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Simon Cox (footballer, born 1987)

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For other people with the same name, see Simon Cox (disambiguation).

Simon Cox
Cox playing for the Republic of Ireland in 2013
Personal information
Full name Simon Richard Cox[1]
Date of birth (1987-04-28) 28 April 1987 (age 37)[2]
Place of birth Tilehurst, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[3]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1996–2005 Reading
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Reading 2 (0)
2006 → Brentford (loan) 4 (0)
2006–2007 → Brentford (loan) 9 (0)
2007 → Northampton Town (loan) 8 (3)
2007–2008 → Swindon Town (loan) 19 (8)
2008–2009 Swindon Town 62 (35)
2009–2012 West Bromwich Albion 65 (10)
2012–2014 Nottingham Forest 73 (14)
2014–2016 Reading 50 (9)
2015–2016 → Bristol City (loan) 4 (0)
2016–2020 Southend United 150 (43)
2020–2021 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 (5)
Total 473 (126)
International career
2011–2014 Republic of Ireland 30 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Simon Richard Cox (born 28 April 1987) is a former professional football player and Republic of Ireland international, who played as a striker.

Cox began his career at Reading. He has also played for Brentford, Northampton Town, Swindon Town, West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City. He then returned to Reading for two seasons before his transfer to Southend United on a two-year deal in July 2016.[4][5][6] In 2020, Cox joined Western Sydney Wanderers before announcing his retirement in October 2021.[7]

Club career

Early years

Born in the Reading suburb of Tilehurst,[8] he attended Downsway Primary School[9] and Denefield School.[10] Cox joined his home town club, Reading, at the age of nine.[11]

Reading

Cox made his first team debut for Reading on 20 September 2005 in their League Cup victory away at Luton Town,[11] and accepted a professional contract with Reading on 18 November 2005.[8]

On 11 September 2006, Cox went on loan to Brentford.[12] He made five appearances there, including four in League One, before the loan was cut short due to a broken leg suffered against Millwall on 26 September 2006.[13] Cox resumed his loan with Brentford on 22 November 2006 following his recovery from the broken leg,[14] and returned to Reading on 8 January 2007.[14]

His third loan period of the 2006–07 season started on 22 March 2007. This time he joined fellow Reading loanee Alex Pearce at Northampton Town for a month,[15] which was later extended until the end of the season.[16]

On 4 July 2007, Cox signed a new one-year contract to keep him at Reading for the 2007–08 season.[17] On 16 July 2007 Cox scored the only goal of a Peace Cup game against five-time French Champions Olympique Lyonnais.

Cox joined Swindon Town in a six-month loan deal on 31 August 2007.[18] On his return from loan he played in the FA Cup fourth round replay against Tottenham Hotspur on 15 January 2008 at the Madejski Stadium, with the new England manager Fabio Capello in the stands. Cox came on to play right wing in the second half.[19]

Swindon Town

On 31 January 2008, Cox moved to Swindon on a full-time basis.[20] The fee was not disclosed, but was thought to be £150,000.[21] The deal was finalised just three hours before the close of the transfer window.[21] Cox made his debut for Swindon as a permanent signing in a 1–0 defeat away to Huddersfield Town on 9 February 2008.[22] He scored his first goal in the following game, a 3–0 home victory over Cheltenham Town.[23] He went on to score three hat-tricks for Swindon, all away from home, against Hartlepool United,[24] Scunthorpe United[25] and Northampton Town.[26] Cox scored 29 League goals in the 2008–09 season, making him joint top scorer (along with Bristol Rovers' Rickie Lambert) in the top four divisions of English football.

Cox was attracting attention from other clubs, with Swindon expecting bids to come in for the player.[27] Sure enough, in May 2009, Swindon rejected two bids for Cox, one of which was made by Leicester City (the other club being unnamed).[28]

West Bromwich Albion

On 8 July 2009, he signed for West Bromwich Albion, on a two-year contract, for an initial fee of £1.5 million.[29] He made his debut for West Brom exactly a month later, in the opening game of the 2009–10 season, a 1–1 draw at home to Newcastle United (replacing Chris Wood in the 81st minute).[30] He scored his first goal for Albion on 26 August; it was the winner in a 4–3 victory over Rotherham United in the League Cup, coming four minutes from the end of extra time.[31] In his first season at West Brom, he made 34 appearances and scored 10 goals[30], six of which came in a seven game spell between 31 October and 14th December 2009.

