorry if I sound offensive it’s just fustrating to hear a lot of people make noises about making soccer big in America when it’ll never be allowed to grow to it’s full capacity if it’s not even called it’s proper name!
I also think the league system in America is completely terrible. I feel there’d be a massive benefit felt if State leagues were made; which in turn would create more football clubs as say you could have 10+ teams in each state at least, and there are a lot of states in America so think how many teams you’d have then!
American “Soccer” will not rival the rest of the World seriously until the MLS format is sorted out and revamped in my opinion.
The English league pyramid has around 1000 teams participating, and despite the decline of the national team, this is the sort of depth a countries league system needs to start producing some serious talent and the depth of talent to compete with the rest of the world
BLUEBIRDS
m
Wait, they don’t promote teams based on alphabetical order?
Either one will be a good move for Cooper and I wish him well, though I don’t know where the goals are going to come from now for FC Dallas. I’m not so worried about losing Toja, especially since Avila played so well last night. We’ve got some good young players and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brek Shea get some looks at forward when KC is gone.
Given the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro, an American player of the same quality as a European player will cost a European team less to buy, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see even more Americans poached from MLS in the near future, even some of less talent than KC.
“Cardiff City, which reached the FA Cup final before losing to Portsmouth last spring, will call on Cooper to help replace English legend Robbie Fowler and Dutch forward Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink.”
If he lives up to half of either of those two I will be impressed and will personally slap Bob Bradley each time he is not called into camp haha.
Good for KC! Hoping that with this move, Bob Bradley would be more inclined to call him up and not worry about upsetting FC Dallas. I’m tired of seeing Josh Wolff, EJ and Chad Barrett get looks over KC.
I think he and Altidore will make a very strong pairing. Cooper appears to be a very versatile forward with a nice blend of speed and power and could be paired with almost anyone.
cheers SBFF,
As you can see we (and yes I absolutely can speak for a random conglomeration of Internet pseudonyms I have never met) are fans of Cooper and are optimistic about his prospects. Here’s hoping he continues his improvement, both for club and country 🙂
Steve,
Cooper already holds a work Visa in England from his days with Man U, there should be no issue there.
b
We’ll be doing our best Johnny, and if your boy is as good as he looks he’ll be getting plenty of first team play at ours, assuming he takes up the offer.
SBFF
Cooper is quality on and off the field.
Get promoted this year so we can watch Cooper with Cardiff on the tele playing in the PL.
Hi guys
I’m a Cardiff fan living in Cardiff and have been interested in your comments.
We think Cooper will be a good signing for us and hope it goes through.
We lacked a striker last season having to play a winger upfront for a good part of the season(Robbie Fowler out injured).
Despite that we had a chance of the playoffs right up untill the last few games, and might have made them if it wasn’t for the FA cup being prominent in our minds, which we lost 1-0 to Portsmouth.
We feel with the right strikers we can make the premier next year, hopefully Cooper will help us forful that hope.
All the best from Cardiff.
I have to think this is something of a good move for the league, too– the one comparison I hear sort of consistently is the quality of MLS to the quality of the Championship division. If Cooper is as sucessful at Cardiff as he was in MLS, or even more so, it reinforces the general sense of the quality of MLS these days and makes everyone a more attractive target for EPL teams. Or that’s my theory, at least.
For those of you wondering, Kenny Cooper is NOT in Wales today. He’s in Frisco, Texas. No new updates on the Cardiff deal being completed.
Cardiff finished 12th in the First Division last year, NOT 6th. If you list the First Division teams in alphabetical order for this season, then Cardiff is sixth. In spite of that, this will be a great move for Cooper.
I think the move is great. Cooper turned me into a fan after watching him play against RSL. He’s the type of forward that the USMNT (and RSL) needs. He has surprisingly good foot skills and pace for a big man, and he has a nose for the goal, that striker mentality to put the ball in the back of the net that is sorely lacking in so many US forwards.
It’s a good level of play for him to start at. He’ll get playing time, and if he shines than he can move to a bigger club. Plus it weakens Dallas which is good for RSL in it’s hunt for a playoff spot 🙂
kpugs is going soft on us
What are the chances of Cooper having work permit issues in the UK?
Posted by:Gage | July 28, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Zero.
Gage,
no Work Permit issues because:
– his dad is British national
– Cooper used to be in the ManU system
Will he have problem’s with the strict work permit rules or are they more lax in Wales than in England?
He’ll be playing in a nice stadium for a team eyeing promotion to the Premiership. Granted that is tough to achieve, but it could definitely be worse for Cooper.
