The Championship season concluded on Saturday, giving Nottingham Forest fans a yearly reminder of how much they won’t miss the chaos of the playoff chase.
The Forest side that won the 2021/21 playoff final will go down in history for their role in allowing Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest squad this season to challenge at the top of the Premier League table.
Only Ryan Yates remains from the side that triumphed at Wembley, given the immense investment that Evangelos Marinakis put into strengthening the squad. In fact, Steve Cooper brought very few of the promotion-winning side into the top flight with him.
Cooper was eventually sacked by Forest, but his Championship credentials have never been in question, leading to fans of one EFL club begging him to join them after their final-day heartache.
Middlesbrough fans clamour for Steve Cooper appointment
Initially, Cooper was linked with West Brom, but little has come of that rumour as the Baggies stall on who will replace Tony Mowbray in the dugout.
There are plenty of high-profile jobs up for grabs in the league, though, with Middlesbrough fans interested in Cooper as a potential alternative to Michael Carrick.
This has intensified after Boro missed out on the Championship play-offs, with fans taking to social media to plead with the 45-year-old.
One fan said: “I’d push the boat out for Steve Cooper”, whilst another Boro fan simply posed the question: “Steve Cooper?” when looking at the potential options available.
Another Boro fan said: “I’d get Steve Cooper in,” with one more saying: “Thanks for your service, Carrick. Cooper for me”
Even Forest fans chimed in, offering assurances to Boro fans that their ex-boss would be a perfect candidate to finish the work that Carrick started.
Steve Cooper’s previous stance on a Championship return
The Welshman is out of work after Leicester City sacked Cooper in November, a move that evidently didn’t save them from the drop in the Premier League.
However, looking back on reports from when he initially took the job, it was clear that Cooper had waited for the Leicester opportunity for a reason.
An article in The Athletic said: “All sorts of job offers materialised from Championship clubs hoping for a sprinkling of the magic that saw Cooper take Forest from the bottom of English football’s second tier.
“Sunderland wanted him. Birmingham City wanted him. Burnley, too. Stoke City, Norwich City and Hull City all put out feelers. And so did various others. Of course they did: at that level, hiring Cooper is a near-guarantee to finish in the play-offs and perhaps do something spectacular.
“Yet the danger for Cooper was being typecast as an elite Championship manager. He wanted another crack at the Premier League.”
Now, with the likes of Boro and West Brom ready in the wings, Cooper could very well be becoming the very thing he didn’t want to be: typecast. It remains to be seen whether the disappointment of the Leicester role has changed his viewpoint.
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