David Cox (footballer)

David Cox
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-03-17) 17 March 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Lanark, Scotland
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Livingston
2005–2009 Kilmarnock
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Kilmarnock 4 (0)
2009 Montrose 11 (2)
2009–2012 Annan Athletic 93 (14)
2012–2013 Alloa Athletic 2 (0)
2012–2013 → Peterhead (loan) 10 (3)
2013–2015 Peterhead 63 (3)
2015–2016 Airdrieonians 28 (4)
2016–2018 Forfar Athletic 50 (15)
2018–2021 Cowdenbeath 76 (17)
2021 Albion Rovers 5 (0)
2021–2022 Brechin City 1 (2)
2022-2024 Gretna 2008
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:31, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

David Cox (born 17 March 1989)[1] is a retired Scottish footballer who used to play as a forward.

Cox has previously played for Kilmarnock, Montrose, Annan Athletic, Alloa Athletic, Peterhead, Airdrieonians, Forfar Athletic, Cowdenbeath, Albion Rovers, Brechin City and Gretna 2008.

Career

Born in Lanark, Cox began his career in the youth academy of Livingston.[2] He later moved to Kilmarnock where he made his first team debut, aged 19 on 10 May 2008, in their 2–0 victory over Hearts in the Scottish Premier League.[3]

He left Kilmarnock in January 2009,[4] On 18 June 2009,[5] Cox signed a two-year contract with Annan Athletic. On 10 May 2012, he signed for newly promoted Alloa Athletic.[4] In November 2012, Cox signed for Peterhead on loan, making his debut against Rangers on 10 November 2012.[6] On 12 January 2013, the loan was turned into a permanent transfer.[7]

After two and a half years with Peterhead, Cox moved to Scottish League One rivals Airdrieonians in June 2015,[8] departing from the club in April 2016 to sign for Forfar Athletic.[9] In January 2018, Cox was once again signed by manager Gary Bollan, this time for Scottish League Two strugglers Cowdenbeath.[10] He played in both legs of the end-of-season play-off in which Cowdenbeath defeated Cove Rangers 3–2 to maintain their place in the SPFL.[11]

In February 2018, Cox stated that he had been mocked by both players and fans for discussing his mental health problems.[12][13] In December 2019, he commented that the abuse had continued and in some cases had worsened, and that it had caused him to be overly aggressive on the pitch and as a consequence he was considering quitting football, but that his club had offered their support.[14]

In March 2021, Cox joined Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers. On 29 April 2021, during a match against Stenhousemuir, Cox left the stadium at half-time after an alleged taunt from opposition defender Jonathan Tiffoney,[15] and stated he was retiring from football due to the incident.[16][17] Tiffoney later refuted the allegations and claimed it was Cox that verbally abused him.[18] A few days later, Cox confirmed that he would not be reversing his decision to retire.[19]

On 1 July 2021, Cox relented on his retirement, and signed for Highland Football League side Brechin City.[20]

Career statistics

As of 23:18, 6 December 2019 (UTC)[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Scottish Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Kilmarnock 2007–08[22] Scottish Premier League 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2008–09[23] 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Montrose 2008–09[23] Scottish Third Division 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2
Annan Athletic 2009–10[24] 30 5 0 0 1 0 3[a] 0 34 5
2010–11[25] 32 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 35 4
2011–12[26] 31 5 3 0 1 1 4[a] 2 39 8
Total 93 14 5 0 3 1 7 2 108 17
Alloa Athletic 2012–13[27] Scottish Second Division 2 0 0 0 1 0 1[a] 0 4 0
Peterhead (loan) 2012–13[27] Scottish Third Division 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 3
Peterhead 2012–13[27] 17 0 0 0 0 0 4[b] 2 21 2
2013–14[28] Scottish League Two 13 1 1 0 1 0 2[a] 2 17 3
2014–15[29] Scottish League One 33 2 0 0 1 0 3[a] 0 37 2
Total 63 3 1 0 2 0 9 4 75 7
Airdrieonians 2015–16[30] Scottish League One 28 4 2 0 2 0 1[a] 0 33 4
Forfar Athletic 2016–17[31] Scottish League Two 33 11 2 0 4 0 5[c] 1 44 12
2017–18[32] Scottish League One 17 4 1 0 4 0 1[a] 0 23 4
Total 50 15 3 0 8 0 6 1 68 16
Cowdenbeath 2017–18[32] Scottish League Two 16 2 0 0 0 0 2[d] 0 18 2
2018–19[33] 34 9 3 3 4 1 1[a] 0 42 13
2019–20[34] 11 4 2 1 4 0 1[a] 0 18 5
Total 61 15 5 4 8 1 4 0 78 20
Career total 322 56 16 4 24 2 28 7 390 69
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Appearances in the Scottish Challenge Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in the Second Division play-offs
  3. ^ One appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup; four appearances and a goal in the League One play-offs
  4. ^ Appearances in the League Two play-offs

References

  1. ^ "David Cox Kilmarnock Profile". Kilmarnock F.C. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Team spirit of Annan gets striker in the mood". SPFL. 2 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Hearts 0–2 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. 10 May 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Annan sign ex-Montrose forward". BBC Sport. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Player profile – David Cox". Annan Athletic F.C. 18 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Blue Toon impress at Ibrox Stadium". Buchan Observer. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  7. ^ "McInally and Cox popped into Hampden for signing". SPFL. 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  8. ^ "David Cox becomes latest summer signing". airdriefc.com. 25 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Forfar Athletic's David Cox says reunion with Gary Bollan was no-brainer". Forfar Dispatch. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 4 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Cox for Cowden". Cowdenbeath FC. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Cowdenbeath 3–2 Cove Rangers". BBC Sport. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Players taunted footballer over depression". BBC Sport. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  13. ^ "'Rival fans told me to go and hang myself'". BBC. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  14. ^ Footballer David Cox on verge of quitting over mental health taunts, BBC Scotland News, 6 December 2019
  15. ^ "Investigation launched into incident at game versus Albion Rovers". Stenhousemuir FC. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  16. ^ McKay, Gabriel (29 April 2021). "David Cox retires from football after alleged mental health slur". Daily Record. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  17. ^ "David Cox: Albion Rovers forward retires after allegedly being taunted about his mental health". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  18. ^ Berry, Gavin (30 April 2021). "Jonathan Tiffoney hits back at allegations he abused David Cox". Daily Record. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  19. ^ McCarthy, David (1 May 2021). "David Cox considered killing himself on drive home from 'suicide taunt' match". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  20. ^ Mew, Steven (1 July 2021). "David Cox Signs". brechincity.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  21. ^ David Cox at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Games played by David Cox in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  27. ^ a b c "Games played by David Cox in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  32. ^ a b "Games played by David Cox in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  33. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  34. ^ "Games played by David Cox in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 December 2019.