In the early weeks of the 2010–11 season, following Albion's promotion, Cox was restricted to two substitute appearances in the Premier League and started only in the League Cup. He scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Manchester City in the third round,[32] and in the fourth round he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Leicester City.[33] He was rewarded with his first Premier League start in Albion's next game, on 1 November 2010, against Blackpool, but he was substituted in the 12th minute after West Brom had a player sent off. Albion lost the match 2–1.[34] He scored his first Premier League goal against Tottenham Hotspur on 23 April 2011 – an 81st-minute equaliser, just four minutes after replacing Paul Scharner.[35] The goal was featured as one of BBC Match of the Day's goals of the month. Cox started each of Albion's next three Premier League games,[36] taking a more creative position behind the main striker. During the 2011–12 season, Cox was not a first team regular and, in April 2012, Cox says he wanted talks with the club about his future in the summer.[37]

Nottingham Forest

On 11 August 2012, Cox joined Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[38] The transfer fee was reported to be £2 million.[39] He became Forest's seventh signing in the summer transfer window. Cox scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw away against Huddersfield Town on 21 August 2012.[40] He scored his second goal in a 4–1 defeat in League Cup against Premier League club Wigan Athletic[41] with a strike described by the Daily Express as 'spectacular'.[42] This goal took his tally to 2 goals and 2 assists in his first 4 appearances for Forest. On Saturday 15 September, Cox came off the bench to show wonderful technique with an outstanding first touch and lobbed finish past Birmingham City keeper Jack Butland. On 27 October, Cox bagged his 3rd goal for the club in a clinical 4–1 win away at Barnsley. Striker, Cox, ended a run of 26 games without a goal for club and country, when he struck against Leicester on Saturday 4 May. It was only his fifth League goal of the season, despite being ever present in Nottingham Forest's unsuccessful bid to reach the play-offs.

Cox started the first game of the 2013–14 season against Huddersfield Town, however picked up an injury in the second: a Football League Cup first round win over Hartlepool United.[43]

Return to Reading

On 7 August 2014, Cox was officially unveiled as Reading's first signing of the season. The signing saw Cox return to the club where he spent his youth and the start of his professional career. Cox signed for £600k on a two-year contract.[44] Cox scored his first goal for Reading against Huddersfield Town.

On 9 October 2015, Cox joined Championship rivals Bristol City on loan until the beginning of January 2016.[45] On 2 January 2016, following Bristol City's defeat to Reading, they confirmed the Cox had returned to his parent club.[46]

Reading announced on 9 May 2016, that Cox would leave Reading when his contract expired at the end of June 2016.[47]

Southend United

On 16 July 2016, Southend United announced the signing of Cox on a two-year deal after he committed his future to the Shrimpers until at least the summer of 2018.[5]

Southend United's Phil Brown is quoted as saying "Signing someone of Simon's pedigree is fantastic, we have been working long & hard towards this signing and I can't thank the Chairman enough for pushing this through, it's a real coup for the Club".[5]

Cox scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win away at Sheffield United on 16 August 2016.[48]

On 26 June 2018, Cox signed a new contract at Southend [49]

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 16 January 2020, Western Sydney Wanderers signed Cox to play in the A-League, joining on a one-and-half-year deal.[50]

On 15 October 2021, Cox announced his retirement from professional football, and his desire to move into coaching and management.[7]

