Latest news with #NickCox
7NEWS
3 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Essendon ‘frustrated' with situation surrounding young gun Nik Cox
Essendon are growing increasingly frustrated by the situation surrounding young gun Nik Cox, according to Channel 7's Caroline Wilson. Cox has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after facing the AFL's independent concussion panel in June following a series of head knocks over the past 12 months. But while he was initially given a clear return-to-play pathway, the panel won't reconvene until October at the earliest. It leaves the club and Cox unsure of his future until after the trade period. 'The situation now, and this is what's frustrating Essendon, is that the concussion committee cannot be convened for the purposes of assessing the future of Nick Cox until at the very, very earliest October and probably November,' Wilson reported on The Agenda Setters. 'Look, I don't know if it's bureaucracy. These are busy people. There's medical people involved. They have busy schedules. This is also a very costly exercise. Clubs have to pay for this, and it's not coming out of the soft cap. 'I'm not dissing the importance of the seriousness of concussion, but we're looking at $10,000 to actually go through this process. So I think that the footy department is becoming increasingly frustrated that the AFL can't intervene and speed this up. 'I think, if I'm blunt, I think Nick Cox is probably at the moment a 50-50 proposition to play again, and whether he chooses to play again with all the red flags he's had with concussions. 'But the club need to know, surely, before the trade period, they need to know for their list management what's going to happen. So this is an ongoing issue.' Wilson stressed that concussion is a very serious issue in the game. 'I think this is just one of the many bureaucratic problems that has come about through what is rightly a very serious issue and doing the right thing,' she added. Fellow panellist Luke Hodge said it's important to make the right call when it comes to Cox's future. 'It's also something that you wouldn't want to rush into,' he said. 'He might need a good four, six months to make sure he gets over the last concussion before they go and make a pretty serious call on his future.' Cox suffered a concussion in Round 22 last year before going down again in a training session before Christmas. Symptoms lingered throughout the pre-season, but he eventually returned to VFL level and played two games before he was sidelined again and placed in concussion protocols. He then faced the same independent panel that recommended he sit out the remainder of the season. Cox made an eye-catching start to his AFL career. Taken with pick No.8 in the 2020 draft, the 200cm utility excited the AFL world with his athleticism and mobility. He played 22 senior games in his debut season, but then only managed 11 in 2022 and 2023. Cox was a regular starter last year, managing 20 games until a concussion in Round 22 ended his season early.
The Sun
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Man Utd in talks to sign two 16-year-olds ‘regarded as among best in country' including England U17 captain and City kid
MANCHESTER UNITED are holding talks to land two of the country's best teenage talents during the summer transfer window. The bids are spearheaded by United 's head of academy recruitment Luke Fedorenko and director of academy Nick Cox, who are trying to attract some of the UK's best young players to boost the academy. 2 According to The Athletic, Man Utd are keeping tabs on highly-rated youngsters Seth Ridgeon and Tyrese Noubissie who are both considering the offers. Fulham ace Ridgeon, 16, has already played for the club's Under-21s despite his young age. The attacking midfielder is also the captain of England 's Under-17 side. Noubissie, 16, is set to depart Manchester City after finding opportunities to be limited. The versatile midfielder, who can play as a No6 and No8, joined City from Leicester two years ago following a whopping £1million deal. United are very interested in both wonderkids and recently invited them for a tour at Old Trafford and Carrington where they met director of football Jason Wilcox, while manager Ruben Amorim also made a brief appearance. However, Man Utd face competition for both teenage sensations during the summer transfer window. Ridgeon has attracted interest from City, Chelsea, and Liverpool, while Fulham are fighting hard to hold onto him. Noubissie, on the other hand, is eyed by RB Leipzig and Strasbourg who are making attempts to convince him to move abroad with his situation being described as "open". There are other European clubs keeping tabs on the France Under-16 international because of his continental heritage as he was born in Scotland to father, Patrick, who is from Paris. Nevertheless, United are thought to be leading the race, especially in Ridgeon's case as they have tabled an "impressive proposal".
