Terry Cooke
Encyclopedia
Terence John "Terry" Cooke (born 5 August 1976 in Marston Green
Marston Green
Marston Green is a village of around 5000 residents in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, approximately 7 miles from Birmingham.The village is adjacent to Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre...

 in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...

) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 footballer, currently without a club. He began his career with Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, but struggled to break into the first team and had loan spells with Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

, Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 and Wrexham before moving to United's local rivals Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 in 1999. He also failed to make an impact at City and again went on loan to Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

, Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 and Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

. The loan to Grimsby became permanent in 2002, but he only remained there for a year before rejoining Sheffield Wednesday for a season.

In 2005, Cooke's career took him out of England for the first time as he joined Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...

's Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...

. In four years with the team, he made more than 100 appearances, but he was deemed to be surplus to requirements at the end of the 2009 MLS season
2009 Major League Soccer season
The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...

 and released from his contract. As a free agent, he was picked up by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n side North Queensland Fury, and 2010-2011 he played for Gabala of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

.

Cooke also made four appearances for the England Under-21 side
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

.

Manchester United

Cooke, who was born in Birmingham and grew up as a Birmingham City supporter, came up through the youth system of Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 and scored the penalty that clinched the FA Youth Cup in 1995, but only appeared in eight first team matches with the club.

Cooke was a part of the Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

 youth setup that sprouted players such as David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

, Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...

, Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....

 and Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 in the same period. He made his debut in a Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

 match against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 in September 1995, and provided the cross for a Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

 goal, and found himself being tipped for a bright future. He then scored in the second leg of United's League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 aggregate defeat to York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

 at Bootham Crescent in early October. However, he only made six more games for the club, his first team opportunities severely limited by the excellence of fellow youngster David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

 in Cooke's favoured position on the right hand side of midfield.

During his time with Manchester United, he was loaned out to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

, Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

, Wrexham
Wrexham A.F.C.
Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...

 and Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

.

Manchester City

Following his loan spell at Maine Road
Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England that was home to Manchester City F.C. from its construction in 1923 until 2003...

, Manchester City subsequently bought him for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

1 million in March 1999. Cooke was part of the City side that earned promotion from the Division Two in the 1998–99 season, but lost his place in the team the following season, when City won a second successive promotion to reach the Premier League. While at City, he was loaned out to Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

, Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 (where he scored once against QPR
QPR
QPR usually refers to Queens Park Rangers F.C., an English football club.QPR may also refer to:*Queen + Paul Rodgers, a 2004-2009 musical supergroup*Queen's Park Rangers , a football club playing in the Grenada League...

) and Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town F.C.
Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town...

.

Grimsby Town

Grimsby manager Paul Groves managed to make Cooke's switch to Blundell Park
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1898, but only one of the original stands remain. The current capacity of the ground is 9546, though with the introduction of all seating in the late...

 a permanent one, following his release from Manchester City at the end of the 2001-2002 season. While on loan, Cooke had managed to score once against Norwich in three appearances and did enough to earn himself a full time position at the club. Cooke was a reasonable success with The Mariners, though his time with the club was overshadowed by an eventual off-field feud with his manager. Also the signing of former Grimsby hero John Oster
John Oster
John Morgan Oster is an English born Welsh international footballer, who plays as a midfielder for Football League Championship club Doncaster Rovers. Oster progressed through the youth ranks at Grimsby Town before moving on to Premier League Everton...

 from Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 on loan had caused Cooke to lose his place in the team, as Oster successfully made the spot on the right wing his, despite the fact Cooke's overall performances beforehand made him one of the more impressive players in a struggling team. After making his move permanenet he only managed to score once, his strike coming against Burnley in the FA Cup. Cooke often found himself left out on the substitute bench, or not included in the 16 man selection at all, this despite vocal protests from supporters during the games. Grimsby were eventually relegated from the First Division, and at the end of the 2002–03 season, Cooke was amongst the number of players who left the club.

Sheffield Wednesday

Following his release from Grimsby, It was The Mariners relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 who would benefit from Cooke's departure from Blundell Park. He signed a one-year deal with the club. After playing out the 2003–04 campaign, at the end of which the Owls avoided relegation, Cooke departed the club and emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Colorado Rapids

In 2005, Cooke signed with Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...

, and scored two goals and had two assists during his first MLS season. On 1 April 2008, tabloid newspaper The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...

featured a story on the Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...

' 4–0 victory over Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...

 side. Cooke captained the team, in what was their first game of the season.

Cooke was waived by Colorado at the end of July 2009 to make room for the signing of Jamie Smith from Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

. He was later invited to trial with league rivals Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...

 in August 2009.

Cooke trained with Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 to regain his fitness, and played in a reserve match against Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

, but manager Billy Davies
Billy Davies
William McIntosh "Billy" Davies is a Glasgow-born Scottish football manager, noted for his achievement in the Football League Championship with East Midlands Rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest and Preston North End which has led him to be described, in 2011, as "probably the best manager at...

 did not offer Cooke a contract.

North Queensland Fury

Cooke arrived in Townsville to trial with A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...

 franchise North Queensland Fury
North Queensland Fury FC
North Queensland Fury FC were a professional football club based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, which competed in the A-League. North Queensland played its home fixtures at Dairy Farmers Stadium. The club was closed on 1 March 2011, due to financial instability.-History:A Townsville bid was...

 as a possible replacement for injured fellow Englishman James Robinson
James Robinson (footballer born 1982)
James Robinson is an English/ Australian professional footballer who currently plays for Oakleigh Cannons in the Victorian Premier League, as a Midfielder-England:...

. He was signed by Ian Ferguson on 25 November and made his debut against Adelaide United on 28 November. He scored his first goal for the Fury on 13 February against Gold Coast United, scoring the game-winner in the 83rd minute to give the Fury a 2-1 victory. Cooke was released on 25 July 2010.

Gabala

Cooke then joined Gabala of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

, managed by Tony Adams
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...

. After making 12 appearances in which he scored one goal, Cooke found himself out of the first team and was released from Gabala at the end of season in May 2011.

International career

Cooke has represented England at U16, U18 and U21 levels, but has never been capped by the full senior side.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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