International career

Cox is eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through his Irish-born grandmother.[51] He was first called up to the Republic of Ireland squad by Giovanni Trapattoni on 5 May 2011, as a replacement for Damien Duff. Cox made his international debut on 24 May 2011 in the 2011 Nations Cup game against Northern Ireland, when he scored the fifth goal in a 5–0 victory.[52] He went on to win four caps in the next two weeks, and scored his second international goal in a 2–0 friendly defeat of Italy in Liège on 7 June 2011.[53][54] On 11 October 2011, he played and received the "Man of the Match" award in the game against Armenia, helping secure his team a place in the play-offs for UEFA Euro 2012. While there was some controversy over his goal,replays clearly showed the ball touched his chest and never touched his hands. [55] He scored the equaliser in the 1–1 friendly against the Czech Republic at the Aviva Stadium on 29 February 2012.[56] Cox was selected in Trapattoni's 23-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2012.[57] Cox scored his 4th goal for Ireland in a 4–0 win over Georgia on 2 June 2013. On 6 September 2013, after coming as a second-half substitute in a World Cup qualification match against Sweden, it was supposed that he has suffered a dead leg and would battle for fitness. However, Cox's club, Forest, denied any such allegation.[58][59]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Reading 2005–06[60] Championship 2 0 2 0 2 0 — 6 0
2006–07[61] Premier League 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2007–08[62] Premier League 0 0 1 0 1 0 — 2 0
Total 2 0 4 0 3 0 — 9 0
Brentford (loan) 2006–07[61] League One 13 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14 0
Northampton Town (loan) 2006–07[61] League One 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3
Swindon Town 2007–08[62] League One 36 14 0 0 0 0 2[a] 1 38 15
2008–09[63] League One 45 29 1 0 1 1 3[a] 2 50 32
Total 81 43 1 0 1 1 5 3 88 47
West Bromwich Albion 2009–10[64] Championship 28 9 3 0 3 1 — 34 10
2010–11[65] Premier League 19 1 0 0 4 3 — 23 4
2011–12[66] Premier League 18 0 2 3 2 1 — 22 4
Total 65 10 5 3 9 5 — 79 18
Nottingham Forest 2012–13[67] Championship 39 5 1 0 1 1 — 41 6
2013–14[68] Championship 34 8 4 0 3 0 — 41 8
Total 73 13 5 0 4 1 — 82 14
Reading 2014–15[69] Championship 37 8 3 0 3 0 — 43 8
2015–16[70] Championship 13 1 2 0 2 0 — 17 1
Total 50 9 5 0 5 0 — 60 9
Bristol City (loan) 2015–16[70] Championship 4 0 0 0 0 0 — 4 0
Southend United 2016–17[48] League One 44 16 1 0 1 0 4[a] 0 50 16
2017–18[71] League One 42 10 1 0 1 0 3[a] 0 13 3
2018–19[72] League One 45 15 3 2 1 0 2[a] 0 13 3
2019–20[73] League One 19 2 1 0 2 0 2[a] 0 13 3
Total 150 43 6 2 5 0 11 0 172 45
Western Sydney Wanderers 2019–20[73] A-League 12 3 0 0 — — 12 3
2020–21[74] A-League 15 2 0 0 — — 15 2
Total 27 5 0 0 — — 27 5
Career total 473 126 26 5 28 7 16 3 443 141
  1. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[75]
National team Year Apps Goals
Republic of Ireland 2011 10 2
2012 11 1
2013 6 1
2014 3 0
Total 30 4
Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cox goal.
List of international goals scored by Simon Cox
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1[76] 24 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Northern Ireland 5–0 5–0 2011 Nations Cup
2[77] 7 June 2011 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège  Italy 2–0 2–0 Friendly
3[78] 29 February 2012 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Czech Republic 1–1 1–1 Friendly
4[79] 2 June 2013 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Georgia 2–0 4–0 Friendly