Despite the mean things I’ve said to him in person I’ve always liked him, and I hope this turns out well.
… never mind. Just read comments in the previous post.
I really believe in Cooper’s quality. He is CONSISTANT. Something that can’t be said of our other strikers. I’d be thrilled to see Jozy and Cooper get a lot of time together. Imagine the combination play….
jrnal: They’ve won the FA Cup, actually (wiki)
Now he can hang out with Torchwood.
good move for Cooper, the league, and FC Dallas. Cooper will make more, and hopefully will reach the EPL within couple years. MLS and FCD both make a huge profit for helping Coop resuscitate his career. Hopefully, FCD can use that money to attract some standout forwards from overseas (remember, they traded for 2 extra international slots a week ago). Their season was in the toilet, anyway, now Hyndman can tweak the roster so that it is balanced between the different positions, and add experienced players for all the youngsters to learn from.
What are the chances of Cooper having work permit issues in the UK?
Completely off topic and totally pointless, but….
I hate that photo of Cooper. He looks like Tab Hunter playing Jesus.
yeah, while Rosenborg is the better team, the CCC offers better competition, especially when combined with the various cup matches (that’s assuming Cardiff does play in the FA Cup and other domestic English competitions — am I right here?)
Lets hope for a strong showing in his first season and then a transfer to a prem. side afterwards. Even better, but probably less likely, would be a really strong first half of the season and then a transfer in the winter.
I really like the idea of ‘Super Cooper’ getting a season under his belt in the EPL before 2010.
I wonder if an Altidore-Cooper pairing up top could work for the USMNT?
However, I’m still a little disappointed that MLS didn’t throw DP money at him and try to keep him at Dallas.
Lets go Coop!
I’d like to hear Taylor Twellman’s comments on Cooper’s move.
I’d be interested to get Ives’ take on this pending move when compared to the effort by PNE to sign Taylor Twellman last year. Both Cardiff and PNE are Championship clubs that have been pushing for promotion to the Premiership over the past couple of years, each were in need of a striker, and the money offered for each was comparable. Is this a case of apples and oranges?
The Premiership and Americans. Like magnet and metal
I think its the best move…. he’ll be able to see playing time in a competitive league and constantly get looks by epl sides….
the move to norway just struck me as odd… yes i know it would be UEFA or CL time, but as far as ive been told, outside the top couple teams, the quality really drops
Off topic but my new fall wardrobe is becoming clear – Mon= Villareal, Tues= Everton, Wed= Villa, Thurs= Cardiff, Fri= Monaco, Sat= Fulham, Sun= UMNT
Time to change my fantasy teams.
I hate to see Cooper leave MLS because the biggest thing the league is lacking is quality forwards who can finish (especially American ones). That being said, it’s a good move for Cooper and I hope he does well at Cardiff.
As a fan of the league, I hate to see top talent leave but I also understand it is a function of where the league is right now and where we all hope it will go. Hopefully someday soon, we’ll be able to keep guys like Kenny Cooper as well as some younger established stars from other countries.
What is Bob Bradley waiting for?
He wasn’t making but $80 something grand a year. Surely he will be making at least 3 times that much.
Pay cut!? If you cut his pay anymore, it would be negative!
Does anyone know the odds of Cardiff getting promoted? I’d love to see him on a top tier Championship side, but would hate it for him if Cardiff slogs along at the bottom of the Premiership and he spends the year chasing long balls and getting hacked by 2nd rate defenders…
And yes – let’s hope Mr. Bradley gets Cooper included in the MNT ASAP.
I think Rosenborg BK is the better move. By playing in Cardiff, he’s only in the eye of other English scouts, plus its the second division. But by playing in Rosenborg, he’d be getting European football, and he would be in the eyes of all the top European leagues, as opposed to mostly Premiership clubs.
All that being said, I understand why Cooper would pick a CCC club with his paternal roots in England, and everyone’s current fascination with all things EPL.
Excellent move for Cooper!
He’ll play in a good league, get tons of playing time, and should get exposure to some bigger clubs. That expeience will help the US national team, too! (if Bradley ever calls him up)
Only question is who will now score goals for Dallas FC? Especially if Toja is on the way out.
Is it true he is taking a pay cut to play for Cardiff?
Good move, now lets see him get some national team time.
Cardiff City! Better for him (that Reoseborg) and with the exit of the Fowler and Jimmy-Floyd (All this time I thought he was from Alabama with a name like that) he should get some quality starting time. Good move. I’m really stoked for him and USA soccer.
Great move for Cooper! Sorry to see him go, but I’m glad for him.