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

Former Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack was subjected to mind games, uncomfortable comments and a shifting place in the team by her coach in the months before her death, an inquest has heard.

Cusack, 27, was found unconscious by her father at the family home in Horsley, Derbyshire, on 20 September 2023 and died later that day. On Tuesday, Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard stark testimony about the pressure she felt under at Sheffield United Women following the arrival of manager Jonathan Morgan.

‘Psycho’ jibe and mind games claim

Giving evidence, team-mate and partner Grace Riglar described how Cusack had been “anxious” when Morgan was appointed, based on her previous experience of him at Leicester City.

“I think it was stuff she told me about her previous experience prior to Jonathan coming to Sheffield,” Riglar told the inquest. She recalled a match from that earlier spell when Cusack, then playing under Morgan, had made a decision on the pitch.

“She had done something on the pitch and Jonathan called her a psycho from the sideline,” Riglar said. “I don't think she let anyone know those types of comments affected her, but they did and they made her uncomfortable.”

Once Morgan took charge at Sheffield United, Cusack’s previously secure status in the side began to shift. A player used to seeing her name inked into the starting XI suddenly found herself in and out.

“She was used to starting every game, she was an important member of the team,” 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.”

Relationship under the spotlight

The inquest also heard how Cusack felt exposed by the way Morgan handled relationships within the squad.

Riglar said that in his first meeting with the players, Morgan told them that anyone in a relationship within the team had to inform him. Cusack and Riglar, who were together, had wanted to keep their private life from becoming dressing-room currency.

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

Instead, she recalled, Morgan would refer to her as “Mrs Cusack” in front of other players.

“She found it uncomfortable when Jonathan would call me 'Mrs Cusack', especially in front of other players,” Riglar told the court.

Weight comments and changing habits

Riglar also said Morgan had made a comment about Cusack’s weight, despite her already being one of the squad’s standout athletes.

The midfielder altered her eating and training habits: cutting out carbohydrates, skipping breakfast, and heading out for extra runs after club sessions. The adjustments came on top of her dual workload as both a part-time player and a full-time marketing employee at Sheffield United.

By the start of the new season, Riglar said, Cusack had become “paranoid”.

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

A player looking for a way out

The court heard that Cusack had obtained a doctor’s note for time off from both her playing duties and her marketing role. Away from the pitch, she was already contemplating a different life.

Cusack had told Riglar she wanted to move to Dubai and become a flight attendant, and had been searching for jobs online in the days before her death.

Those closest to her saw a player who had carried the badge of her club on and off the pitch, suddenly questioning her place in the game – and quietly looking for an exit route from a world that no longer felt like home.