'Definitely': Sam Allardyce says 43-year-old manager who Spurs want has done a better job than Mikel Arteta

By Charles Jones

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Sam Allardyce has been full of praise for reported Tottenham Hotspur manager target, Steve Cooper.

Allardyce was discussing the Welsh manager, and he says that he has done the best job of any manager in the Premier League if he manages to keep Nottingham Forest up this season.

Of course, the likes of Mikel Arteta, Eddie Howe and Marco Silva have done fantastic jobs this term, but Allardyce tipped Cooper as his Manager of the Year if he keeps Forest in the league.

Cooper is Manager of the Year

The ex-Bolton boss spoke about the Nottingham Forest manager.

“If Nottingham Forest survive relegation, Steve Cooper has definitely done the best job of all the managers in the Premier League this season. What becomes difficult in terms of building team spirit is having too many players. Most managers don’t have enough. What they don’t have enough of is quality, and what they don’t want is quantity,” Allardyce said.

“It’s counterproductive when you have so many players. Not only because most of the players aren’t going to achieve the heights that you need, but you also have a number of players that aren’t involved in the squad that become antagonists and become your problem. They start speaking to other people about how they aren’t getting treated fairly and that they aren’t getting the right opportunities and not getting picked when they should be.”

“Steve is one of the only managers to say he has too many players. Dealing with that can distract your focus. You want to keep them all involved and use them if you can and see what they’ve got, but ultimately, it’s a very tough decision. Steve has done an incredible job dealing with these issues as well as getting good results.”

Wider context

It may sound bizarre for Allardyce to say that Cooper has done the best job of any manager this season. After all, he spent over £100m this summer and his team are barely keeping their heads above water.

However, with that being said, when you look at the wider context, there is a strong argument to make.

Let’s not forget, the 43-year-old took over Forest when they were right down at the bottom of the Champinoship before getting them promoted through the playoffs. Simply put, Forest weren’t ready for this step up.

All things considered, Cooper has done an amazing job, and while Arteta or Howe are probably more likely to win Manager of the Year, Cooper does deserve some recognition.