One bloke offered me bite of his burger as I took corner
previous six seasons, with Leyton Orient. On transfer deadline day in August, the club’s Italian owner Francesco Becchetti let it be known that Cox, like other popular players before him, was not wanted any more.
It was a baffling decision to Cox and to the angry Orient supporters. In a parting shot of spite by the club, Cox’s release papers were not sent over to him until five minutes before the 11pm August transfer deadline.
It was too late for him to sign them in time to be declared a free agent. He could not play at EFL or National League level until January.
So Cox chose to head to Crawley, partly for family reasons but also because the club and manager Dermot Drummy made him feel wanted.
Cox said: “I felt part of the club here. I trained Monday to Friday with them. It was difficult for Dermot to ask me to come in because I wasn’t getting paid, but I wanted to do it right.
“I made it clear that I wanted to come in for training every day to integrate with the lads and so that when I was able to play, I would slot in.
“I knew the manager at Burgess Hill, Ian Chapman, from my time at Brighton. I gave him a call and said, ‘Am I all right to come and play some games, please?’
“He said, ‘Coxy, don’t muck around with me’. He thought I was joking, but the whole experience took me back to playing in the playground.
“I was actually at school with a couple of the Burgess Hill lads.
“I had some banter from opposition players, a few hefty challenges – which I expected – and one bloke even offered me a bite of his burger as I was taking a corner in one match.”
In 11 games for Burgess Hill, Cox scored nine goals and had seven assists. His Crawley career has started well too, with two victories from two matches, including an assist in the 2-0 win over Yeovil.
“Having to sit and wait to play for three months, I wouldn’t wish any footballer to have to go through that,” said Cox.
“But I really enjoyed it at Burgess Hill. And I got my love of the game back.” Take note, Diego Costa. SKY BET are the proud sponsors of the English Football League.