Sheffield Wednesday (H) | Cooper's Preview
At 2pm on Saturday, a teamsheet was announced at the Hawthorns.
On it, for that afternoon’s game between West Bromwich Albion and Argyle, was the name Michael Cooper. It was the first time the Greens’ goalkeeper had made the team in over eight months, following a serious knee injury at Sheffield Wednesday in February.
A few minutes before that, though, the Green Army who were filing into the ground were given a teaser of what was to come.
Emerging from the tunnel, and onto the field to begin their warm-ups, were the Argyle goalkeeping trio of Cooper, Conor Hazard and Zak Baker, along with coach Darren Behcet.
At that stage, none of the travelling supporters would have an inkling of whether Cooper was a starter, a substitute, or perhaps simply travelling to warm up as part of his recovery.
It mattered little at that stage. They were just happy to see one of their own, back on a football field again. And they sang a familiar refrain to indicate their delight.
You can only imagine what that meant to Cooper. He had known for a few days he was about to get the gloves back on in a game again, and to make his Sky Bet Championship bow, and although he said that he did not particular feel nervous heading in, it was a boon to hear the Green Army’s voices.
Cooper, along with the rest of the Argyle team, went on to keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against West Brom, and spoke to Argyle TV about what the day meant to him.
“I'd say it was fairly emotional,” he said. “It was just good to get back in. I wasn't necessarily expecting it, but I was ready. All in all, with the result as well, it was a very, very good Saturday for me.
“I trained on the Monday, trained Tuesday, and after training the manager pulled me and let me know that I was going to be playing Saturday.
“I was buzzing, it having been so long. As the week went on, I didn't really get more nervous, which I thought I would do. I thought as the week would build that I'd get a few more butterflies. Come kick-off, you hear the whistle and you get the butterflies again, but apart from that, I felt alright leading into the game.
“It was a huge confidence booster knowing that the fans are backing me after such a long time. They had probably not even seen the team sheet, so for them to give me that welcome back it felt really good. I can't really ask for much more from them.”
Having not played in so long, Cooper was understandably pleased to get an early touch of the ball, and let us in on a mindset that he has to get through games.
He also said that in playing behind a central defensive partnership of Lewis Gibson and Dan Scarr was made easier through familiarity with Scarr from seasons past.
Cooper said “I hadn’t played with Gibbo, so that's what we've been putting in the work with training, but having played with Scarrsy almost a hundred times probably, that was good, to get that relationship going again.
“Seeing the familiar faces on the pitch, I felt quite at ease. “It was nice to get a touch early on as well, because I didn't want to go too long without touching the ball.
“I go in 15-minute blocks. For the first 15 minutes, especially in away games, I just want to get through it. No silly business, really. You don't want to overplay when the home crowd's up.
“I just tick every 15 minutes off, get through to half-time, and then start the second half again. I keep doing what I'm doing throughout the game.”
On Wednesday night, Argyle meet Sheffield Wednesday, the side against whom Cooper picked up his injury. However, he says that will be far from his mind, as he focuses on getting a result for the Greens.
He does, though, confess to be pleased to be able to see the Green Army at Home Park once again.
“I’ve got no bad blood at all about the game,” he said. “It's just quite funny the way it's happened that you get injured there and then the second game back, we're playing them at home.
“Having played numerous times out on the pitch in front of fans, I know what to expect. I look forward to experiencing it again.”
