Maddy Cusack's Struggles at Sheffield United: Mind Games and Pressure

The former Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack was subjected to mind games, comments about her weight and jibes about her relationship by her coach in the period before her death, an inquest has heard.

Cusack, 27, was found unconscious by her father, David, at the family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on 20 September 2023. She died later that day.

At Chesterfield Coroner's Court on Tuesday, the inquest was told that Jonathan Morgan, then manager of Sheffield United’s women’s team, had previously called Cusack a “psycho” from the touchline and later unsettled her with his handling of team selection and remarks about her private life.

‘Psycho’ from the sideline

Giving evidence, Grace Riglar – a former Sheffield United player who was in a relationship with Cusack – described how her partner felt “anxious” when Morgan arrived at Bramall Lane, based on her earlier experience of working under him at Leicester City.

“I think it was stuff she told me about her previous experience prior to Jonathan coming to Sheffield,” Riglar said.

She recalled Cusack describing a match in which Morgan, then at Leicester, shouted at her from the sidelines.

“She had done something on the pitch and Jonathan called her a psycho from the sideline.

“I don't think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her, but they did and they made her uncomfortable.”

From first name on the teamsheet to the bench

On the pitch, the shift in her status under Morgan cut deeply.

Riglar told the court that Cusack, long used to being a regular starter and “an important member of the team”, struggled when Morgan’s arrival coincided with a more uncertain role.

“She was used to starting every game,” Riglar said. “When Jonathan came, she was in and out from the starting team a bit.

“Her going from starting, to being on the bench quite a lot... she saw that as a setback. That impacted her a lot.

“I just think she almost felt like it was a bit of a personal attack, and that Jonathan was playing mind games with her by starting her one week and dropping her the next.”

The pattern left Cusack feeling exposed, Riglar suggested, and contributed to a growing sense of paranoia at the start of the new season.

“She didn't really have anyone she could speak to without it getting back to Jonathan,” she said.

Relationship under the spotlight

Morgan’s arrival also brought unwanted attention to Cusack’s personal life.

Riglar told the inquest that in his first meeting with the squad, Morgan instructed players that anyone in a relationship within the team had to inform him.

That directive immediately put the couple under the microscope.

Riglar said Cusack “found it uncomfortable” when Morgan would refer to her as “Mrs Cusack” in front of teammates.

“We wanted to keep our relationship very professional. The football side and relationship side were very separate,” she said.

The comments, Riglar implied, chipped away at the boundaries Cusack tried to maintain between her private life and the dressing room.

Weight comments and drastic changes

The inquest also heard that Cusack altered her diet and training habits after Morgan commented on her weight.

Riglar said the midfielder, already “one of the fittest players on the team anyway”, began cutting out carbohydrates, skipping breakfast and going for extra runs after training sessions.

The changes were stark. They underlined, in Riglar’s view, how much Morgan’s words had landed.

Dreams beyond football

Away from the pitch, Cusack’s life was stretched between her part-time playing commitments and a full-time marketing role at Sheffield United. The court heard she had obtained a sick note from a doctor to step away from both.

There were also signs she was looking for a fresh start.

The inquest was told that in the days before her death, Cusack spoke to her girlfriend about leaving football behind, moving to Dubai and becoming a flight attendant. She had been searching online for new jobs.

Those plans, outlined quietly in court, stood in stark contrast to the turmoil described around her final months in the game.