Blackburn Rovers (A) | Cooper's Reaction

On 17 October, 2017, Argyle were at Ewood Park, playing Blackburn Rovers and drawing 1-1, when goalkeeper Kyle Letheren got injured.

When the Pilgrims emerged for the second period, they did so with a substitute goalkeeper, who had just turned 18, making his debut in rather extraordinary circumstances.

It was a season in which Argyle used seven goalkeepers; you could argue that on this night, the sub keeper was the club’s fourth choice, but a freak run of injuries meant that manager Derek Adams turned to a teenager, and brought him on for his first senior game.

Who knows how the career of Michael John Cooper may have panned out had he had a nightmare that night? Perhaps had he conceded a few goals, Argyle had lost the game, and everyone had left Lancashire that evening with their heads bowed, it may have killed the young goalie’s confidence, and his trajectory had gone another way. 

It is all academic, frankly, because none of that happened.

What happened was Cooper kept the second-half sheet clean, making several excellent stops, including a cracking tip over the bar from a Derrick Williams header from a corner, and progressed exponentially before our eyes. 

A few things have been forgotten from that night – Graham Carey scored by Graham Carey-ing one in from outside the box; Aaron Taylor-Sinclair made one of the all-time great blocks on the line; Gary Sawyer played at right-back as injuries kicked in elsewhere in the squad too; and Rovers had David Raya in goal, and he might well win the Premier League this season with Arsenal. 

It was Coops’ night, though. This was Game Number One for him. In his remarkable story, Game Two in the league came at Home Park, on the final day of the 2018/19 campaign, in a match which Argyle won, but found themselves relegated at the day's, and the season’s, end.

Cooper had one more season as back-up, before Ryan Lowe put his faith in Michael, by this stage just about to turn 21, in Sky Bet League One.

He then played 121 straight league games before an injury at Sheffield Wednesday in February 2023. This weekend, at Blackburn, was only his tenth game since. Cooper returned to action in October at West Bromwich Albion, but lasted until early December before a separate knee injury kept him out again - until now.

Career Game 152, back at the setting where number one took place, saw the Pilgrims on the front foot against Blackburn, creating numerous chances, but failing to take them. In a quirky piece of bookending, this game, like Mike’s debut, finished as a 1-1 draw. But oh how so much has changed in that time.

For Cooper to return to the side at Ewood Park was a serendipitous moment, and one not lost on him.

“I was actually really excited to come back [to Ewood Park]” Cooper told Argyle TV. “It’s the first time I've been back since [my debut]. I still remember the night, clear as day. To come back and have a few memories and remember the experiences that I had that night was pretty cool coming into today.

“From the debut, there's been a lot that's gone on in between then and now. I'm quite happy where I'm at now.

“For it being my first game back in since getting injured as well. There's a lot to take from today. I probably won't sleep tonight.

“It’s nice to be back after another three months on the sideline with another knee injury. To have all the hard work I've done over the past three months and get back playing felt really good again.”

It would be remiss not to acknowledge Conor Hazard, who has played in goal for Argyle for most of the season, with plenty of distinction. Many is the game where a Hazard save has kept the Pilgrims in the game, and although the Northern Ireland international was on the bench on this occasion, his contribution has been – and will continue to be – vast.

Goalkeepers, despite being nominally in competition with one another, are typically good friends, and a unit of their own. Such is the nature of the position, they can never line up together, where two best pals who are both forwards could become a potent striking pair.

“These things are really difficult,” said Cooper. “He's done really well. He's a really good lad, really good goalkeeper. We train really hard, work really hard and everyone backs each other up because at the end of the day, one of us has got to go on. It's all about the team getting three points and keeping - as a group - as many clean sheets as we can, no matter who's in the sticks.

“Whether it's him, myself, Cal (Callum Burton): we just want to do the best we can.”

Cooper had a quiet enough afternoon at Ewood Park. Beaten early by the Championship’s leading goalscorer Sammie Szmodics, Cooper mostly watched the game from afar, as Argyle created numerous chances, eventually equalising via Morgan Whittaker, but not able to find the winner their positive play likely deserved.

It would have been sweet to depart with three points, not only for their value in the fight to stay in the division, but also following consecutive league defeats in the previous week. However, Cooper saw enough good aspects of the game to give him and the squad plenty of encouragement ahead of a home game against Preston North End next weekend.

“Some days the ball doesn't go in the net,” said Cooper. “That takes nothing away from the strikers; the work rate was unbelievable.

“We kept creating chance after chance, but just couldn't put more away today. If you look at possession stats and the amount of shots we had, it's night and day from the past few games, especially away from home. We can't be too discouraged from today.

“I know we should have taken three, but one's good enough away from home. If we can take the momentum from today into next week, then we'll be fine.

“We're a team that's together. We're a team that is fighting hard, playing hard and taking messages on board. We really tried to give the fans something today and I hope we did.

“Keeping the ball today was probably the main thing that I wanted to focus on, because I feel like we are a better team in possession.

“Maybe a few games we've had to defend more than what we should have done, and that brings tired legs, giving up chances. No-one wants to lose a game, but I'd much rather lose like that, with a positive performance and threatening them in behind and in front of goal a lot more.”

In the vast majority of his 152 games, Cooper has played with the literal backing of the Green Army. As he prowls his penalty area, he will frequently hear the ‘one of our own’ chants from the stands behind him, whether that be 16,000 supporters at Home Park or the travelling faithful on the road.

Nearly 1,500 Pilgrims made the journey to Blackburn, and they backed Cooper and the team to the hilt. They also, Cooper notes, offer encouragement to him whenever the battle is on to get himself fit again.

“For as long as I've been here, I've never taken it for granted,” he said. “[To have] 1,500, after traveling on Tuesday, the performance we've put in on Tuesday, the result -  for them to do that, come out, be louder than Blackburn's home fans - it just sums the Green Army up.

“With me, I've always had support. They've been exceptional with me. They are just a terrific fan base and it never gets boring.”