Born in
Shrewsbury,
Shropshire, Cooke was once a trainee at local side
Telford United. He started his footballing career at Welsh semi-professional club
Newtown. He was a prolific goalscorer in the
Welsh Premier League which attracted the attention of several
Football League clubs.
Burnley signed Cooke in 1995, and he made 172 league appearances and scored 51 goals for them, forging a partnership with
Andy Payton. In December 2000 he joined the club he grew up supporting,
Stoke City, for a fee of £300,000. He spent two and a half years at the
Britannia Stadium, making 102 appearances and scoring 23 goals. On 19 July 2003, he moved to
South Korean
K-League club
Busan I'Cons, along with fellow countryman
Jamie Cureton. On his return to England in January 2005, Cooke signed for
Bradford City, playing 37 games and scoring five goals. He had a three-month spell on loan at
Darlington before signing for
Shrewsbury Town for free on 27 July 2006. Cooke made his Shrewsbury debut on 26 August 2006 as a half-time substitute for
Kelvin Langmead in a 1–0 defeat at
Bristol Rovers. He started the next match, a 1–0 defeat to
Lincoln City, and in his third match scored a
hat-trick in a 3–0 win against
Stockport County. On 1 January 2007, Cooke scored his 100th professional goal during a 4–2 win over Stockport County. He also scored a hat-trick in that game, giving him the distinction of having achieved this feat both home and away against Stockport County in the
2006–07 season. Having failed to score for three months, Cooke came on as a substitute in the
League Two playoff semi-final second leg to score both goals in a 2–1 aggregate victory over
MK Dons. Cooke scored twice in Shrewsbury Town's
2007–08 opening-day victory at
Lincoln City, but sustained a hamstring injury in a
League Cup fixture against
Colchester United three days later. He resumed full training in early December, and his comeback was complete when he returned to first-team action on 26 December 2007. Although he only played the first half against Stockport County, Cooke marked his return with a goal, his seventh in his last three games against that opposition. On 31 January 2008, Cooke was set to sign a one-and-a-half-year contract with
Notts County, but the deal fell through because of a "late hitch". On 15 April 2008, Cooke was released by Shrewsbury Town by mutual consent, after being informed his contract would not be renewed. He trained with
Kidderminster Harriers, but wanted to continue playing in
the Football League; however, when no club came in for him, he announced his retirement as a player on 28 August 2008. ==Personal life==