Sometimes Reputations Can Mask Underperformance

[ucandomagic]

Goals Prevented is a key stat to compare Keepers - zero is an average performance!

 

[ThirdGenBlade]

Problem with Coops is that we don't really have an alternative.

Harrison Burrows is another one who is underperforming as a defender, and not playing as well as his reputation.
McCallum should never have had the shirt taken off him after his 2 previous games.
Burrows is ideal to come on at 60, if we need to chase the game - he is a very poor defender, and is particularly vulnerable when we are ahead and sitting back

UTB & FTP!

 

[Foody]

Possibly the single biggest difference between this season and last has been the drop in form of Cooper. Last season he wasn't just good, he was exceptional. Consistently out performing all but Trafford.

This season he's been way of that, making very few saves he shouldn't make and conceding with pretty much all marginal ones. Pretty much every home game this season has been tight and could easily have gone the other way. I genuinely believe we'd have a minimum of 4 additional points with last season's cooper in the goal. Possibly even higher.

 

[FriethBlade]

Possibly the single biggest difference between this season and last has been the drop in form of Cooper. Last season he wasn't just good, he was exceptional. Consistently out performing all but Trafford.

This season he's been way of that, making very few saves he shouldn't make and conceding with pretty much all marginal ones. Pretty much every home game this season has been tight and could easily have gone the other way. I genuinely believe we'd have a minimum of 4 additional points with last season's cooper in the goal. Possibly even higher.

It does make you wonder if there is some kind of underlying issue...either injury or personal....as his drop off in performance is so dramatic to be almost inexplicable.

 

[Foody]

It does make you wonder if there is some kind of underlying issue...either injury or personal....as his drop off in performance is so dramatic to be almost inexplicable.

There's a lot of rumours about an underlying injury, we know he's had a long time out injured previously. For me it seems the obvious answer.
I know you can never know what a player's character is like or what is happening in anyone's head. But Cooper has always struck me as a very calm and composed professional, at times he looks like he could play in slippers.

Whether it's through injury or just a drop in form, you do question whether a break would do him good.

 

[Houston_Blade]

It’s Enda Stevens levels of drop off.

 

[LBA_Blade]

It does make you wonder if there is some kind of underlying issue...either injury or personal....as his drop off in performance is so dramatic to be almost inexplicable.

In quite a lot of games he had less to do last season too, some games teams were only getting 1 shot on target during the match. It could be an injury or it could easily be a confidence thing, he was coming off the back of a good season with Plymouth getting the Golden glove in League 1 with 18 clean sheets but the championship is different, some of the goals have been quality goals from the opposition this season to be fair but others have slipped through.

 

[jimmymuir]

I have huge faith in the lad. He's one of the few blokes in the squad who is definitely switched on and will know himself that his performances have been way below par. I'm not sure whether it's something in his personal life or an injury, but like many have said, the drop off from last season has been incredible. We're only 12 games in and hopefully we see the Michael Cooper of 2024/25 starting from Saturday.

 

[Black Cloud]

Problem with Coops is that we don't really have an alternative.

Harrison Burrows is another one who is underperforming as a defender, and not playing as well as his reputation.
McCallum should never have had the shirt taken off him after his 2 previous games.
Burrows is ideal to come on at 60, if we need to chase the game - he is a very poor defender, and is particularly vulnerable when we are ahead and sitting back

UTB & FTP!

I always thought that Burrows was incredibly overrated and was no more than an average championship player, he is a terrible defender but McCallum is even worse….
At least HB is good for the occasional goal….
IMO then we have major problems in both FB positions

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I'm inclined to believe the rumours that he's playing through injury.

He's gone from the 2nd/3rd best goalkeeper in the league to the worst.

 

[Upton_Blade]

It’s Enda Stevens levels of drop off.

Yep. Pre Covid he was literally in the Top 3 LB's in the whole Premier League. He was absolutely immense. When we came back out of lockdown he wouldn't have looked out of place in L2.

Same applies to Fleck as well.

