Name: Ian Cox.
D.O.B: 25-Mar-1971.
Club: Maidstone United (England - May-2008 to present).
Previous clubs: Bournemouth (England), Crystal Palace (England), Burnley (England), Gillingham (England - 2003 to May-2008).
Position: Defender.
NOTE: Ian started as a midfield player for AFC Bournemouth and was converted into the stylish centeral defender that he is now, he join Burnley from the cherries for a fee of £500,000.00, pounds, he is superb in the air, strong tackle and composed on the deck, his parents are for Trinidad and Tobago, but Ian was born in England, he made his debut for T&T on: Jan,18th 2000, aganist Morocco, T&T's World Cup Debut, Feb, 28th, 2001, aganist Jamaica. Ian Cox had decided to hang up his boots as far as international football is concerned. After playing in a couple of World Cup qualifiers in 2001 he has made the decision to concentrate on his career at his club then Burnley. Cox retired from internationl football on the 20th of April, 2001 and came out of retirement in 2004 and is currently on the T&T national team.

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It was a dream come true, says Cox.

Gillingham FC.
25-Nov-2005 - Defender Ian Cox talks about his World Cup qualification experience before looking ahead to Saturday's match with Colchester United.
Ian Cox and Brent Sancho became the first Gills players to qualify for the World Cup when Trinidad & Tobago reached Germany 2006 with a 1-0 win over Bahrain. Cox played his part in that game coming on for Luton Town midfielder Carlos Edwards for the remaining seven minutes of the game.
Speaking about that fantastic night at the National Stadium in Manama, Bahrain, Cox said: "It was an amazing experience and a life long dream come true. At the final whistle it was unbelievable, the whole euphoria of it all, seeing grown men breaking down and crying with joy and excitement.
"A lot of the players like Shaka Hislop and Dwight Yorke, have been playing for a number of years and to achieved this at the latter stage of their careers is ideal."
Cox was asked how he thought the Soca Warriors would fair in the finals in Germany next year. He said: "It's not going to be easy because you are playing with the cream of the crop - the best players in the world.
"In the same vain though you want to go out and give a good account of yourselves."
Cox is keeping his feet firmly on the ground though, and knows that he needs to perform for the Gills to give him self a good chance of making the squad for the finals.
"It's a while away yet and I have to knuckle down here. My feet are firmly on the ground. From the first minute I got back my wife said 'here you are, look after the girls' so it's not been a problem keeping my feet on the ground. "These experiences only come along once in a while so you have to savour the moment."

Ian Cox makes up for lost time.

