Nick Montgomery

Nick Montgomery
Montgomery playing for Sheffield United in 2010
Personal information
Full name Nicholas Anthony Montgomery
Date of birth (1981-10-28) 28 October 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Leeds, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Leeds United
Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2012 Sheffield United 349 (9)
2012 → Millwall (loan) 2 (0)
2012–2017 Central Coast Mariners 113 (3)
2017–2018 Wollongong Wolves 30 (3)
Total 494 (15)
International career
2003 Scotland U21 2 (1)
2005 Scotland Futures 1 (0)
Managerial career
2021–2023 Central Coast Mariners
2023–2024 Hibernian
2024– Tottenham Hotspur (assistant coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicholas Anthony Montgomery (born 28 October 1981) is a football coach and a former player. He is currently an assistant coach at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

A defensive midfielder, Montgomery spent the majority of his career with Sheffield United, making 398 appearances across twelve seasons. Towards the end of his time in England, he had a short spell on loan with Millwall. In 2012, he moved to Australia to play for Central Coast Mariners, and became club captain in 2015. After leaving the Mariners in 2017, he went on to play for Wollongong Wolves for two seasons.

Born in England, Montgomery represented Scotland at under-21 level and as part of a Scotland 'Futures' side. He obtained Australian citizenship in 2017.

After retiring as a player, Montgomery became an assistant coach at Central Coast Mariners. He became their head coach in 2021 and guided them to the A-League championship in 2023. Later that year he became head coach of Hibernian, but he was sacked from that position after eight months.

Club career

Sheffield United

Montgomery was born in Leeds, England. He supported Leeds United as a child and was at Leeds United's Academy for six years.[2] He then was offered a two-year scholarship at Sheffield United. He made his first team debut for the Blades at Carrow Road against Norwich City on 21 October 2000.[3] He subsequently established himself as a regular in the first-team where he became a mainstay of central midfield for the Blades. Montgomery had to wait until November 2001 before he scored his first goal for the club, coming in a 4–0 home victory over Birmingham City.[4]

Montgomery was an integral member of the 2005–06 squad that saw the Blades being promoted back to the Premier League. As a result of his hard work over the season, he was runner-up to Phil Jagielka in the club's Player of Year awards.

During the 2009–10 season Montgomery played a main role in an injury plagued Sheffield United squad eventually winning player of the season, including scoring his first league goal for four seasons in the Blades 3–0 home victory against Blackpool in March 2010.[5] With the club looking to reduce their wage bill, a few months of speculation followed as to whether he would leave United but he eventually signed a new three-year deal in June that year after reportedly turning down an approach from Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, despite being a lifelong Leeds fan.[6]

For the 2011–2012 season the Blades found themselves in the third tier of English football for the first time in over 20 years and Montgomery found himself out of the first team picture for the first time in his United career. Losing his place in midfield to Michael Doyle he was confined to occasional substitute appearances as the season progressed. With first team opportunities limited Montgomery joined Championship team Millwall on loan in March 2012, agreeing a deal to remain there until the end of the season.[7] However at the end of the month Montgomery's loan spell came to an end after he sustained a calf problem, forcing him to return to Bramall Lane for medical treatment. He only had twenty minutes of game time with Millwall as substitutions against Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United.[8] Montgomery still went on to make appearances as a Sheffield United player, including playing in the play-offs, in which the team lost to Huddersfield Town in the final at Wembley Stadium on penalties.

Central Coast Mariners

Montgomery ended his 12-year stay at Sheffield United by the cancellation of his contract through a mutual agreement on 31 August 2012. This allowed him to join United's sister club Central Coast Mariners in the Australian A-League.[9]

He was a key part to the side that reached the 2013 A-League Grand Final but missed the grand final due to suspension. The Mariners went on to win 2–0. Montgomery was elected as vice-captain for the 2013–14 season, and made his debut as captain in a 1–0 win against rivals Sydney FC on 18 January 2014.

