What we seem to lack is movement, fluency and tempo. Probably this is because our passing and possession game is weak compared with our 'glory' days. We no longer seem comfortable on the ball and want far more time than hard pressing teams are prepared to allow us. Put this down to lack of movement and support. Time and again I've said that movement makes the pass, gives the man on the ball options but there are far too many periods in games where we're static as a team and not looking to drive forward when the opportunities arise.
I'm sure that Cooper must realise this but we also have to accept that he is limited because of the limited ability of a number of his players. Perhaps it is too soon for the likes of Byers and, if it were possible, I could see Joe Allen linking well with Grimes and Celina for instance. He would set the tempo and urgency in midfield for us, something that Byers has yet to learn..... but will do in time, I'm sure.
All things considered, and there are many factors to consider, maybe Cooper isn't doing too bad a job and, hopefully, can only get better as he learns about league football on the job. I sense that we could be just one, preferably two good signings, from being a potent force in this division. The real question is, are the owners prepared to back Cooper to provide him with the ammunition he needs in January?
On a lighter note, I remember a terrific post on another forum some years ago where someone suggested three signings that we needed. He posted the names of his team and in defence he'd added, "Tall Ugly German 1" and "Tall Ugly German 2" whilst in midfield the addition was "African Hulk". I thought this was brilliant and perfectly summed up our needs at the time.