Cooper savours return of the legends as Poppies mark 150 years

A crowd of 1,358 descended on Latimer Park on Sunday afternoon for the long-awaited Legends Match with Cooper being reunited with the vast majority of his National League North title-winning squad of 2007/08, which then went on to enjoy a successful time in the National League as well as that famous FA Cup run in 2008/09, which ended in a fourth-round defeat to Premier League Fulham.

Legends from yesteryear, including former Poppies manager Ron Atkinson, were paraded round the ground ahead of the game, which saw Team Cooper beaten 2-1 by Team Ashby, managed by record appearance holder Roger Ashby.

First-half goals from Aaron O’Connor and Michael Richens put Team Ashby 2-0 up with Chris Beardsley pulling one back after the break.

But it was a day to remember for all those involved, not least Cooper.

“It was brilliant,” he said.

“It was so good to see so many familiar faces that I haven’t seen for a long time.

“It was great to catch up with the boys, an unbelievable squad of players, and all the staff. I really enjoyed it.

“I said it last time I was here last year, it’s such a shame that the club is where it is compared to where we had it at Rockingham Road. But I really enjoyed the day.

“I have managed in every league now apart from the Premier League and my most enjoyable time by far was at Kettering.

“With my family and my dad being here, it was an unbelievable experience and I think, if you ask any of those boys, as a group they were so together.

“Being in there, it was like we had never been apart. It was the same banter. It was like we had never been away. It was my most memorable time as a manager.

“When you have seen boys as top athletes in their prime and they are 15 years older, it’s not always pretty!

“But you can never take away their desire to compete. That’s why they were so good. We weren’t technically the most gifted but we were so good as a group.”

One of those involved was Gareth Seddon, who scored 21 goals in 59 appearances under Cooper.

“It’s the first time I have touched a football in around 18 months but it’s not about that,” he said.

“It was about seeing the lads and the fans and, even though it’s a different setting, it felt the same. It was just great to see so many familiar faces again. It was just a shame about the football!

“The banter in the dressing-room was great and the big plus was that I could hammer the gaffer and not get a fine for it!

“But being around the characters again was great.

“I still keep an eye on Kettering’s results and I know they need to win on Saturday (at Kidderminster) and we need Blyth to lose.

“I definitely don’t want them to go down so I will be looking at the scores again on Saturday and hopefully it is positive.”