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What it takes to lead Manchester United's academy: ‘DNA', talent-spotting and toast tutorials
Leading Manchester United's academy is no ordinary backroom role. The club's heritage of developing young talent is unparalleled in English football, so whoever is tasked with running it has expectations which far outweigh those at other clubs. 'It's not a football club, it's an institution,' says Nicky Butt, who was United's head of academy between 2016 to 2019, having also graduated through the system as a player by winning the FA Youth Cup in 1992. 'You have to have some knowledge of the history, and what it means to represent the football club.' Advertisement United now need a new man to take on that unique responsibility. Nick Cox, who took over from Butt six years ago, is leaving United to become technical director at Everton once his replacement is found. It is another major task for United's director of football Jason Wilcox. Heading United's academy is a job that rarely changes hands. Brian McClair was in position for a decade before Butt, and prior to that Les Kershaw, a close colleague of Sir Alex Ferguson, held the reins for several years, helping to design United's Carrington training base. Eric Harrison etched his name into United folklore by bringing through the Class of '92 during 27 years of service, while Jimmy Murphy, who drove the club's youth policy between 1946 and 1964 under Sir Matt Busby, is remembered with a statue outside Old Trafford and a building named in his honour at Carrington. They are all part of United's youth tapestry, with threads stretching all the way back to 1937, when an unbroken run started of homegrown players being selected in senior matchday squads. The sequence currently stretches to 4,321 successive games, believed to be the longest in world football, and while keeping that intact should not be a decisive factor in selections for Ruben Amorim or any United manager, whoever replaces Cox will be expected to be sensitive to that tradition. 'I do believe external people bring different skills to the job,' Butt adds. 'I always use Kieran McKenna as an example. He came through at Tottenham and brought different ideas to Man United (when he joined as under-18s manager in 2016). But fundamentally I think you've got to know what the club's DNA is, the beliefs, the ethos, the style. 'You don't have to have been there since 12, like me. But it has to be someone who's respectful enough of the football club to say, 'This is bigger than me, I'm going to learn, but I'm gonna put my stamp on it as well'.' There is a philosophy that underpins United's academy but on a practical level, too, the job has become vast. Cox's responsibilities have come to resemble those of a sporting director, just for younger age groups. Staff numbers have come down, now measuring between 60-70, with around 100 more casual and host families. There are 210 players in the building and around 500 at development centres and community initiatives. The operating costs at a category one academy, such as United's, can reach £10million per year, with compensation for players signed from other clubs, and salaries, on top. Advertisement The brief is to oversee recruitment, retention, coaching, medical, logistics, education, pastoral and more. Essentially it is a strategic leadership role requiring a broad knowledge across each of the disciplines and an ability to knit those together. Recruitment is a key aspect and demands an element of talent identification, then retaining the right players, issuing the appropriate lengths of contract, and planning a pathway. Those in charge of the academy spend hours every week examining each age group's players and what they might look like in two or three years' time, allied to the characteristics or gaps in the first team and how the academy could help. Manchester City, where Wilcox worked as academy director between 2017 to 2023, chose an alternative approach, knowing they were very unlikely to get players into Pep Guardiola's side. They built a model that prioritised player development and trading. The art, from a United perspective, is to do both. So the United academy job requires a degree of business acumen, being able to reassure executives — and occasionally owners — that the money being invested is worthwhile and carries a return. That might be a pipeline of players to support the first team, or be sold for significant sums. Anthony Elanga, for example, played 55 senior games for United, was signed by Nottingham Forest for £15m and could still earn the club more a substantial sell-on clause. Via the same mechanism United will earn more from Alvaro Carreras too, should Real Madrid complete a €50m purchase from Benfica. United's academy director has autonomy to bring in a grassroots player at, say, the age of 12, but when it comes to signing players for significant fees there are conversations at senior level to make sure there is a route ahead. Ultimately, however, the academy director is accountable. Advertisement At this age, a knowledge and understanding of the rules and regulations is essential. Every transfer between category one academies is investigated by the Premier League and United are regularly audited to make sure the club meets