more stats (Coppinger)

[South East Rover]

Should he play, Saturday will mark the 600th time James Coppinger has stepped onto a football pitch as a Doncaster Rovers player.

On the September 8 1888, twelve member clubs from the midlands and the North of England organised a football competition that would prove to be the basis for football as we know it.

130 years, four professional leagues, and 92 professional teams later only 59 players have made more Football League appearances for one club than Rovers’ James Coppinger.

 

220: Total players who’ve played alongside Coppinger across his Rovers career
Over 250 players have called James Coppinger team-mate since he made his debut in 2004 and 220 of those were playing for Doncaster Rovers.  Defender James O’Connor shared the pitch with Coppinger on the most occasions (198).  Of the current Rovers squad, Andy Butler has made the most appearances alongside Coppinger with 160.

Stat by Glen Wilson

 

132: The gap between Coppinger and the second appearance holder
James Coppinger’s 600 appearance tally looks unlikely to be beaten.  Second in the overall Rovers appearance table is Colin Douglas who made 468 appearances in two spells at the club between 1981 and 1993.  Third in that table is Fred Emery on 438 appearances.

 

24: Exemplary disciplinary record
In 599 matches for Rovers, Coppinger has picked up just 24 yellow cards and two red cards.  It speaks to the kind of clean game Coppinger plays.  Of the two red cards, one was for a badly-timed challenge and the second was for getting involved in an altercation between Luke McCormick and a young team-mate.

 

6: Promotions and Relegations
During his 14 seasons, Coppinger has suffered three relegations and celebrated three promotions.  Coppinger has played in the Championship, League One and League Two for Rovers which is not only testament to his loyalty to the club but also his ability to adapt to the different demands of each league.


5: Only five Rovers players have scored more goals in the club’s history than James Coppinger
Coppinger has scored 66 goals in his 14 seasons at Rovers.  Sitting top of that table is Tom Keetley who scored 186 goals for Rovers in his 6 years at the club and just behind him is Alick Jeffreys who got 139 goals in his two spells at the club.

 

3: Three in a row
In April 2006, Coppinger scored in three consecutive 1-0 victories for Rovers which helped the side secure maximum points from games against Walsall, Southend United, and Oldham Athletic.

 

2: Hat-tricks at the Keepmoat
Coppinger is the only person to score more than one hat-trick at the Keepmoat Stadium since it opened in 2007.  He has managed two and both were very memorable.

In 2008, Coppinger shone when Rovers dominated Southend United in the play-off semi-final.  Not particularly known for his goal-scoring ability, James Coppinger appeared to launch his own goal of the season competition scoring three fantastic goals to firmly secure a place in the play-off final.

The midfielder’s second hat-trick at the stadium came in 2010 in a 3-1 win over Norwich City. This result was made even more impressive by the fact the Canaries would go on to finish the season in second place securing automatic promotion alongside Queens Park Rangers.

 

1 Minute:  The shortest amount of time Coppinger has shared a pitch with any player
Jon-Paul Pittman made just one appearance for Doncaster Rovers in his short loan spell with the Club in 2007.  The match in question was a Football League Trophy match vs Darlington in which he shared the field with James Coppinger for just one minute.

Spending only slightly longer on the pitch with Coppinger was Reece Brown.  They played side-by-side for a grand total for 5 minutes.

Stat by Glen Wilson

[drfchound]

Alick JEFFREYS. !!!!

You would expect the DROS to get Alicks name right.

[Superspy]

Cool stats. Is there a list of those 58 players who have made more appearances for one club? How far up the list could Copps go for us?

[knockers]

The fanzine had a good article about this and a few of these stats are from said article.
Viva rovers might have a few left so message him.

[podrover73]

Of the 59 players who have played for one club longer than Copps, how many are from the modern era. Fashionable to stay at one club in the fifties and sixties, but I am guessing there aren't too many since then 

[RedRover45]

I forget his name but I think that ginger haired bloke from MK Dons has played more than Copps quite recently.
Edit Dean Lewington played 689 games so Copps has a bit to do to catch him at least.

[Mustapha-Dump]

Yes but that Tosser played his for two different clubs really, Copps could very easily beat the 614 apps Lewington made for MK this season, the rest he made for Wimbledon before the unsavoury incident

[swintonrover]

Problem with that is Lewington is still playing regularly for MK and is nearly 4 years younger than Copps. Short of a serious injury, there's no way Copps will pass him.

[BillyStubbsTears]

How is he still playing?

I thought he died of toxoplasmosis in Trainspotting.

[Dutch Uncle]

The list of players who have played 500 League Games for one club was put together last year by The Red Baron and myself. 19 of these players played 600 or more league games for one club with the all time leader being John Trollope with 770 for Swindon.

Copps became the 99th player on this list and his current 533 games I think put him in 60th place. The next above him on the list are Jim Montgomery (Sunderland) and Paul Madeley (Leeds) with 537.

It is indeed interesting to look at the distribution of these 99 players over time. The careers of the 99 finished in the following time intervals:

o   Zero pre-World-War 1 (27 seasons, but smaller leagues and fewer matches)
o   11 between the two World Wars (20 seasons)
o   3 in the period 1946-1959 (nearly everyone starting new playing careers)
o   18 in the 1960’s
o   28 in the 1970’s
o   18 in the 1980’s
o   10 in the 1990’s
o   11 post-2000 (including Copps and Lewington still playing).

It is tempting to suggest the lifting of the maximum wage in 1961 enticed many players to extend their playing careers in the period from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. Prior to that eyes are likely to have been on a second career earlier. Equally, since the 1990’s the spiralling transfer market and wages may have tempted many players to change clubs more often, which allied to a higher tempo game possibly reducing career length, may explain the lower numbers reaching 500 games for one club since the Millennium.

By the way at the start of this season Lewington had made 573 appearances fro MK Dons. This does not include 29 appearances for Wimbledon prior to the franchise.

[Chris Black come back]

Dutch/TRB - am I correct that Copps has the following records for Rovers?

Most overall appearances
Most league appearances
Most FA Cup appearances
Most all cup appearances
Most seasons played in

[Dutch Uncle]

Dutch/TRB - am I correct that Copps has the following records for Rovers?

Most overall appearances
Most league appearances
Most FA Cup appearances
Most all cup appearances
Most seasons played in

In Football League and Conference seasons yes (counting playoff appearances as 'other', and thus 'cup'). Without the playoff appearances I think Copps is equal with Colin Douglas with 64 actual 'cup' appearances.

Not sure about other early non-league or wartime games. Tindill and Bycroft played many wartime games, and Walter Langton played many many seasons, I think more than Copps from ca 1887 to 1905. Bristol Red Rover is the expert on him.

[Chris Black come back]

Thank you Dutch.