Cooper quits Gillingham

By Albatross
November 15 2005

There will be no reunion on Saturday then: former Hartlepool United boss Neale Cooper has resigned as Manager of Gillingham. No Hangin' with Mr. Cooper then....

While Cooper's departure may please some Gills fans, for others it merely highlights the state the club is in. The poor League form and then the ignominy of being beaten by Burscough in the FA Cup (roughly equivalent to Pools losing to Gateshead) have proved a step too far.

Where Coops will go next is anybody's guess, but his CV is looking a bit odd at the moment. He quit Ross County citing the pressure of the job, departed Pools in circumstances that are still unclear, and now has left Gillingham after less than six months in charge. Arguably he never stood a real chance at Priestfield - many of their best players either left or were sold, and not only did he have an assistant imposed (Ronnie Jepson, now acting manager) but one of his predecessors was still on the playing staff in the form of Andy Hessenthaler. Link that up with a chairman in Paul Scally that's not exactly too popular with many Gills fans and it's easy to argue that he was on a hiding to nothing from the very start.

So will Jepson get more from his players than Coops did? With Pools the visitors on Saturday, we'll be hoping that the answer to that question is no.....