the criteria for category one status. There has been a change in the last 18 months since Sir Jim Ratcliffe's investment. Beforehand the academy would primarily be recruiting into their group and the first team into another, but now United collectively target the recruitment of players in the 17- to 20-year-olds bracket. A confidence to communicate effectively in boardroom or bootroom is helpful, too. Cox joined from Sheffield United after a spell at Watford, where he coached every age group. He recently completed his UEFA Pro Licence, meaning he has a good understanding of what happens on the pitches at Carrington and can challenge and develop those who put on sessions, even though they will, naturally, be better coaches than him. One of those is Travis Binnion, brought in by Cox, who has become influential at the academy as head of player development and coaching, having won the FA Youth Cup in 2022. Other tasks include being across travel to tournaments abroad, medical treatments such as surgeries, nutrition and gym work, and liaising with parents. A sensitivity to how adolescents behave and their mentality is also important. Cox often speaks about creating an experience that is life-enriching because boys can be at United from the age of seven to 21, spending five or six days a week at the club. United are essentially shaping childhoods. Cox was also working on presentations to staff to help them understand their links to the club's history and make sure past methods for youth development used by Murphy, Busby, Harrison and Ferguson are passed down. He put on an event for department members at the Science and Industry Museum where guests were invited to talk on Manchester's culture to try to connect people. This has become doubly important given the departures of long-serving employees such as Tony Whelan, who retired in December aged 72, after working at United's academy since 1990 having come through as a player under Busby. Advertisement Butt says there is a dossier 'twice the size of a telephone directory' that has been collated since 1982 on what a United player should look like and how to develop them, added to by various coaches over the years. He name-checks Paul McGuinness, son of Wilf (a player, coach, and manager in Busby's time) and Neil Ryan, son of Jim (reserve team manager under Ferguson) as two who contributed. Butt believes it would provide valuable insight at United even now. He agrees United need to maintain that bond with the days when titles were routine. 'Darren Fletcher is the perfect example,' Butt says. 'Whoever comes in should grab hold of Darren and stick him right next to them for a year.' Fletcher is moving from Amorim's staff to under-18s lead coach because he wanted to aid the club amid Adam Lawrence's departure and take the first step towards becoming a No 1, setting training and picking teams. This week, he is taking charge of the group's training camp in Germany at Adidas headquarters. He is expected to have wider influence, too. Defender Phil Jones, who worked as a coach with United's under-18s for free for 18 months, is set to leave to pursue a senior assistant role at another club. Fellow centre-half Jonny Evans will have significant presence in the academy as head of loans and pathways, while Tommy Rowe and Tommy Lee, two academy coaches, initially came through United age groups in their playing careers. Clubs have different structures. Arsenal label the job academy manager, appointing a figurehead in Per Mertesacker, a former player. Chelsea hired Glenn van der Kraan as academy technical director, alongside Jack Francis as academy football operations director. Van der Kraan was head of coaching at Manchester City. When Wilcox left to become technical director at Southampton two years ago, City hired Thomas Krucken from Stuttgart, where he had been coaching-focused as head of youth development. Omar Berrada, then City's chief football operations officer and now United's CEO, had a role in the selection. Wilcox has also gone outside the obvious when hiring. He appointed Andy Goldie from Swansea as Southampton's academy director in 2023. Advertisement Butt thinks United should appoint two people, rather than one, to cover the responsibilities of a role that has become so wide-ranging. 'I think the football club's too big to have one head of academy,' he says. 'It should be split up. When I took over, I wasn't the academy manager per se, the one who goes to all the Premier League meetings, the interviews, the parents' evening. I was very much on the grass. I had Nick Cox next to me doing all the stuff that I wasn't an expert in. 