neale cooper

Another of the Dons young guns that played in the Gothenburg side. Likened to the great Franz Beckenbauer in his early days it was Cooper who along with Neil Simpson provided the graft in the sublime Dons midfield of the 80's. Neale's career had many highlights, but perhaps the most talked about are his 1982 Cup Final goal against Glasgow Rangers when he charged down the ball and fired it into the empty net in the face of the massed opposition supporters. The other comes form a Pittodrie match against Glasgow Celtic when, having been wound up all week by his manager, he hammered into Carlie Nicholas within the centre circle at kick-off, barely three seconds into the game. The challenge was so early in the game that he got away scott free and left Charlie with a sporting memory that he may not have expected. Neale's nickname of Tattie was well know to Dons' fans and the fact that he was a huge fun loving character who always had time to shake hands and chat with fans made him hugely popular around Aberdeen and the north east Transferred to Aston Villa in 1986 for a £350,000 fee, Cooper went on to join Rangers and Dunfermline before eventually managing Ross County and later taking over at Hartlepool United, Gillingham. Peterhead and back to Hartlepool. After management, Neale worked in Aberdeen and spent many match-days at Pittodrie engaged in corporate activities and egging on his beloved Dons. Tragically, Neale died as a result of a fall in Aberdeen on 28th May 2018 aged only 54.
A Memorial event, attended by 4000, was held for Neale on the 8th of June 2018 at Pittodrie in front of the Richard Donald Stand.