Hooper, Gary

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Personal

Fullname: Gary Hooper
aka: Super Hooper, Hoops, Hooperman
Born: 26 January 1988
Birthplace: Loughton, Essex
Signed: 27 July 2010 (from Scunthorpe £2.4m)
Left: 26 July 2013 (to Norwich est £5m)
Position: Forward, Striker
Debut: Olympique Lyonnais (a) Friendly (Emirates Cup) 31 July 2010
Squad No.: 88
Internationals: none

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Biog

“For me he has been one of my best signings in so many ways…”
Neil Lennon on Gary Hooper

Gary Hooper started his career playing non-League football for Grays Athletic in 2004 as a 16 year old, playing in both the Conference South and Conference National. His 23 goals in 71 appearances earned him a trial at Southend Utd in July 2006 where he was rewarded with a 1 year contract. Whilst at Southend Utd he was loaned to both Leyton Orient (March to May 2007) and Hereford Utd (January to May 2008), where his 11 goals in 19 games helped Hereford earn promotion from League 2.

This earned him a £125,000 move to League side Scunthorpe United, where in his first season he scored 24 goals in 43 league games as Scunthorpe earned promotion to the Championship. He would go on to score a further 19 league goals in 35 league games in the Championship before being transferred to Celtic in July 2010 for £2.4m.

At Celtic, Hooper scored on his debut against Olympique Lyonnais in the pre-season Emirates Cup in London and also in his first competitive match against FC Braga in the home leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

He really hit the net well and proved his worth from early on. After scoring 19 goals in 31 games, Gary was nominated for Scottish Player and Young Player Of The Year which he unfortunately did not win. Regardless, he reproduced this form consistently at Celtic and celebrated with hsi fellow players showing his appreciation for their part in his success.

His form in his first season at Celtic saw him included in the England U21 squad for matches against Denmark and Iceland in March 2011. Injury would prevent Hooper from joining up with the squad, and although he was included in the provisional squad for the 2011 European U21 Championships in Denmark, he missed the cut for the final 24 man squad.

He will have the great honour of having scored the last ever goal by a Celtic player v Rangers, with the wonderful irony of his name Hooper driving another stake into their chest.

Must add that he could score more than just the odd goal, as can be attested to by Raith Rovers and Hearts who saw Hooper put 4 and 5 goals against them respectively in a single match. Granted for the Hearts match it was the last game of the season, but it was testament to his ability, and Hearts you would have expected to have been stronger as they were to play in the Scottish Cup final the next weekend.

Gary Hooper at his best was a revelation. The increasing philosophy at clubs had been that of attacking midfielders providing the goals with less emphasis on the strikers, if anything some top teams seem to play without strikers (flexible 4-6-0 formation). However, players like Hooper blow out the water the premature obituary for strikers. His great strike rate and skill were invaluable.

The quality of a number of his goals made him respected, but he had great positional sense as well, and this meant grabbing those goals from rebounds and near misses that add up at the end for three points. A good burst of pace and a strong focus for goal gave him the advantage over others and made him a handful for defenders to be able to handle. Scoring twice in the Scottish Cup final of 2013 was a great way to highlight these skills. Wonderfully taken goals, he had a knack of finding the net from difficult situations. A great player for Celtic.

His worth can be more easily quantified than any other. Not really a provider of goals, he was more the target man and was generally quite consistent in producing the goals. His tally was unarguable and not just domestically. In the Champions League during 2012/13 he scored four goals, but was overshadowed by Samaras who shined more in the European arena. Nevertheless those goals were valuable and showed his worth beyond the bread and butter matches at home. Notably, it took a heavy dose of ‘gamesmanship‘ by Juventus and incompetent refereeing to be able to neuter Hooper the European Cup matches, a back-handed compliment to Hooper. Literally leaning on him, pulling his jersey and a blinkered referee let Juventus off, and stifled Hooper from getting any vital goals.

Some of his goals clearly showed that his brains were mostly in his feet (off-field stories claimed he was a bit of a lad with the IQ to match). He could place a shot perfectly from tight angles, and curl shots in wonderfully as he proved against Rangers. That was an invaluable skill. Sometimes he could even put in the shade some of his harder working colleagues like Samaras, as Hooper could spend a whole game having done little then pop up to score one out of nothing whilst the other scored nothing despite far more effort. So basically, even when Hooper was having a poor game he could still get the a result.