 

[bakeblade]

I'm inclined to believe the rumours that he's playing through injury.

He's gone from the 2nd/3rd best goalkeeper in the league to the worst.

If so he should be taken out of the side and Davies given a go.

 

[Iffy Onuora's Shiny Head]

I always thought that Burrows was incredibly overrated and was no more than an average championship player, he is a terrible defender but McCallum is even worse….
At least HB is good for the occasional goal….
IMO then we have major problems in both FB positions

Burrows was great first 3/4 months but dropped off as the season progressed

 

[shorehamview]

The 25th best goalkeeeper in a league of 24 teams. Not exactly inspiring.

 

[bladesince64]

I know nothing more than anybody else but my gut feeling is that he has some kind of injury which affects his mobility and agility to react quickly to shots fired hard and low.

The other thing I've noticed is that he doesn't seem to come out to collect high crosses and balls lumped into the six yard box like he did last season.

If he has picked up a new injury or has a recurring issue it would explain a lot.

 

[Racing Blade]

Quite a few on here have said that the hangover from the Wembley play-off defeat has left them feeling apathetic about events this season.

Imagine playing in it.

For Cooper, minutes away from the opportunity to fulfil the promise declared by many a good judge, sees the winning goal fly beyond his reach.

For Burrows, scorer of the goal that sealed the deal and gave us fans that feeling we never thought we would experience, before it was cruelly wrenched away.

I know these are highly paid professionals, man up and all that, but they are also young lads who will have highs and lows in their careers. They need all the support they can get to bounce back to their best.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

If so he should be taken out of the side and Davies given a go.

Adam Davies is even worse than this version of Copper, but appreciate the risk mitigation of not continuing to play an injured player.

 

[georgebernardshaw]

All is explained, there’s a scapegoat, fucking stroll on….

 

[Harry's Game]

Adam Davies is even worse than this version of Copper, but appreciate the risk mitigation of not continuing to play an injured player.

If true he’s playing through injury then we need keeper signing in January as well.

 

[Kabba Kabba Doo]

I always thought that Burrows was incredibly overrated and was no more than an average championship player, he is a terrible defender but McCallum is even worse….
At least HB is good for the occasional goal….
IMO then we have major problems in both FB positions

I think technically HB is as good on the ball as anyone in his position at this level, his biggest weakness is the same as the majority of our squad, not quick or strong enough to really impact games, compare him to Giles or the Preston left back, they were both absolutely rapid and used that to gain a yard to get a good cross in, Burrows never beats a man for pace 1 on 1

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

Goals Prevented is a key stat to compare Keepers - zero is an average performance!

View attachment 224455

There is definitely something going on with Cooper, but in his defence, there have been some absolute worldies scored against us this season. Tack on the fact that we’ve only just started playing with a settled back 5 (but not really as Ogbene isn’t really playing right back) and I’m not really surprised to see his stats looking like this. He’s been horribly exposed in some games this season by a non-existent midfield and incompetent defence in front of him.

From FotMob, Cooper has made 34 ‘saves’ so far this season. Only Derby, Hull, Oxford, Swansea & Stokes keepers have made more. Ultimately, you don’t want this stat to be particularly high as it indicates your defence isn’t doing enough to protect your keeper.

That being said, I’m in the ‘he’s carrying an injury’ camp as he’s painfully slow getting down to some shots - something that wasn’t (from memory) an issue last season. Whatever the issue is, something needs to happen. I don’t necessarily think Cooper is the issue - we desperately need an actual right back for example and hopefully the inclusion of Soumare more should see us control midfield more. I’d hope to see Coopers ‘performances’ improve as a result.

 

[Chimpan-A]

Dunno about carrying an injury, but I think he is carrying some extra weight. Not Hamer or Campbell levels admittedly, but I think shedding half a stone would help with his agility.

 

[Ukkonen]

We aren't doing a witch hunt for Cooper now as well are we?!?

This year's team is not as good as last years team, his performance is naturally going to drop off as well due to this.

Let's face it, we are not very good this year, pointless looking for scapegoats.