A team-mate of former Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack attempted to raise concerns about manager Jonathan Morgan but was told by the club: ‘He’s the manager, he can do what he wants.’
Former Sheffield United goalkeeper Nina Wilson was giving evidence at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on the fifth day of the inquest into Maddy’s death. The former Sheffield United player was found at her family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on September 20, 2023.
Wilson, who was at the club between July 2021 and June 2023, described Maddy as a person who was ‘always there’ for her team-mates, but revealed that she had ‘given up football’ after her experiences at Sheffield United.
Speaking to the court, Wilson said that she believes Maddy’s death was ‘definitely preventable’ and reflected on an instance where she attempted to raise a concern about Morgan’s behaviour, as well as revealing how players at other sides referred to his teams as ‘Morgan’s cult’.
She said: ‘We were all in a small changing room and when I tried to escalate my concerns I was essentially told, “he’s the manager, he can do what he wants”. Maddy was aware of that.’
Wilson described how players who weren’t included in Morgan’s starting line-up were told to train at the other side of the pitch in the lead-up to games, away from the rest of the team, a situation she described as ‘not normal’. Morgan’s former assistant coach, Luke Turner, later said that he ‘couldn’t recall’ this happening.
A former team-mate of Maddy Cusack (pictured) has said that her concerns about Jonathan Morgan were dismissed by Sheffield United
Nina Wilson (pictured) said she was ‘essentially told’ Morgan was ‘the manager, he can do what he wants’
She also described how she experienced her own dip in mental health prior to her departure in the summer of 2023, while also being ‘unaware’ of the mental health services provided by the club, saying that if she had known where to turn then she ‘would have used it’.
‘I was typically a very confident person the season before (2022-23),’ she said. ‘I was very straight talking. I was quite like Maddy. I suddenly became very nervous about things that I was doing.
‘I was worried things were being fed back that weren’t true about me. There was really no clarity for players, and I think that put everyone on edge and made them question what they were doing all the time.
‘The players who were positive about him (Morgan) seemed to always be in his office. The rest of the players didn’t know who they could trust.’
Another of Maddy’s former team-mates, Naomi Hartley, was asked by Morgan, who is representing himself, whether she had seen him ‘bullying’ Maddy.
Hartley replied: ‘No, I just think a lot of people were intimidated by you.’
She added: ‘Football was her release and, when she stopped enjoying football, she no longer had a release.’
When it was put to Morgan’s former assistant Turner, who remains employed at Sheffield United, that after a match which had seen one player depart in ‘floods of tears’, the team had been forced to rewatch the entire match and denied the chance to change out of their kits, Turner said he ‘couldn’t recall’ this specific incident.
Morgan (pictured) has been representing himself at Chesterfield Coronors Court his week
Turner added he ‘wasn’t aware’ of anything related to Morgan’s reputation prior to his appointment, saying: ‘The only thing I heard people say was that he wasn’t the greatest coach on the pitch – from a tactical, technical point of view. I didn’t hear anything else about his character.’
He described how Morgan was under ‘huge pressure’ relating to logistical issues and short-staffing during the 2023-24 season following the transition from a part-time outfit to a full-time team, saying there were ‘lots of things put on a small number of staff and he was the head of this’.
Wilson read out a list of recommendations for ‘Maddy’s legacy’, among them mandating a psychologist at every club in the top two tiers of the women’s game, making whistleblowing routes clear to players, and ensuring that medical provisions across clubs are kept to ‘acceptable standards’.
The absence of these measures, Wilson stated, ‘are the reasons I gave up my football career at the age of 25’.
The inquest resumes on Monday.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details
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