Yahoo News Steve Cooper to Leicester City: Expert view with tactics, strengths and weaknesses analysed
Steve Cooper has come through the pack to become heavy favourite for the vacant Leicester City job.
Amid twists and turns on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the former Nottingham Forest boss has jumped in front of Graham Potter and Carlos Corberan and now appears most likely to be Enzo Maresca's successor. It will be his first job since leaving the City Ground last December.
But what impact would Cooper have on City? To get the lowdown on his style of play, his strengths and weaknesses, his relationship with supporters, and more, we spoke to the NottinghamshireLive’s Forest correspondent Sarah Clapson, who covered all of Cooper's time in charge just up the road. You can read her thoughts below.
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Q: How would you describe Cooper’s style of play?
SC: It changed a bit in the Premier League. In the Championship, Cooper had Forest playing mostly on the front foot and taking games to the opposition. They were great to watch for the most part in that promotion-winning season. In the Premier League, however, he became more cautious and Forest were more defensive.
The aim in the second season in the top flight was to evolve the style of play. To some extent, he started to do that early on in the campaign. But the pressure of results began to tell and Forest became more negative again.
Q: Which positions are key to making his tactics work?
SC: It depends a little bit on the style of play he goes with. If and when Cooper does make a return to managing in the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how he sets his team up
In the Championship, Forest played with three at the back. Having a solid defence, with defenders comfortable on the ball, and wing-backs who pushed on played a big part in getting the team going.
In the Premier League, he changed formations a bit as he tried to find the right formula, including going with a four-man defence at times. In the 2022-23 season, having attacking players with a bit of magic – like Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson – made a difference.
Q: Forest made a lot of signings upon their Premier League return. How did Cooper manage the squad?
SC: Arguably his greatest strength is his talent for man-management and his ability to create a sense of unity. It was far from easy that season, but Cooper managed to get the whole squad on the same page and buying into the mission – even the players who didn’t necessarily play much. The team spirit was crucial in getting Forest over the line. It was the same in the promotion season.
Q: Does he have any weaknesses as a manager?
SC: He found it tough in the Premier League. The gap between the top flight and the Championship is considerable. He admitted himself that he learned a lot of lessons in Forest’s first season back at that level.
Watching on, it seemed the pressure really told just before he was sacked. Tactically he wasn’t getting it right and you could point to some strange decisions being made when it came to things like team selection and substitutions – the hallmarks of a manager being under the cosh. I’m sure he will have learned a lot from his entire spell at the City Ground.
Q: He developed an amazing relationship with Forest fans. Do you feel he could replicate that with Leicester supporters?
SC: His bond with Forest fans was one of the standout features of his managerial spell at the City Ground. He understood the club, the fans and the city. He embraced everything about it all. It would certainly be interesting to see the dynamic if he did take charge across the East Midlands.
