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Date and Place of Birth 25th March 1971 - CROYDON
Transfers to and from Burnley from BOURNEMOUTH - 4th February 2000 (£500,000) released - 6th May 2003
First and Last Burnley Games BRISTOL ROVERS (h) - 5th February 2000
WALSALL (a) - 15th March 2003 replaced by Steve Davis
Other Clubs CRYSTAL PALACE, BOURNEMOUTH ---------------------------------------- GILLINGHAM |
Burnley Career Stats
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Others | Total | |||||
| apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | apps | gls | |
| 1999/2000 | 17 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 17 | 1 |
| 2000/01 | 35(3) | 1 | 2 | - | 4 | - | - | - | 41(3) | 1 |
| 2001/02 | 32(2) | 2 | 2 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 35(2) | 2 |
| 2002/03 | 23(3) | 1 | 4(1) | - | 2 | - | - | - | 29(4) | 1 |
| Total | 107(8) | 5 | 8(1) | - | 7 | - | - | - | 122(9) | 5 |
Profile by Tony Scholes
Burnley were building up towards a promotion in February 2000 when we splashed the cash again and spent no less than £500,000 on Bournemouth defender Ian Cox.
There'd been no real hint of it until a couple of days before but the deal went through in time for him to make his debut in a memorable 1-0 win against Bristol Rovers. He came in for Gordon 'Stretch' Armstrong and found himself in a defence that had its work cut out once Andy Payton had been sent off.
A week later he lined up against his old club Bournemouth and in his third game was in the same team as Ian Wright, and suddenly he was no longer the new boy with the spotlight on him.
Coxy had been with Bournemouth for four years but his earlier career was down in non-league football with Carshalton Athletic. Such was his form there that Crystal Palace stepped in to pay £40,000 for him in March 1994, a couple of weeks before his 23rd birthday.
In two years at Selhurst Park he failed to establish himself, making just fifteen league appearances and only two of them were starts. After two years there Mel Machin came in and took him to Bournemouth in a free transfer.
He immediately became a vital member of the Bournemouth side and in the next four years was a regular. He made over 200 appearances for them and during his time at Dean Court played alongside Rio Ferdinand at the back whilst also featuring in the same side as another current Manchester United player John O'Shea.
Burnley were forever being linked with Coxy's regular central defensive partner Eddie Howe but he never ventured north and it was Cox who Stan Ternent turned to in that promotion season to strengthen our back four.
He came straight into the side and turned in some excellent performances although he missed the run in with an arm injury.
Fit again after the summer break he was first choice in the newly promoted Burnley side and his first season in the higher division led to international honours and a row between Burnley and his country.
He was selected for Trinidad & Tobago but when he was late returning the T&T FA were labelled a 'Mob' and a 'Tin Pot Outfit' by his club manager. There were some compromises and some discussions between the two parties to smooth things over, but in reality Cox made four appearances within a four week period and had to wait for a move to another club before getting any more caps.
In successive seasons he came close to reaching the Premiership as Burnley failed to reach the play offs by the narrowest of margins. But that was as good as it got for him and as a defender in his third full season it was always going to be a difficult one.
As Burnley threw one in time and again during that 2002/03 season it is noticeable that Cox played in only one of the games when we conceded five or more. That was against Rotherham and he came off at half time in that game.
He played half the games that season and had a number of different central defensive partners including Steve Davis, Arthur Gnohere and even Graham Branch. But his partnership with new signing Drissa Diallo in the second half of the season looked to be bearing fruit.
However, the end was close for Cox. After the defeat to Watford in the FA Cup we went on to concede another seven goals that week in defeats at Sheffield United and Walsall in two shocking performances. So bad was it at Walsall that Ternent made three half time substitutions and Davis for Cox was one of them.
In the week after Ternent said he was ready to walk out and accused the players of having a laugh and nicking money while people are paying their hard earned cash to go and see them.
Ternent didn't leave, but Cox never played for Burnley again and at the end of the season was released along with twelve other players.
He was snapped up by Gillingham boss Andy Hessenthaler within days and he spent almost five years at the Priestfield Stadium. Again he played for Ternent but he also won his place back in the Trinidad & Tobago side and went as a squad member to the 2006 World Cup.
Three days past his 37th birthday, in March 2008, having lost his place in the side he finally left Gillingham and league football to sign for Maidstone United in the Isthmian League. And a year later he remains a regular in their side.
He played over 150 league games for the Gills and that took his total number of Football League appearances past the 450.
Ian Cox proved to be a good signing for Burnley and was a very influential member of the side, playing in a five man defence, when we first won promotion in 2000. It might have ended on a sour note but that should never cloud the contribution he made to our club in just over three years as a Burnley player.
Added:
Cox moved from Maidstone United to Whitstable Town where he played until 2014 before hanging up his boots. In June 2015 he was appointed head coach at Ramsgate.
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