'They should have a head of football, I think, somebody who's on the grass and does that side of the management. And then someone who does all the rules and regulations.' There are also mundane, but no-less time-consuming, issues that arise. Cox once had several calls from an unrecognised number, with messages left requesting an urgent response. It transpired that the person on the other end was the owner of an ice cream van who had been booked for a kids' event but had lost touch with the United staffer, who had since departed the club, responsible for arranging it. He wanted to know if he still had the gig and, if so, how many hundreds and thousands to order. Other calls into the academy have come from teenagers out on loan wishing to know how best to make a slice of toast. More significant inquiries involve players who have picked up injuries or got colds in the middle of the night and want advice on how to tell the manager. There is sometimes fear of letting down people in a new environment at that age. Kids have also missed United games after picking up detentions at Ashton on Mersey, the club's partner school, for forgetting to wear ties or skipping French lessons. It is a job that brings glamour, too. In 2022, staff were concerned to see a crowd of eight-year-olds forming feverishly on the training pitch. On closer inspection, it transpired that Kaka, the former Brazil international, had strolled over for a kick about after attending a UEFA training course at Carrington. Then there was the time Cox arrived at reception to be told Robbie Williams was hoping for a tour, having shown up ahead of performing at Manchester Arena. Amorim, who has given debuts to Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven (both signed from Arsenal), Harry Amass (Watford) and the homegrown Tyler Fredricson will hope the academy production line remains strong. Academy teams will not be told to play his back-three system though, as per instructions by Wilcox, who wants youth sides to focus on bringing through quality talent rather than replicate the exact first-team set-up. Advertisement The identity of who oversees all that is still unclear, but Butt has no doubts over what kind of personality United should be targeting. 'You can't be there with the Emperor's New Clothes where everything you say is right,' he says. 'You grab hold of the baton as best you can, try to add a little bit to it, and then when your time comes you pass it on. 'The importance of what it is to be a young player there, is about respect for people, it's about playing exciting, brave football, and winning football as well. I think there is too much in junior football where it's not about winning, it's about development. Developing is about 60 to 70 per cent, but you've got to learn how to win. 'If you don't have any experience of winning, or nearly winning, year on year, from the age of 11, how do you expect to go and do it for the first team? If you're not a winner, you're not going to do well at Man United.' (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Fletcher in talks over Man Utd U18 coaching role
Former Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher is in talks to take over as the club's Under-18 U18s coach Adam Lawrence left United at the end of the season, part of a major summer upheaval at youth level that also includes academy chief Nick Cox taking a job at Everton as technical feel former Scotland international Fletcher, 41, will provide continuity as the search for Cox's successor initially returned to Old Trafford in a non-playing role during Ed Woodward's time as chief was appointed as technical director in 2021 but moved roles following Sir Jim Ratcliffe's arrival as minority shareholder, when Jason Wilcox took the job after leaving was a first-team coach under Erik ten Hag and, in more recent times, has been a link between the first-team and academy and travelled to Malaysia and Hong Kong at the end of the season, when a number of young players were has long-term management ambitions of his own and this would be a positive first has previously been reluctant to take on an academy role as his twin sons Tyler and Jack were both excelling as they have now moved out of the Under-18 age group, which leaves Fletcher to take the job if he is understood he will work closely with Travis Binnion, United's Under-21 lead coach.
Daily Mail
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Man United legend in talks to become new U18s manager after working closely with Ruben Amorim last season
Darren Fletcher has held talks about becoming Manchester United 's Under-18 manager. The vacancy has been open since Adam Lawrence decided to leave following the end of the 2024-25 season. Mail Sport understands that while nothing has yet been agreed with Fletcher, he is well liked by sporting director Jason Wilcox and departing academy director Nick Cox and has held talks. Fletcher, who holds his UEFA A licence, spent last season working closely with Ruben Amorim and the first team and he operated as a conduit to help get academy players into training groups and matchday squads. He has ambitions of one day becoming a manager in his own right and the Under-18 role, which was previously held by Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, is seen as a great opportunity to cut his teeth in a prestigious role. This would represent Fletcher's first opportunity to lead a team and add to his coaching CV. His two sons, Jack and Tyler, are part of the Under-21 cohort and it's understood their presence at the club had given Fletcher pause for thought about taking senior academy roles previously. Fletcher's knowledge of the club, having been a mainstay in the first team under Sir Alex Ferguson, is seen as a feather in his cap, as is his focus on player development. Club sources have indicated that individual development of players would be prioritised over results in a bid to generate future first team stars.