Honours

Republic of Ireland

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "EFL Released and Retained List 2017–18" (PDF). English Football League. p. 102. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Simon Cox". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Simon Cox: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Simon Cox: Southend United sign former Reading striker – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "SIGNING – Blues are delighted to announce the signing of Simon Cox – News – Southend United". 18 July 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Southend United complete signing of Simon Cox | Echo". Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b Casey, Gavan (15 October 2021). "Former Ireland international striker Simon Cox retires from football". The42.
  8. ^ a b "Reading-born Academy forward Simon Cox signs first professional contract". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 18 November 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  9. ^ "News". Crosfields School. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  10. ^ "It's a dream come true – Cox". Reading Evening Post. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Player profiles – Simon Cox". reading.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 25 July 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  12. ^ "Young forward Cox agrees to join Brentford on a month-long loan deal". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 11 September 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  13. ^ "Royals youngster Cox suffers broken leg while playing on loan at Brentford". Reading F.C. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  14. ^ a b "Young Royals forward Cox rejoins Brentford on loan deal until January". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  15. ^ "Cox and Henry complete loan moves". Reading F.C. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
  16. ^ "Cox extends Northampton loan deal after scoring his third Cobblers goal". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  17. ^ "Four new contracts agreed". Reading F.C. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  18. ^ "Cox, Sodje & Stack agree loans". Reading F.C. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  19. ^ "Verdict on Federici, Cox, Pearce & Lita". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 16 January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  20. ^ "Cox signs for Swindon". Reading F.C. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  21. ^ a b getreading (15 February 2008). "Robins' new star had to fly the nest". getreading. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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  23. ^ "Swindon 3–0 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
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  26. ^ "Northampton 3–4 Swindon". BBC Sport. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  27. ^ "Swindon prepared for Cox offers". BBC Sport. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  28. ^ "Swindon reject two bids for Cox". BBC Sport. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  29. ^ "Cox completes move to West Brom". BBC Sport. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  30. ^ a b "Games played by Simon Cox in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  31. ^ "West Brom 4 – 3 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  32. ^ "West Bromwich Albion – Match – Report – 22 September 2010, West Brom 2 – 1 Manchester City". 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ^ "West Bromwich Albion – Match – Report – 26 October 2010, Leicester 1 – 4 West Brom". 1 January 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. ^ "West Bromwich Albion – Match – Report – 01 November 2010, Blackpool 2 – 1 West Brom". 7 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 December 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  35. ^ "West Bromwich Albion – Match – Report – 23 April 2011, Tottenham 2 – 2 West Brom". 27 August 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  36. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  37. ^ "Striker Simon Cox plans to discuss his future with West Brom. His cause was helped somewhat after scoring an absolute Worley against Mike Kay with a shot through his legs, an area Mike had in all fairness been beaten from many times before. Simon did cause the young keeper to seek professional lessons from one, Richard 'from Barnsley' Jane to help keep his place in the side which was heavily under threat". Liverpool Echo. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  38. ^ Nicholson, Fraser (14 August 2012). "Seventh Heaven". nottinghamforest.co.uk. Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  39. ^ "'Mr Cool' Rhodes earns praise". Sky Sports. British Sky Broadcasting. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  40. ^ Woodcock, Ian (21 August 2012). "Huddersfield 1–1 Nott'm Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  41. ^ "Nott'm Forest 1-4 Wigan". BBC Sport. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Bobby Zamora show boosts QPR". Daily Express. London: Northern & Shell. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  43. ^ Lambell, Ashley (9 August 2013). "Cox Out Of Ewood Trip". nottinghamforest.co.uk. Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  44. ^ "Cox seals Royals return". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C.
  45. ^ "Cox joins Robins on loan". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  46. ^ "Cotterill rues last-gasp goal". www.bcfc.co.uk. Bristol City F.C. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  47. ^ "Trio set to depart Royals ranks". readingfc.co.uk. Reading F.C. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  48. ^ a b "Games played by Simon Cox in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  49. ^ "Simon Cox Signs New Deal!". Southend United. 16 June 2018.
  50. ^ "Wanderers sign Simon Cox". Western Sydney Wanderers FC. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Simon Cox | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  52. ^ "Rep of Ireland 5–0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  53. ^ "Cox completes shock win". ESPN Soccernet. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  54. ^ Jackson, Lyle (7 June 2011). "Italy 0–2 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  55. ^ . "Cox hails team-mates as 'heroes' after Republic win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  56. ^ Wright, Rob (29 February 2012). "As it happened: Rep Ireland 1–1 Czech Rep". RTÉ Sport. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  57. ^ "Euro 2012 squad". irishtimes.com. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  58. ^ "Cox is fit". Nottingham Forest. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  59. ^ "Nottingham Forest insists that Simon Cox is not injured". Sportsmole. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  60. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  61. ^ a b c "Games played by Simon Cox in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  62. ^ a b "Games played by Simon Cox in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  63. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  64. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  65. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  66. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  67. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  68. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  69. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  70. ^ a b "Games played by Simon Cox in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  71. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  72. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  73. ^ a b "Games played by Simon Cox in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  74. ^ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  75. ^ "Simon Cox". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  76. ^ "Rep of Ireland 5–0 Northern Ireland". www.rte.ie. RTE. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  77. ^ "Republic of Ireland 2–0 Italy". rte.ie. RTE. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  78. ^ "Republic of Ireland 1–1 Czech Republic". www.rte.ie. RTE. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  79. ^ Press Association (2 June 2013). "Robbie Keane double eases Republic of Ireland past 10-man Georgia". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  80. ^ Murray, Ewan (29 May 2011). "Robbie Keane earns Ireland deciding win over Scotland in Nations Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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