Gary Hooper

 

{Player Profile Updated 26/10/2012}







Date of Birth: - 26/01/1988.



Height: - 5 ft 9 inches.



Nationality: - English.



Position: - Striker.



Current Club: - Celtic.



Estimated Market Value: - Around 5 million pounds.



Linked with: - Villa, Sunderland, Southampton and Liverpool.







Club Career:



-Hooper joined Isthmian Premier side Grays Athletic, in the 2003/2004 season, being named as an unused substitute in an Essex Senior Cup clash against Braintree Town whilst he was still 15 years old.



-His debut was the following season when Grays were promoted into the newly formed Conference South, scoring 12 goals.



-In July 2006, after his release by Grays, Hooper went on two trials. Firstly to League Two side Barnet, then to Championship club Southend United.



-Hooper only scored 2 goals in his debut season for Southend.



-On the 15th of March 2007 he went on loan to Leyton Orient for the rest of the season, scoring 2 in 4 appearances for the club.



-On the 28th of January 2008, Hooper signed a new 18 month contract to extend his stay with the club who had just been relagated.



-Hooper agreed to go out on loan to League Two side Hereford United for one month which was later extended till the end of the season. He scored 11 goals in 19 appearances.



-On the 14th of July 2008, Hooper signed for League one club Scunthorpe United for around £125,000 pounds which may of rose to £175,000 pounds. He signed a 3 year contract.



-Hooper scored on his league debut in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United.



-He scored his first ever hat-trick against, Brighton, on the 6th of September.



-At the end of the 2008/2009 season Hooper won Scunthorpe's Player of the Year award.



-Overall Hooper scored 50 goals in 95 appearances for the club in his two season.



-On the 26th of July 2010, Scottish Premier League club Celtic signed Hooper for 2.4 million pounds.



-On the 4th of August, he scored on his debut for the club, against Braga in the Champions League third qualifying round.



-Hooper made his SPL debut on the 25th of September in a 2-1 victory over Hibernian at Celtic Park.



-He scored the opening goal in a 3-1 defeat to Rangers at Celtic Park on his Oldfirm debut.



-Hooper has developed a great attacking partnership with Anthony Stokes and because of this it has helped him score 52 goals in 90 appearances for the club.







Club Statistics





Grays Athletic:



2004/2005 season - 42 appearances, 16 goals.

2005/2006 season - 48 appearances, 8 goals.







Southend United:



2006/2007 season - 25 appearances, 2 goals.

2007/2008 season - 19 appearances, 2 goals.







Leyton Orient (Loan):



2006/2007 season - 4 appearances, 2 goals.







Hereford United (Loan):



2007/2008 season - 19 appearances, 11 goals.







Scunthorpe United:



2008/2009 season - 56 appearances, 30 goals.

2009/2010 season - 39 appearances, 20 goals.







Celtic:



2010/2011 season - 36 appearances, 22 goals and 9 assists.

2011/2012 season - 50 appearances, 29 goals and 11 assists.

2012/2013 season - 16 appearances, 10 goal and 1 assist.









International Statistics:



England - 0 appearances, 0 goals.









General Comments:



Gary Hooper is very much a goal scorer. Every club he has been at he's scored goals and without a doubt this is his best quality. Many fans sometimes forget that Hooper is still reasonably young and is bound to get better. Without a doubt the best part of his Career has been at Celtic, Scoring a lot of goals and winning a league title and a Scottish cup. It is well known that it's not the best league in the world but you can't take anything away from Hooper. He's always going to grab a goal.



Let's move on to his strengths. Gary Hooper's best strength as i said is his finishing but when he's playing up front he can also hold the ball up well and runs the channels superbly due to being reasonably pacey. He has often been described as a penalty box striker which is true, but he often brings midfielders into the game and is not all about scoring goals. he's a great striker to have.



His Weaknesses. Sometimes, Hooper seems a very lazy player but other times he works his socks off (many people have questioned why he can be so lazy) He isn't the best in the air either, he isn't the worst though, but there is no doubt his best attributes are on the ground.



Overall, He has a lot more strengths than weaknesses, and is a very good player to have. It has been questioned if he could score as many goals in a harder league, and if I'm honest he probably couldn't score nearly as many but would certainly score a few. I believe Celtic is the best place for him for now though.







Summary of Hooper:





Strengths - Finishing, Holds the ball up, Runs the channels and Brings midfielders into the game.



Weaknesses - Sometimes Lazy and Not the greatest in the air.









The Business End of the Profile.



There are a good few clubs who are interested in Hooper at the minute, as highlighted at the top of the profile. However, there seems to be some serious interest from Liverpool, who are obviously in need of a striker. Liverpool have had him watched a number of times, and it seems most recently when Celtic played Barcelona. However, there are a number of other clubs interested in the player, E.g. Sunderland, Villa and Southampton who all could make a move for him in January. The player also seems to be stalling on a new deal which could help pave the way for him to move in January.







Thanks, here are a few video's of Hooper.



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