It has been all-change this season as far as Plymouth Argyle’s Goalkeepers Union are concerned.
Wayne Rooney’s side have had a mixed start to the season in the first nine Championship games of the former Manchester United and England legend’s tenure.
However, a number of individuals currently on the books of the Green Army have earned their fair share of plaudits this season, as well as the team recording notable victories at Home Park against both Sunderland and Luton Town.
Prior to the beginning of the season, besides Rooney’s well-documented appointment after a previously underwhelming spell in charge of Birmingham City, was the saga which involved one of the club’s prized assets in the form of goalkeeper, Michael Cooper.
Cooper’s departure from Home Park has arguably been the strongest transfer mishap involving the Pilgrims in recent years, given his ability which was proven countless times for the club, despite suffering two ligament injuries in 2023.
With that in mind, Football League World asked our Plymouth fan pundit, Chris, whether the club still miss his services, or whether the current crop of shot-stoppers at Rooney’s disposal have, or will eventually fill such a big void within the squad.
Plymouth Argyle fan pundit issues Michael Cooper transfer regret
Given his reputation as one of the strongest goalkeepers in the Championship, it was no surprise that Plymouth attempted to tie the 25-year-old down to fresh terms, with his previous deal with the club set to expire in June 2025.
Unsurprisingly, after Cooper rejected the deal – which would have made him the club’s highest-paid player ever – this led to a swoop from Sheffield United, with Rooney opting to start Conor Hazard on the opening day of the campaign instead.
Eventually, the keeper would move to the Steel City and link up with Chris Wilder’s side for an initial fee of just £2m, which has proven to be a bargain figure, given his strong start to life with the Blades.
This was one facet referenced by Chris when discussing Cooper’s ability as a high-quality second tier performer.
“Michael Cooper has consistently shown why he’s one of the best goalkeepers out there at the moment,” he began.
“He has the most clean sheets out of any Championship goalkeeper at the moment, as well as consistently performing game in, game out.”
“Even whilst at Argyle, he was a fan favourite and often between the sticks for most of our games,” he continued.
“However, many Argyle fans would agree that we do miss him, and we wish he would have stayed at the club,” Chris added.
“But, we appreciate that he wanted to aspire to greater things, and with Sheffield United looking like they are promotion contenders, that opportunity to play for a Premier League club was all-too tempting.”
“The other element to it, is that many Argyle fans believe that he will one day be wearing an England shirt and playing at international level.”
Our fan pundit concluded: “With that in mind, we wished him all the best, and there was little negativity over his transfer to Sheffield United.”
Daniel Grimshaw performances mean Plymouth Argyle should be over Michael Cooper exit
figure,Whilst it is understandably a blow for the club to have lost such an influential with Cooper keeping 55 clean sheets in 161 appearances whilst at the club, the addition of Daniel Grimshaw and his performances have seen Argyle address the blow swiftly.
Grimshaw ranks as the fourth-best shot-stopper in the Championship so far this season, behind Anthony Patterson, Laurence Vigoroux, and ironically, Cooper, with a save percentage of 78.2%.
| Daniel Grimshaw Plymouth Argyle Championship stats (FBRef) | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 5 |
| Goals conceded | 6 |
| Clean sheets | 0 |
| Save % | 78.9% |
| Passes complete/90 | 42.8 |
Furthermore, the reported £600,000 summer signing from Blackpool has prevented a further 1.36 goals than the tally of six conceded in his first five appearances for the club.
Conor Hazard is currently sidelined with an ankle issue, but when back available, it’s fair to say that the current goalkeeping options of Grimshaw, the former Celtic man and the experience of Marko Marosi are an extremely dependable union for Rooney to work with at this moment in time.
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