He has had his minus points too. Possibly due to earlier inexperience (he had only played at lower levels before) he struggled badly when put out as a lone striker (4-5-1 formation) when needed to play there for Celtic in his early days. He always needed a foil player or support man be it Samaras or Stokes. He converted goals but couldn’t necessarily produce them himself. This didn’t help when you had to lose a main striker for certain games in tough European matches, but it was needed else we’d have been handicapped, which meant that Samaras would be preferred in those games where we played a more defensive formation like 4-5-1.

He had his fallow periods too which is more costly for a striker and he could sometimes blow hot & cold, but in fairness you can’t always be effective. These shortcomings can in part explain why top tier clubs generally weren’t giving him a look in but then again a degree of snobbery was part of the issue. With the right support he’d have fitted in well at any club.

He was no Larsson or Cadete, but that is not fair as those players were something special and few can match them. Compared to say Scott McDonald, Brian McLair or the like, he was more than a match for those prolific strikers and did the business when needed. In an era, where consistent goal-scoring strikers seemed to be thin on the ground across the footballing world, he was a gem.

For Celtic, there was at times an over-reliance on Hooper for goals which meant that when he didn’t perform it had a greater impact than if others were under the weather. Stokes wasn’t in the same quality bracket and Tony Watt was still too young. It was a big problem and Celtic had repeatedly failed to find another consistent striker in recent seasons, e.g. Lassad, Brozek, Miku and so on had failed.

If anything, the crowds want great strikers to watch. Liverpool curiously paid £35m for the ineffective Andy Carroll who having played in the second tier at same time at Hooper but actually scored less in that division. Celtic struck the better deal, and Kenny Dalglish made the poor decision for Liverpool (he was their manager for a second stint). It was another great buy from Celtic to take Hooper, and maybe he now deserved a call up to the England squad as quite frankly England didn’t have too many quality strikers and at least Hooper was consistently putting the ball in the back of the net (more than can be said of most of his over-rated peers down south).

The overtures to Hooper by some clubs down south were thus inevitably going to entice him back down south at some point, for the money alone. Norwich bought him for £5-5.5m ahead of QPR, a good financial return for Celtic, but he was a big loss as a player. He had spent three years with Celtic and developed well so can’t begrudge him the move but wish he had stayed for longer. We had more to offer such as Champions League competition. He had wanted to return to England at some point for the challenge in the English Premier League.

We wished him the best, a great player who provided the goals.

Post-Celtic
His transfer to the top tier in England soon turned sour. A great start with a double in his debut was little repeated, and his scoring form was disappointing albeit hindered by injury. He never reached the heights. Norwich were relegated in his first season but he helped them back to the top tier in the next season via play-offs.

However, Hooper was soon off, over to Sheffield Wednesday where he rediscovered some fair form, but his best days were now behind him. Injuries curtailed much of his involvement at the club.

Despite any setbacks on his return to England, he holds an incredible record that will be little matched or bettered by few in all-time football history, as Gary Hooper has scored at least one goal in each of the following competitions:

• English Premier League
• English Championship
• English League One
• English League Two
• English Conference
• English Conference South
• English FA Cup
• English League Cup
• Scottish Premiership
• Scottish League Cup
• Scottish Cup
• Europa League
• Champions League

The only thing sadly missing to complete the whole enviable record would be goals in the international arena, but he never won an international cap at any age level.

In October 2019, Gary Hooper signed for the Wellington Phoenix who play in the Australian/NZ A-League as a marquee striker with a spell in India too with the Kerala Blasters. He then had a reunion in 2022 at Omonia in Cyprus, joining up with Neil Lennon  who was now the manager, as well as fellow ex-Celt Adam Matthews. It was an ill-fated phase for the ex-Celts, and Gary Hooper was to move briefly onto Gulf Utd in the monied leagues in the UAE second tier. He was back in the UK playing for Barnet in 2023, …

[….]

Many would argue that he should have stayed at Celtic. He had great support at Celtic, and his gamble to move to Norwich failed. He was far better than his record at Norwich et al was showing. Kris Commons once called in hope for a return for Gary Hooper but especially once the Brendan Rodgers golden years had started, there was no room for Gary Hooper back at Celtic.

