At the age of 18, Coppell attended Quarry Bank High School in south Liverpool, where musician John Lennon and footballer Joe Royle had previously been pupils.

Just one year ahead of Coppell were Clive Barker, Les Dennis and Brian Barwick, the chief executive of the FA from January 2005 until the end of 2008.

Coppell was able to complete his degree while playing on the right wing for Manchester United, making his debut as a substitute in a 4–0 win over Cardiff City on 1 March 1975, as his new club stormed back to the First Division after a season in the Second.

The following season, Coppell played 39 times and scored ten goals, one of which was at the Kop end of his boyhood club Liverpool's Anfield ground.

[citation needed] Later in 1977, Coppell received a call-up to the England team for the country's final qualifying game for the 1978 FIFA World Cup against Italy at Wembley.

His habit of scoring against Scotland continued in 1980 with a goal in a 2–0 win at Hampden prior to the 1980 European Championships, during which he featured in the opening two group matches, though England failed to progress further.

Tragedy struck Coppell while playing for England in a vital qualifier for the 1982 FIFA World Cup against Hungary.

Coppell said the effect was "like someone had put a firework in my knee and it had gone off"[3] and underwent an operation which allowed him a temporary fix so he could carry on playing.

Coppell nursed the injury through the 1982 World Cup in Spain, playing in all three of England's group games and the goalless draw against West Germany in the second pool.

Coppell was fit enough to play in the League Cup final of 1983 which – in a reverse of events in 1977 – opponents Liverpool won 2–1.

He has since stated that he recently discovered, thanks to advances in technology, that his ACL had only been connected at one end since the tackle, something which had been missed in previous surgeries.

Their semi-final victory over Liverpool helped make up for the horrific 9–0 drubbing that they had received in a league match at Anfield early in the season.

[4] Coppell returned to Palace in June 1995 as Director of Football, with Ray Lewington and Peter Nicholas working alongside him as first team coaches.

In February 1996, Dave Bassett was appointed manager and the club reached the final of the First Division Play-offs where they lost 2–1 to Leicester City after extra time.

Coppell left Palace in October 1996 to become manager of Manchester City, a job that he would quit after only six games and 33 days in charge.

With relegation confirmed, a boardroom takeover by Palace fan Mark Goldberg led to him again becoming Director of Football, with Terry Venables being appointed first team manager.

All in all, Coppell's exploits in SE25, from promotion to the Cup Final, to third place, even to First Division survival, made him a favourite, and in 2005, he was voted as the manager for Palace's Centenary XI.

It was Brentford's best ever start to a season, losing only once in their first 10 matches, and that was to Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle United side at St James' Park.

He fell asleep during his initial job interview, but after a poor start to the season by a Brighton side managed by Martin Hinshelwood, Coppell was given a second chance and took it.

During Coppell's first match, Brighton fans were accused of racially taunting referee Phil Prosser after he awarded two penalties against them, which helped Neil Warnock's Sheffield United come from 2–1 behind to win.

[8] In the next season, Brighton pushed hard for promotion, but Coppell received a job offer from Reading, which he accepted, despite the Seagulls topping the Division Two table.

[8] Coppell cited the apparent lack of progress on the Falmer stadium project, which was a major factor in his decision to join the club.

His second season in charge began well, and Reading raced to second place in the Championship but a run of eleven matches without a win between Boxing Day 2004 and the 3–1 home victory over Pardew's West Ham United on 12 March 2005 helped end their hopes of promotion as they finished seventh, narrowly missing out on a playoff place.

[12] On 26 March 2007, Coppell broke with his usual tradition and signed a new two-year contract to keep him as Reading's manager until the end of the 2008–09 season.

Reading finished their first season in the English top flight in eighth place, just one point short of UEFA Cup qualification.

[15] Speaking earlier in the season, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said of Coppell: "I think it's totally deserved.

Their initial form was promising, with Reading playing the free flowing football that got them promoted in record-breaking fashion in 2005–06.

Coppell joined his former Crawley Town colleague as director of football on 9 December,[27] with the club sitting 17th in the table.

[33] After spending just one season with Jamshedpur, Coppell moved again to another Indian Super League club, ATK, on 18 June 2018.