Simon Cox (footballer, born 1987)

Simon Cox

Simon Cox in action for the Republic of Ireland
Personal information
Full nameSimon Richard Cox
Date of birth28 April 1987
Place of birthReading, England
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current team
Reading
Number10
Youth career
1996–2005Reading
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2005–2008Reading2(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)
2008–2009Swindon Town62(35)
2009–2012West Bromwich Albion65(10)
2012–2014Nottingham Forest73(14)
2014–Reading36(8)
National team‡
2011–Republic of Ireland30(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 August 2014

Simon Richard Cox (born 28 April 1987)[2] is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Reading and the Republic of Ireland. With Ireland he participated at UEFA Euro 2012.

Cox began his career at Reading. He has also played for Brentford, Northampton Town, Swindon Town and West Bromwich Albion before his transfer to Nottingham Forest.

Club career

Early years

Born in the Reading suburb of Tilehurst,[3] he attended Downsway Primary School[4] and Denefield School.[5] Cox joined his home town club, Reading, at the age of nine.[2]

Reading

Cox made his first team debut for Reading on 20 September 2005 in their League Cup victory away at Luton Town,[2] and accepted a professional contract with Reading on 18 November 2005.[3]

On 11 September 2006, Cox went on loan to Brentford.[6] 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.[7] Cox resumed his loan with Brentford on 22 November 2006 following his recovery from the broken leg,[8] and returned to Reading on 8 January 2007.[8]

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,[9] which was later extended until the end of the season.[10]

On 4 July 2007, Cox signed a new one-year contract to keep him at Reading for the 2007–08 season.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Swindon Town

On 31 January 2008, Cox moved to Swindon on a full-time basis.[14] The fee was not disclosed, but was thought to be in excess of £200,000. The deal was finalised just three hours before the close of the transfer window. Cox made his debut for Swindon as a permanent signing in a 1–0 defeat away to Huddersfield Town on 9 February 2008,.[15] He scored his first goal in the following game, a 3–0 home victory over Cheltenham Town.[16] He went on to score three hat-tricks for Swindon, all away from home, against Hartlepool United, Scunthorpe United and Northampton Town. 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.[17] Sure enough, in May 2009, Swindon rejected two bids for Cox, one of which was made by Leicester City (the other club being unnamed).[18]

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.[19] 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).[20] 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.[21] In his first season at West Brom, he made 34 appearances and scored 10 goals.[20]

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,[22] and in the fourth round he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Leicester City.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25] 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,[26] 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.[27] On 23 May 2012, Celtic made an enquiry for the Irish striker.[28]

Nottingham Forest

On 11 August 2012, Cox joined Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.[29] The transfer fee is reported to be £2 million.[30] 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.[31] He scored his second goal in a 4–1 defeat in League Cup against Premier League club Wigan Athletic[32] with a strike described by the Daily Express as 'spectactular'.[33] 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.[34]

Return to Reading

On the 7th 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 on a 2-year contract.[35] Cox scored his first goal for Reading against Huddersfield Town.

International career

Cox is eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through his Irish-born grandmother. 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.[36] 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.[37][38] 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.[39] He scored the equaliser in the 1–1 friendly against the Czech Republic at the Aviva Stadium on 29 February 2012.[40] Cox was selected in Trapattoni's 23-man squad for the UEFA Euro 2012.[41] Cox scored his 4th goal for Ireland in a 4–0 win over Georgia on 2 June 2013. In 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 such allegations.[42][43]

Career Statistics

Club

As of 28 December 2014
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Reading
2005–06
 Championship 202020—60
2006–07
 Premier League 001000—10
2007–08
 Premier League 001010—20
Total 204030—90
Brentford (loan)
2006–07
 League One 130001000140
Northampton Town (loan)
2006–07
 League One 8300100083
Swindon Town
2007–08
 League One 36140000213815
2008–09
 League One 45291011325032
Total 81431011538847
West Bromwich Albion
2009–10
 Championship 2893031—3410
2010–11
 Premier League 1910043—234
2011–12
 Premier League 1802321—224
Total 65105395—7918
Nottingham Forest
2012–13
 Championship 3951011—416
2013–14
 Championship 3480030—378
Total 73131041—7814
Reading
2014–15
 Championship 2380030—268
Total 2380030—268
Career total 265 77 11 3 22 7 5 3 303 90

International

Republic of Ireland
YearAppsGoals
2011102
2012101
201361
201430
Total294

Statistics accurate as of match played 10 June 2014[44]