[….]

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Quotes

“For me he has been one of my best signings in so many ways – for value for money, improvement, goals and link up play I think he’s been the best striker here since Henrik and he will be a huge loss to us. I wish him well. Part of me wants to strangle him but you don’t want to stop the progression of some individuals.”
Neil Lennon on Gary Hooper on his departure (2013)

“I can see why Celtic sold Gary because he only had a year left on his contract. But I’m not sure I’d have left a club of Celtic’s size for Norwich City if I’d been in Gary’s shoes. I live in Norwich and have a lot of time for the club but I can see them having a difficult season and Gary might live to regret it. There’s no comparison to be made between the clubs when it comes to size. Celtic are bigger and I know where I’d rather play. I know Gary has ambitions to play for England but, historically, there aren’t many players who are part of the England set-up while they’re still at Norwich.”
Chris Sutton (2013)

“Obviously Lionel Messi would be perfect but I’d like to bring back Hoops.”
Kris Commons on Gary Hooper (May 2014)

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Playing Career

2012/13 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
	League Cup	3	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Scottish Cup	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	UCL	6	1	2	0	7	4	10	8	1	0
	SPL	30	2	19	6	62	29	24	22	1	0
Totals		43	4	29	6	69	33	34	30	2	0
2011/12 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
	UEFA Cup	4	2	2	0	3	2	7	8	3	0
	SPL	34	3	24	8	37	22	27	26	1	0
	Scottish Cup	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	League Cup	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals		45	5	29	8	40	24	34	34	4	0
2010/11 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
	League Cup	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Scottish Cup	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	SPL	26	0	20	7	25	14	33	27	3	0
Totals		35	0	21	7	25	14	33	27	3	0

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute,
G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal,
YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered,
SV: Saves, OF: Offsides,
W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier League:

• 2012, 2013

Scottish Cup:

• 2011, 2013

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Pictures

• Player Pics

KDS

• Signs for Celtic (Jul 10)
• Leaves Celtic (2013)

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Articles

Hooper completes switch to Celtic

Scunthorpe United striker Gary Hooper has completed his £2.4m move to Celtic, making him Neil Lennon’s sixth signing.
Hooper, 22, joined the Celtic squad at Glasgow Airport to fly to Portugal to play Braga on Wednesday. “I’m a little bit nervous, it’s the first time I’ve travelled abroad for a game,” said the ex-Scunthorpe player. “But I am looking forward to it and ready to meet my team-mates. When I knew Celtic were interested they were the only club I wanted to come to.”

Hooper completed his medical at 2000 BST on Monday evening and had to complete the formalities of his transfer the following morning before meeting the rest of the squad at the airport.Ahead of the Champions League qualifier against the Portuguese Liga Sagres runners-up, manager Lennon said of his new striker: “I don’t know about playing but he will be in the squad.

“I was pleased to get him. He has been on our radar a while. “I think we have a good player on our hands, his record is very good. “It’s not just goals, he can play a little bit as well and there were a lot of clubs after his signature.”

Hooper has been Scunthorpe’s leading scorer with 50 goals over the last two seasons and had attracted the attention of several clubs including Leeds United and Derby County.

However, Lennon’s side were favourites to land Hooper for several months and with the prospect of Champions League football, a move north of the border was an attractive proposition to a player who was with non-league Grays Athletic a little over five years ago. Hooper was lined up to make his first pre-season appearance of the summer during the Iron’s 1-0 friendly win over Sheffield Wednesday at Glanford Park on Saturday.The SPL club have already signed Joe Ledley, Efrain Juarez, Daryl Murphy, Cha Du-Ri and Charlie Mulgrew. England goalkeeper David James has delayed a planned trip to Glasgow for possible signing talks in order to deal with a family matter.

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8852050.stmPublished: 2010/07/27 08:49:36 GMT

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Gary Hooper: The Economical Striker

Source: http://kieranmckenna.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/gary-hooper-the-economical-striker/

Posted March 15, 2012 by kieranmckenna

Gary Hooper: The Economical Striker

Former Rangers Nikica Jelavic marked his arrival in English football last week, hitting the winner for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. The Croatian striker sealed his move to Merseyside in the January transfer window, having abandoned a sinking ship in Glasgow, for a fee of around £5.5m.

