Simon Cox (footballer born 1987)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other people of the same name, see Simon Cox (disambiguation).
Simon Cox
Simon Cox 2012 Sopot.jpg
Simon Cox during a "welcome ceremony" for the Irish squad in Sopot before UEFA Euro 2012
Personal information
Full name Simon Richard Cox
Date of birth (1987-04-28) 28 April 1987 (age 26)
Place of birth Reading, England
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Nottingham Forest
Number 19
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 54 (32)
2009–2012 West Bromwich Albion 65 (10)
2012– Nottingham Forest 39 (5)
National team‡
2011– Republic of Ireland 22 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2013 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 February 2013

Simon Richard Cox (born 28 April 1987)[2] is a footballer who plays as a striker for Nottingham Forest and the Republic of Ireland national football team. 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.

Contents

Club career [edit]

Early years [edit]

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 [edit]

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 [edit]

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. Swindon fought off interest from Northampton Town[citation needed], also of League One, who for long periods seemed more likely to sign the striker.[citation needed]

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.

Swindon rejected two bids for Cox in May 2009, one of which was made by Leicester City (the other club being unnamed).[17]

West Bromwich Albion [edit]

On 8 July 2009, he signed for West Bromwich Albion, on a two-year contract, for an initial fee of £1.5 million.[18] 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).[19] 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.[20]

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

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,[21] and in the fourth round he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Leicester City.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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,[25] 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.[26] On 23 May 2012, Celtic made a enquiry for the Irish striker, but West Bromwich Albion have yet to respond.[27]

Nottingham Forest [edit]

On 11 August 2012, Cox joined Nottingham Forest for a undisclosed fee, signing a three year contract.[28] The transfer fee is reported to be £2 million.[29] He became the 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.[30] He scored his second goal in a 4–1 defeat in League Cup against Premier League club Wigan Athletic[31] with a strike described by the Daily Express as 'spectactular'.[32] This goal took his tally to 2 goals and 2 assists in his first 4 appearences 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 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 5th League goal of the season, despite being ever present in Nottingham Forest's unsuccessful bid to reach the play-offs.

International career [edit]

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.[33] 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.[34][35] 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.[36] He scored the equaliser in the 1–1 friendly against the Czech Republic at the Aviva Stadium on 29 February 2012.[37] Cox was selected in Trapattoni's 23 man squad for the UEFA Euro 2012.[38]

International goals [edit]

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

Honours [edit]

Swindon
International

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 27 April 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c "Player profiles – Simon Cox". Reading F.C. 2006-07-25. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  3. ^ a b "the son of a Pension Officer, Reading-born Academy forward Simon Cox signs first professional contract". Reading F.C. 2005-11-18. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  4. ^ "Primary Schools' Monkwy Punching Tournament 2006". Crosfields School. 2006-11-21. Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  5. ^ "It's a dream come true – Cox". Reading Evening Post. 2005-11-11. Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  6. ^ "Young forward Cox agrees to join Brentford on a month-long loan deal". Reading F.C. 2006-09-11. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  7. ^ "Royals youngster Cox suffers broken leg while playing on loan at Brentford". Reading F.C. 2006-09-27. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  8. ^ a b "Cox joins Brentford on loan". Reading F.C. 2006-11-22. Retrieved 2006-11-22. 
  9. ^ "Cox and Henry complete loan moves". Reading F.C. 2007-03-22. Retrieved 2007-03-22. 
  10. ^ "Cox extends Northampton loan deal after scoring his third Cobblers goal". Reading F.C. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
  11. ^ "Four new contracts agreed". Reading F.C. 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-07-07. 
  12. ^ "Cox, Sodje & Stack agree loans". Reading F.C. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 
  13. ^ "Verdict on Federici, Cox, Pearce & Lita". Reading F.C. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  14. ^ "Cox signs for Swindon". Reading F.C. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-01. 
  15. ^ "Huddersfield 1–0 Swindon". BBC Sport. 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
  16. ^ "Swindon 3–0 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-03-24. 
  17. ^ "Swindon reject two bids for Cox". BBC Sport. 2009-05-14. Retrieved 2009-05-14. 
  18. ^ "Cox completes move to West Brom". BBC Sport. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 
  19. ^ a b http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=42170&season_id=139
  20. ^ "West Brom 4 – 3 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2009. 
  21. ^ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~54593,00.html
  22. ^ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~54642,00.html
  23. ^ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~51681,00.html
  24. ^ http://www.wba.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~52420,00.html
  25. ^ http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=42170&season_id=140
  26. ^ "Fed-up Cox demands Baggies talks as Irish striker fears for Euro 2012 spot". dailymail. 17 April 2012. 
  27. ^ "Celtic target £3.5m West Brom and Republic of Ireland striker Cox". dailymail.co.uk. 23 May 2012. 
  28. ^ Nicholson, Fraser (14 August 2012). "Seventh Heaven". nottinghamforest.co.uk (Nottingham Forest F.C.). Retrieved 21 August 2012. 
  29. ^ "'Mr Cool' Rhodes earns praise". Sky Sports (British Sky Broadcasting). 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012. 
  30. ^ Woodcock, Ian (21 August 2012). "Huddersfield 1–1 Nott'm Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2012. 
  31. ^ "Nottm Forest 1 Wigan 4: Figueroa rockets Latics into third round". Daily Mail (London: Associated Newspapers). 28 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. 
  32. ^ "Bobby Zamora show boosts QPR". Daily Express (London: Northern & Shell). 29 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012. 
  33. ^ "Rep of Ireland 5–0 N Ireland". BBC Sport. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 
  34. ^ "Cox completes shock win". ESPN Soccernet. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
  35. ^ "Italy 0–2 Republic of Ireland". BBC Sport. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011. 
  36. ^ "Cox hails team-mates as 'heroes' after Republic win". BBC Sport. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
  37. ^ Wright, Rob (29 February 2012). "As it happened: Rep Ireland 1–1 Czech Rep". RTÉ Sport (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). Retrieved 29 February 2012. 
  38. ^ "Euro 2012 squad". irishtimes.com. 8 May 2012. 

External links [edit]
Republic of Ireland squad – UEFA Euro 2012
Republic of Ireland
Nottingham Forest F.C. – current squad
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_Cox_(footballer_born_1987)&oldid=555653187"