By: Joel Bailey (Newsday).
01-Nov-2005 - Ian Cox is definitely making up for lost time as he tries to reach the pinnacle of his football career — assisting the national football team in their quest to reach the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The tall, well-spoken English-born defender is not one to make a fuss at the fact that he has been among the reserves or, in some cases, not called upon at all, either by Trinidad and Tobago coach Leo Beenhakker or his predecessor Bertille St Clair. Ian he is the 21-member squad to face Bahrain on November 12 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. He is modest enough to accept that he will have to take his chances when it comes, both with the national squad and Gillingham in the English First Division (League One).
The son of a Tobago mother, Ian was born in Croydon, south London on March 25, 1971, and had to wait until he was well into adulthood before he could look to make a career out of the game. “I just basically started football at Crystal Palace (one of England’s more prominent and long-standing clubs),” Ian admitted. “I’d come into the game quite late at 23, just the way how it was, I just didn’t make the grade as a youngster. “I went and played non-league football and I got picked up by Crystal Palace while I was playing non-league football and it all started from there really.” Concerning his growth in the sport, Ian reflected: “I played all over the place.
“Since I went to Bournemouth (club) ten years ago, that’s when I was converted into a defender. I was naturally a midfielder at first but I gradually went back and back.” Ian later became captain of Bournemouth before joining another English club Burnley, for a fee of £500,000. With his calmness on the field, even though he does possess a strong tackle and strength in the air, Ian was given his international debut by St Clair during a 1-0 defeat to Morocco in January 2000. Even after St Clair was replaced as coach by Ian Porterfield a month later, Ian was still in the thick of things until, like so many of Trinidad and Tobago’s overseas-based players, he found the struggle to maintain his intensity, and his starting place, for both club and country.
On April 20, 2001, Ian decided to retire from the international fray to concentrate on his career with Burnley, a move which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he signed a three-year deal at Gillingham in 2003. A consistent run of form for Gillingham, as well as a return to the TT coaching helm of St Clair, prompted Ian to make a re-think and, in 2004, he came out of international retirement. In the national team, Ian has had to battle with the likes of Marvin Andrews, Dennis Lawrence, Anton Pierre and Brent Sancho for a spot on the first eleven, but he is not despondent by that. Even Sancho, who joined Gillingham before the start of the 2005/2006 season, has credited Ian’s overall demeanour in helping him settle at the club, who unfortunately dropped from the English Championship Division to League One.
“It’s not too bad,” is how Ian describes the season thus far. “Obviously it was disappointing last year to get relegated. But we’re in the League One now. “We just have to get on with job in hand,” he continued. “It feels good. We know we’ve got a hard job ahead of us but we’re up to the task.”
As far as his career is concerned, he was quick to point out that he does not see his career continuing for much longer. “At the moment, all I’m just doing is concentrating on this year,” Ian said. “I’ve got a year left at Gillingham and then I’ll just probably take it from there.” He added: “I’ve got my fingers in other (places) and I’m just going to wait to see if they can come into fruition over the next few years.”
When asked about the other “places,” he replied: “it’s not necessarily with football. “My wife’s got a conference business so we’re actually in the corporate industry as well.” A father of three girls — Jade 11, Shann, 8, and Anna-Mae, 4, Ian  takes an active role in his family life with the same zeal as he does his role on the football field. But he does not envision any of his daughters taking up the sport. “They wouldn’t be following my footsteps in football but (Shann) is a gymnast, very, very good,” he admits. “It all depends on if she wants to pursue this or pursue that as she gets older.”
“At the moment, it’s just something to keep her busy, keep her out of the house,” he noted. When he is not taking on the challenges of opponents on the field, Ian puts most of his attention, and his time on his family. “I spend a lot of time with my girls, hanging out, running around after them because they do a lot of different activities,” he ended.

Ian Cox - Playing in the World Cup is every player's dream.

Gillingham FC.
15-Sept-2005 - Gillingham defender Ian Cox reflects on a busy last few weeks for him playing for both Club and Country. Speaking briefly about last weekend's defeat to Rotherham, he said: "We didn't really deserve too much out of the game at Rotherham. From start to finish we didn't play well, we didn't apply ourselves from the first minute and I think we got what we deserved, which was nothing.
"Losing the game on Tuesday was a bitter pill to swallow though because for the first 35 minutes we didn't do too badly. We got the ball down and created numerous chances, but as defenders we have to keep the ball out and if you don't do that you're always going to be up against it."
Gills left the field of play to a chorus of boos from a small section of the crowd, and Cox was asked what effect this has on the team.
He replied: "It's difficult to take because we have got a lot of youngsters in the team and they, we, all need the help we can get, especially now that we are going through a bad patch.
"The supporters act as the twelfth man and we need them to get behind us. Fair play to those who have got behind us over the past few weeks, because, to a certain extent, we have let them down."
Cox's international teammate Brent Sancho has joined the club and Cox believes that he will add a little extra to the team. He explained: "Brent's a good player. He's good with the football and will add quality to the team.
"He's a robust, no nonsense defender. When things aren't going too well he'll give us that extra physical presence, which you need at certain times, especially when you are playing teams that like to beat you up a little bit."
Cox spent 10 days with his country, Trinidad & Tobago, appearing in both their games against Guatemala and Costa Rica.
There is no better honour than playing for your county as he explains: "It's an honour and I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to play the games.
"I'm on my last legs so to speak and any opportunity that comes my way I have got to take. It's been a wonderful experience.
"We could still qualify for the World Cup, the third place looks a little bit out of our reach but the fourth spot, which puts you in a qualifier, is between us and Guatemala, Panama have got a slight chance but it's really between us and Guatemala.
"So we have a chance and if we get the fourth spot we'll go into a play off against the 5th place qualifier from Asia. We'll just have to remain focused over the next two games. "Playing in the World Cup is every player's dream - the pinnacle - I'm no different really even at 34.
"If we were to get there it would be a wonderful achievement not just on a personal level but also for the country, Trinidad & Tobago. They really need this chance to get to the World Cup to give them something to look forward to."

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