Barnsley boss Cooper lands England role
Written by Editor on Friday 31st July 2009

Former Oakwell 1575AM commentator Allen Cooper, manager of Barnsley's Supporters Football team, has landed the prestigious role of England Supporters Assistant Manager after impressing in his time with the Reds.

Cooper, who worked on the club's former radio station for four years, was offered the position after guiding his team to an impressive Quarter Final finish at the increasingly famous WorldNet tournament in Leeds last weekend.

It is seen as a further stepping stone along Barnsley's way to becoming one of the leading sides in IFA football and marks a meteoric rise since the club was formed back in the summer of 2004 by Cooper.

"It is a tremendous honour to be asked to represent England at any level of any sport, whether as a player or member of staff," said the Reds' boss.

"I get on very well with Joe (Roebuck, Rotherham and England Supporters manager) and am obviously grateful for this opportunity."

The Barnsley chief was however quick to point out that this is a further honour for the team more than on a personal level.

"Without all the fantastic lads we have in our squad doing such a great job I would not have got this chance. As a club we represent Barnsley Football Club itself and the town very well not only on the pitch, but also off it.

"We receive a lot of compliments from opposing managers and players about how we play the game, the spirit we play in, and also the grace with which we win and lose. This is what the IFA is all about and I can't thank everyone enough."

Cooper saw firsthand what IFA International Football is all about last Friday when he attended England's 2-2 draw with Scotland as Barnsley's Jon Harper captained the Three Lions.

"I was really proud that Jon not only represented England but was named as captain as well. Clearly my dossier on him did enough to convince Jebu (Roebuck) to make him captain too. In all seriousness though, Harps' performances against Rotherham amongst other teams are what earned him the armband."

So how did the standard of the International compare to the usual league games?

"Well there's quite a difference in quality from one league game to the next so that's not an easy question," he explained.

"We won a game 18-2 last season which was rather a shame as we'd prefer it to be more competitive whilst obviously winning the game. But certainly the England match was of a noticeably higher quality than some of the IFA games I've seen as you'd expect, and that was with a few top players missing.

"Hopefully we'll see one or two more Barnsley players featuring in future games, certainly now that I have some input into selection."

Cooper made it clear however that he would not be tempted to field himself, even if only for a few minutes.

"I think swine flu or some other pandemic would have to knock over just about every bloke in the country before I picked myself," he joked.

"I'll have enough to do helping Jebu to plot the downfall of our opposition without thinking about kicking a ball."

As it stands there is the annual England versus Scotland international before WorldNet but manager Roebuck is looking to arrange regular internationals through the season.

"Between myself and Joe we need to make sure that whenever England have a game, we pick the right players to make sure we win the match. No Englishman likes to lose to another country, especially when it's one of the Home Nations so we have a lot of responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen," Cooper added.

Visit the new Barnsley Player service, which works on PC and Mac, Barnsley Player.

Win tickets to the Masters Grand Final

More information on Prediction Championship