muirinhoHound I'm not sure Cooper really struggled. He generally looked good until he made a Blackett like cock up. I wouldn't say there was a lot between them tbh
I don't think academy players should be seen as last resort either. The likes of Smith, Andresson, Rinomhota, Richards, Barrett and Watson could all be as good an option from the bench as we currently have.
I'm assuming for Cooper, when you say "generally looked good until he made a Blackett like cock up" - you do mean - on a regular basis. As opposed to just the once.
Blackett is potentially much better than Cooper, IMO. The problem is "potentially". If he doesn't sort out his concentration and application issues, then he'll be another on the "Whatever happened to" pile. But you can see in him why he was bought. It's just at the moment he's not producing what he should be capable of.
For the academy boys - maybe they are good enough, maybe they aren't. A lot of those you mentioned were in the team that got relegated from PL1 last year, remember. So I think it's fair to say that they're a work in progress. For all the "they can't do worse than the first team" nonsense you hear from some - if they can't beat fellow U23 teams, why would they be able to beat senior teams?
Also worth noting Rinomhota is only just coming back from injury, Andresson is currently injured, Richards is coming back from injury and Watson has been out for a year and is only slowly coming back. They certainly aren't an immediate go-to option right now.
yeah fair enough on the injuries - I meant generally though, not right at the moment. They are obviously not the complete answer, and I'm not saying just drop 6 U23s into the first 11, but at least these lads should be match fit, and playing regular competitive games. They should, and generally have when called upon, fitted in quite well and done ok. None of us were really calling for Richards to get time prior to Derby, yet he has been one of our better players when he has actually played.
I thought Cooper usually looked pretty sound. A different player to Blackett in obviously less versatile and a lot taller, but similar issues with his concentration. For all of Blackett's natural ability and physique, unless he is able to tune in all game, the likelihood is he will be playing at a lower level than Cooper for at least the next few years.
Haven't followed Cooper that closely at Millwall, but do wonder if the change of scene have sorted out his own concentration issues