How Kenny Cooper Got His 'F' Back

by Geoff Gibson on Oct 5, 2011 2:02 PM PDT

PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 17: Kenny Cooper #33 and Jack Jewsbury #13 of the Portland Timbers celebrate Cooper's goal during the first half of the game against FC Dallas at Jeld-Wen Field on April 17, 2011 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

KFC, Kenny Effin Cooper, Kenny <bleep> Cooper. Great nickname! Doubly so because his middle name doesn't even start with an 'F' (his middle name is Scott, by the way). I'm not even really sure where the nickname originated from. I was there at the press conference announcing him and it certainly wasn't introduced there! Still, from about the time the season kicked off Kenny Cooper has been referred to Kenny "F" Cooper.

Unfortunately, as the season wore on and Cooper began to struggle many, myself included, began wondering whether he deserved to even be in a starting position let alone have such an audacious nickname. With each offsides, bum pass or foul my interest in his performance soured.

The feeling must have been reverberating around the front office as well as Cooper was actually sidelined for much of the middle part of the season, usually coming on as a late sub rather than playing the full 90. For a team's premier player, this wasn't really a good thing for morale.

And then something changed. Early August saw Kenny Cooper once again begin taking the field as a starter and his mentality had changed. He was connecting better, his attitude seemed to be better. Overall he was just giving the game much more effort that before. Not that I ever noticed a lack of it prior, but where he might have been struggling with confidence before, he was now playing with much more conviction.

While initially that didn't immediately translate into goals we began to see what a team player he could really be. Despite all this, however, he still lacked the "F" in his nickname. As a striker, he would still be judged 100% on the goals he would produce, or not produce as was the case. That's when another change was needed...

If you look at the last four games, Kenny Cooper has scored in 3 of them, which is a GREAT average by the way. You'll also notice in each of them that Cooper is doing something different. Whereas in games past Kenny would attempt to be the dribbler and often flop around or butcher a pass, in the last few games he was the target man. For each of the last 3 goals he was merely the guy who the ball was sent to so he could knock it home. And he did it... 3 times, almost 4 (against the New York Red Bulls).

So what's this mean? Quite simply, it's that Kenny Cooper shouldn't be trying to wind his way through defensive backlines. Instead Jorge Peraza, Sal Zizzo, Diego Chara, Jack Jewsbury, Kalif Alhassan and whoever else should follow the pattern of getting it to Cooper when he's in such a spot so as to just drive it on home.

Sure it might not be the prettiest method of goal scoring, as shown by his chest bump goal against the New England Revolution (I think!) but who gives a crap? It's working and it's what works for Kenny Cooper.

So it's with a huge delight that I can say (F bomb incoming!), after his phenomenal golazo against the Vancouver Whtiecaps, Kenny Fuckin' Cooper.

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Comments

the F never went away, it just morphed in meaning

I’d still trade him in the off season if the offer was right but it’s nice to see him playing good soccer again.

by pdb on Oct 5, 2011 2:17 PM PDT reply actions

Agree.

I’d love to bring in an ace striker for next year. But I suppose that’s kind of what we thought we were doing last year.

I’ll always love Kenny Cooper and remember the good moments as well as the follies, but I’d be perfectly comfortable loving him from afar. If he does stay I won’t be upset or anything.

volatilelyle.com

by almost awesome on Oct 5, 2011 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Whats was missing earlier

was the fact we lacked the creativity in the middle of the park to get a striker the ball at his feet facing the net let alone in the 6 yard box.

Fast forward to the last qtr of the season, Nagbe and Diego come up front and Jack goes to the back. What happens, chances start coming and so did the goals.

Spencers attack from the wings the whole game has proven only effective at JELD Wen.

The honey is in the middle of the park.(see LA game at home)

Control the middle of the field and the wings will become your kingdom.

I think it will be a busy off season for the Timbers upgrading talent in different spots on the field, I don’t think KFC will be one of them

by portlandpadre on Oct 5, 2011 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions

I always thought it was an 'Eastbound and Down' reference

Go banana!

by Disco_Stew on Oct 5, 2011 2:31 PM PDT reply actions

F stood for "frustrating" for a while

Cooper’s always been a quality player, and I think he’s taken a disproportionate share of the criticism because, as Geoff notes, as target man he wasn’t getting the ball enough, so he was trying to do too much. Too much being, basically, doing anything except get open and shoot the ball.

I also wonder if his penchant for channeling Takayuki Suzuki (falling a lot) earlier in the season wasn’t part of a strategy to get more free kicks in dangerous areas, since that was how we were scoring most of our goals early in the season.

I would say his recent improvement has come as the rest of the team has gelled better in their own roles. All of our attackers started getting better service from Chara when his role became more solidified, and Cooper in particular has benefited from Nagbe moving up to his more comfortable striker role.

I’ll be happy if Cooper stays on for another year. But I’ll also be happy if Bright Dike is able to take over the role for him. At this point, that remains a big if.

When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy

by Andrew Wheeler on Oct 5, 2011 2:37 PM PDT reply actions

He ate special chicken

at that special restuarant with the Mexican national team.

by yepyou'reright on Oct 5, 2011 3:53 PM PDT via iPhone app reply actions

I still say he knocked it in with his "Mini Cooper", not his chest

Blazers win!

by The X-man on Oct 5, 2011 4:28 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

It's all about Diego

He’s the engine, he’s got the vision on offense and the work rate to match. It’s aloud Jack to play a holding role, which make the mid field more organized. That giives the wing backs a bit more freedom to attack as well. Also, I have to say, it’s time together. The team is coming together, figuring out roles, etc. Excited for this year, giddy for next!

by ledjom on Oct 5, 2011 5:50 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

Great points

The solidifying of roles and time to understand your teammates is huge.

Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.

by Ryan Gates on Oct 5, 2011 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions

It's interesting to me...

…that Cooper seemed to get much better as soon as Eddie Johnson went down.

Does that mean the problem was mental? That increasing pressure on Cooper’s starting position from Johnson was affecting Cooper, and hurting his performance?

Or is it more that his teammates are now better able to set up Cooper, now that they are practicing more with him, as opposed to Johnson? This allows the guys like Chara, Perlaza, and Zizzo to get to know his tendencies and put the ball in the right spot for him?

"Biting is excellent. It's like kissing, except there's a winner."

by Majikj0n on Oct 6, 2011 7:18 AM PDT reply actions

About that F

I could swear John Strong called him Kenny Fitzgerald Cooper after he scored this weekend. Perhaps his polite way of validating the F….or maybe he’s been doing that all season and I just picked up on it.
A well taken goal, to be sure. But arguably his first of that caliber all season…which is far too few.

by billyraybatesmotel on Oct 6, 2011 12:28 PM PDT reply actions