TT BLOG

Rachel Malloch – @Rachelvillavox

Rachel blogs about the returning striker

Cody Returns

While some of us were left feeling mournful following the departure of Jay Foulston, one of the players who bolstered the squad rebuild from the administration ashes, the first of the squad signings, and a player who had been a huge part of our undulating journey involved in the 2 seasons that had both been so near and yet…..still in the National League South, along came the announcement that Cody Cooke, our colossus from Cornwall, had agreed to bring his no-nonsense bravery and battering ram style centre forward play along for a third season where, if the popular idiom is to be believed, we can dare to dream our pursuit of promotion will be third time lucky.

Cody was signed back in the brave new world close season era of July 2024, new manager Paul Wotton the architect of building an all but completely new squad of players and many were Cooke-a-hoop at the signature of a proven and somewhat prolific goal scorer during his spells with hometown team Penryn Athletic, attracting the club up the road Truro and with his displays of strength on the ball, aerial prowess and goals tally found his career path leading to an over the border stint at Scottish Premier League club St Mirren where a Cody Cooke hattrick ensured the Buddies remained in the league at the expense of a certain Dundee, a club very close to my heart as my dad’s team and actually the first league football ground I ever attended. No hard feelings though eh Cody! Come away the Dee!

Cody Cooke is an intelligent player and any podcasts’ dream, he’s eloquent and thoughtful off the pitch and brave and courageous on it, a lionheart with a touch of rabbit, Cody has been at the wrong end of elbows and boots in the face many times, black eyes, swollen cheek bones, a broken nose and more recently a dislocated shoulder. So it’s no wonder Jimmy Ball has concluded that there’s a place for him in this season’s squad, a season that has already seen Season Tickets surpass the 1000 renewal mark and with the local community putting their faith in the new manager’s rhetoric and positivity, not to mention being a whisker – or 2 minutes – away from the National League, there’s a part that Cody Cooke can play and I for one am delighted he’s approaching this season as ‘unfinished business’ and as Cody himself has stated ‘at this very special club’. He’s not just in our head, he’s in Jimmy Ball’s too.

On a leftfield note, for a player who has taken a fair few clobberings ‘for the team’ over the years, he still remains a handsome chap! The passing resemblance to Ozzy Osbourne’s adopted son, heavy rock new waver Yungblud isn’t lost on me, despite seemingly lost on everyone else!

From taking the ‘highland’ high road, Cody’s career journey took him back down to the south coast and an impressive stint at Weymouth and following another impressive run, Bath City signed him which brought about a return of 55 goals in 125 appearances.

It was then that TQ1 came calling and on joining Torquay United his combative, strong, fearless and as many centre halves would testify, a ruddy nuisance style of hold up ball play and aerial dominance raked in a sizeable 19 goals in 40 games.

Cody’s season 2025/26 hadn’t been the happiest spell of his impressive career, a groin muscle tear, followed by a pelvic issue that saw a lengthy absence and on his return back to build up fitness, while competing for an aerial ball, a shove in the back of a levitating Cooke saw a pretty disgraceful shove in the back during the 0-5 drubbing against Chelmsford City brought about a season ending shoulder dislocation, and with scant appearances and 5 goals, it’s a season that a soon to be fully fit Cooke will want to mitigate and at 33, a season that he will want to reaffirm his reputation as a hard working, brave, valiant and indomitable player and who will be eager to play his part in this season’s promotion push.

So another season, another chorus of The Cranberries – Zombie to boom out from the Popside. With the wounds healed, the pre-season fitness back on track and the winning mentality locked in, we can have every faith that Cody Cooke will contribute a valuable element and some important goals to the season ahead. A tough Cookey is Cody Cooke, and an all round decent lad too.

Up the Gulls!