Across the city there is another striker who was heavily touted for a move South of the border in January.

Celtic hitman Gary Hooper was linked with a move to Championship high-flyers Southampton, as boss Nigel Adkins prepares to take the South-coast club back to the promised land of the Premier League.

It didn’t come as a surprise to Celtic fans that there was interest in the former Scunthorpe striker, but eyebrows were raised by the lack of top-flights interest in their top scorer.

Perhaps he has flown under the radar. His non-League background may not have alerted him to clubs at England’s top table. After being released by Spurs, Hooper went on to have fairly quiet spells with Grays Athletic and Southend United.

However, 11 goals in 19 games for Hereford brought him to the attention of Scunthorpe manager, a certain Nigel Adkins. It was at Glanford Park where Hooper started to build a reputation in the football League, scoring 30 goals and firing his new club to promotion.

The next season, Hooper scored 19 League goals (2 more than £35m forward Andy Carroll) but it wasn’t enough to save Scunthorpe from the drop.

Scunthorpe’s loss would prove to be Celtic’s gain, as Neil Lennon took the Essex-born Hooper to Glasgow. Injuries meant that his Parkhead career was off to a stuttering start, but the Celtic fans had seen glimpses of the predatory instincts of the man they subsequently dubbed ‘Hooperman’.

He scored crucial goals in wins over Dundee United, St. Mirren and arch rivals Rangers. He forged an excellent understanding with Irishman, Anthony Stokes, and both players notched hat-tricks in a record 9-0 win over Aberdeen.

Hooper would end the season with 20 goals in just 26 games. A strike rate bettered only by Ronaldo, Messi and Di Natale.

This season has seen Hooper’s all-round game develop almost beyond recognition. In his debut season he was adored for his goal-poaching ability, and filing the role of penalty box striker Celtic had been missing. His first touch has improved, as has his ability to hold the ball up the play and link-up with his teammates.

What makes his goal-scoring exploits all the more impressive, is that he is surprisingly unselfish and he doesn’t often miss. If he doesn’t have a clear aim at goal, he plays it to a team mate and keeps the ball moving rather than taking a pot-shot. In fact, Hoopers’ 16 League goals this season have come from just 31 shots.

Hooper isn’t the best striker in Europe – far from it. But he might just be the most economic striker in Europe right now. The dictionary definition of economical is ‘avoiding waste or extravagance’. A definition that almost perfectly describes Hooper’s style of play. He isn’t unnecessarily flash or flamboyant, and doesn’t waste the chances he gets. He scores goals.

And the stats are there to back it up. The table beneath represents the shots:goals ratio as a percentage, and compares Hoopers’ stats to a sample of scorers from top European Leagues.

	Shots	Goals	Shots:Goals
Gary Hooper (Celtic)	31	16	51.61%
Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)	49	17	34.69%
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke)	66	19	28.79%
Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich)	77	21	27.27%
Nikica Jelavic (Rangers/Everton)	56	14	25.00%
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)	132	30	22.73%
Robin Van Persie (Arsenal)	126	26	20.63%
Demba Ba (Newcastle United)	78	16	20.51%
Falcao (Athletico Madrid)	83	16	19.28%
Ronaldo (Real Madrid)	176	32	18.18%
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)	112	20	17.86%
Sergio Aguero Manchester City)	90	16	17.78%

The counter-argument will naturally allude to the SPL being a ‘lesser’ League. But the stats are impressive nonetheless, and his goal scoring exploits have extended into European competition, too. Any manager aiming to solve goal scoring issues (yes, you Mr Dalglish) must feel that Gary Hooper is a gamble worth taking.

But what about International recognition? It’s notoriously tough for English players playing in Scotland to get a call to represent their country – just ask Chris Sutton. But with Rooney suspended, Bent injured, Carroll struggling for form and Defoe struggling for game time is ‘Hooperman’ not worth a look?

He has been one of the key performers for Celtic in overturning a 15 point deficit, which is now a 21 point advantage. Even without Rangers’ 10 point penalty for going into administration, the Hoops would still be 11 ahead having made up a staggering 26 points on their fiercest rivals.

Either way, the rise of Gary Hooper from non-League football over the last few years has been pretty incredible.

Only time will tell how much further he can go.