Maddy Cusack's Struggles at Sheffield United: Inquest Reveals Anxiety and Targeting

Former Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack was left feeling anxious, paranoid and personally targeted 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.

At Chesterfield Coroner's Court, her partner and former team-mate Grace Riglar described how the arrival of manager Jonathan Morgan at Sheffield United Women reopened old wounds from Cusack’s previous spell working under him at Leicester City.

“Psycho” jibe and “mind games”

Riglar told the inquest that Cusack had been deeply unsettled by a past incident at Leicester, when Morgan allegedly shouted “psycho” at her from the touchline during a match.

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

That history meant Cusack was “anxious” when Morgan was appointed at Sheffield United. Once he took charge, Riglar said, Cusack felt his decisions and comments cut far beyond normal selection calls.

A player used to being a guaranteed starter, Cusack suddenly found herself drifting in and out of the XI.

“She was used to starting every game, she was an important member of the team,” Riglar told the court. “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 brought into the dressing room

The inquest heard that when Morgan arrived at Sheffield United, he told the squad in an introductory meeting that any players in relationships within the team had to inform him.

Riglar and Cusack, who were together but keen to keep their private life separate from their professional environment, felt exposed.

Riglar said Cusack was uncomfortable when Morgan referred to her as “Mrs Cusack” in front of other players.

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

Those moments, Riglar suggested, chipped away at Cusack’s sense of safety within the dressing room. By the start of the new season, she said, Cusack had become “paranoid”.

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

Weight comment and drastic lifestyle changes

The inquest also heard that Morgan made a comment about Cusack’s weight. The remark, Riglar said, triggered a marked change in Cusack’s behaviour around food and training.

She began cutting out carbohydrates, skipping breakfast and going for extra runs after team sessions, despite already being one of the squad’s standout athletes.

“She was one of the fittest players on the team anyway,” Riglar said.

The adjustments were not part of any formal programme. They were Cusack’s own response, the court heard, to the pressure she felt under.

Looking for a way out

Away from the pitch, Cusack was juggling part-time playing duties with a full-time marketing role at Sheffield United. The inquest heard she had obtained a doctor’s sick note to take time off from both jobs.

Riglar said Cusack had started to talk seriously about leaving football behind. In the days before her death, she had told her girlfriend she wanted to move to Dubai and become a flight attendant, and had been searching online for new roles.

Those plans, set against the backdrop of a once central player feeling marginalised, scrutinised and unable to speak freely, painted a stark picture of a young woman looking for escape from a world she had long called home.