International goals

Scores and results list the Republic of Ireland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1.[45] 24 May 2011 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Northern Ireland 5–0 5–0 2011 Nations Cup
2.[46] 7 June 2011 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège  Italy 2–0 2–0 Friendly
3.[47] 29 February 2012 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Czech Republic 1–1 1–1 Friendly
4.[48] 2 June 2013 Aviva Stadium, Dublin  Georgia 2–0 4–0 Friendly

Honours

Republic of Ireland
Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Player profiles – Simon Cox". reading.premiumtv.co.uk. Reading F.C. 25 July 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Reading-born Academy forward Simon Cox signs first professional contract". readingfc.co.uk (Reading F.C.). 18 November 2005. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  4. ↑ "Primary Schools' Monkwy Punching Tournament 2006". Crosfields School. 21 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  5. ↑ "It's a dream come true – Cox". Reading Evening Post. 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  6. ↑ "Young forward Cox agrees to join Brentford on a month-long loan deal". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk (Reading F.C.). 11 September 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  7. ↑ "Royals youngster Cox suffers broken leg while playing on loan at Brentford". Reading F.C. 27 September 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Young Royals forward Cox rejoins Brentford on loan deal until January". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk (Reading F.C.). 22 November 2006. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  9. ↑ "Cox and Henry complete loan moves". Reading F.C. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
  10. ↑ "Cox extends Northampton loan deal after scoring his third Cobblers goal". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk (Reading F.C.). 23 April 2007. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  11. ↑ "Four new contracts agreed". Reading F.C. 4 July 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  12. ↑ "Cox, Sodje & Stack agree loans". Reading F.C. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  13. ↑ "Verdict on Federici, Cox, Pearce & Lita". readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk (Reading F.C.). 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2008.
  14. ↑ "Cox signs for Swindon". Reading F.C. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
  15. ↑ "Huddersfield 1–0 Swindon". BBC Sport. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  16. ↑ "Swindon 3–0 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
  17. ↑ "Swindon prepared for Cox offers". BBC Sport. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Swindon reject two bids for Cox". BBC Sport. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  19. ↑ "Cox completes move to West Brom". BBC Sport. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Games played by Simon Cox in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "West Brom 4 – 3 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  22. ↑ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~54593,00.html
  23. ↑ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~54642,00.html
  24. ↑ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~51681,00.html
  25. ↑ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~52420,00.html
  26. ↑ "Games played by Simon Cox in 2010/2011". Soccerbase (Racing Post).
  27. ↑ "Fed-up Cox demands Baggies talks as Irish striker fears for Euro 2012 spot". dailymail. 17 April 2012.
  28. ↑ "Celtic target £3.5m West Brom and Republic of Ireland striker Cox". dailymail.co.uk. 23 May 2012.
  29. ↑ Nicholson, Fraser (14 August 2012). "Seventh Heaven". nottinghamforest.co.uk (Nottingham Forest F.C.). Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  30. ↑ "'Mr Cool' Rhodes earns praise". Sky Sports (British Sky Broadcasting). 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  31. ↑ Woodcock, Ian (21 August 2012). "Huddersfield 1–1 Nott'm Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  32. ↑ "Nottm Forest 1 Wigan 4: Figueroa rockets Latics into third round". Daily Mail (London: Associated Newspapers). 28 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  33. ↑ "Bobby Zamora show boosts QPR". Daily Express (London: Northern & Shell). 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  34. ↑ Lambell, Ashley (9 August 2013). "Cox Out Of Ewood Trip". nottinghamforest.co.uk (Nottingham Forest F.C.). Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  35. ↑ "Cox seals Royals return". http://www.readingfc.co.uk''. Reading F.C.
  36. ↑ "Rep of Ireland 5–0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  37. ↑ "Cox completes shock win". ESPN Soccernet. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  38. ↑ Jackson, Lyle (7 June 2011). "Italy 0–2 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  39. ↑ "Cox hails team-mates as 'heroes' after Republic win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  40. ↑ Wright, Rob (29 February 2012). "As it happened: Rep Ireland 1–1 Czech Rep". RTÉ Sport (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  41. ↑ "Euro 2012 squad". irishtimes.com. 8 May 2012.
  42. ↑ "Cox is fit". Nottingham Forest. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  43. ↑ "Nottingham Forest insists that Simon Cox is not injured". Sportsmole. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  44. ↑ "Simon Cox". National Football Teams. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  45. ↑ "Rep of Ireland 5-0 Northern Ireland". www.rte.ie. RTE. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  46. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 2-0 Italy". http://www.rte.ie''. RTE. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  47. ↑ "Republic of Ireland 1-1 Czech Republic". www.rte.ie. RTE. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  48. ↑ "Robbie Keane double eases Republic of Ireland past 10-man Georgia". http://www.theguardian.com''. The Guardian. 2 June 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2014.

External links