Wollongong Wolves

Montgomery signed for the National Premier Leagues NSW outfit Wollongong Wolves for 2017.[10]

International career

Born in Leeds, Montgomery was also eligible to play for Scotland. He made his debut for the Scotland under-21s in a 1–0 victory over Austria in April 2003, and his second and last appearance in another 1–0 victory over Croatia in November. He subsequently appeared for the Scotland "B" team which at that period was referred to as the Scotland Futures Team, featuring in a 2–0 defeat of Poland "B" team in December 2005.[11]

Coaching career

Central Coast Mariners

After retiring as a player, Montgomery rejoined Central Coast Mariners as an assistant coach.[12] He became their head coach in July 2021,[13] and guided them to the A-League championship in 2023.[14]

Hibernian

Montgomery was appointed head coach of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian in September 2023.[15] He was sacked in May 2024, after the club had finished in the bottom half of the 2023–24 Scottish Premiership.[16]

Tottenham Hotspur

On 25 June 2024, Montgomery was appointed an assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur.[17]

Personal life

Montgomery has a wife, Josie, and twin daughters.[18] He became an Australian citizen in 2017.[19][20]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[21][22]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sheffield United 2000–01 First Division 27 0 1 0 1 0 — — 29 0
2001–02 31 2 1 0 0 0 — — 32 2
2002–03 23 0 3 0 6 1 — 0 0 32 1
2003–04 36 3 4 0 1 0 — — 41 3
2004–05 Championship 25 1 5 0 3 0 — — 33 1
2005–06 39 1 1 0 0 0 — — 40 1
2006–07 Premier League 26 0 1 0 1 1 — — 28 1
2007–08 Championship 20 0 1 0 2 0 — — 23 0
2008–09 28 0 3 0 1 0 — 3[a] 0 35 0
2009–10 39 1 3 0 1 0 — — 43 1
2010–11 35 0 1 0 1 0 — — 37 0
2011–12 League One 20 1 1 0 1 0 — 3[b] 0 25 1
Total 349 9 25 0 18 2 — 6 0 398 11
Millwall (loan) 2011–12 Championship 2 0 — — — — 2 0
Central Coast Mariners 2012–13 A-League 25 1 — — 7[c] 0 1[d] 0 33 1
2013–14 24 0 — — 5[c] 0 2[d] 0 31 0
2014–15 20 1 2 0 — 1[c] 0 — 23 1
2015–16 22 0 1 0 — — — 23 0
2016–17 22 1 1 0 — — — 23 1
Total 113 3 4 0 — 13 0 3 0 133 3
Wollongong Wolves 2017[23] NPL NSW 12 1 0 0 — — — 12 1
2018[24] 18 2 0 0 — — — 18 2
Total 30 3 0 0 — — — 30 3
Career total 494 15 29 0 18 2 13 0 9 0 563 17
  1. ^ Appearances in Championship play-offs
  2. ^ Two appearances in League One play-offs, one appearance in Football League Trophy
  3. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in A-League Finals

Managerial record

As of match played 12 May 2024
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Central Coast Mariners[25] Australia 4 July 2021 11 September 2023 63 32 11 20 050.79
Hibernian[26] Scotland 11 September 2023 14 May 2024 37 12 12 13 032.43
Total 100 44 23 33 044.00

Honours

Player

Central Coast Mariners

Individual

Manager

Central Coast Mariners

See also

References

  1. ^ "Official profile at SUFC". Archived from the original on 14 December 2007.
  2. ^ "Interview with former football player Nick Montgomery". Hyperabad United. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Norwich 4–2 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 21 October 2000. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  4. ^ "Sheff Utd 4–0 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 17 November 2001. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  5. ^ "Sheff Utd 3–0 Blackpool". Sheffield united FC Official Web Site. 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Switch of shirts now has Lowry facing new challenge". The Yorkshire Post. 19 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Monty the Lion". Sheffield United FC Official Web Site. 19 March 2012. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Montgomery Returns To Blades". Football 365. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  9. ^ "Monty down under". Sheffield United FC Official Web Site. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Nick Montgomery signs with Wolves". FourFourTwo. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "Futures rosy as Scots sink Poland". The Scotsman. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  12. ^ McPartlin, Patrick (31 August 2023). "Nick Montgomery keen on Hibs job as Central Coast Mariners boss makes contact with Easter Road chiefs". Edinburgh Evening News. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Montgomery is the new head coach at the Mariners". Central Coast News. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b Lynch, Joey (3 June 2022). "Central Coast Mariners shock Melbourne City to become A-League Men champions". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Hibernian: Nick Montgomery named new manager after leaving Central Coast Mariners". BBC Sport. 11 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Nick Montgomery: Hibs sack head coach". BBC Sport. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Ex-Hibs boss Montgomery joins Spurs coaching staff". BBC Sport. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Mariners skipper set to become Aussie citizen". A-League. Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  19. ^ Herd, Emma. "Mariners captain Nick Montgomery to become an Australian citizen". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  20. ^ "No love lost between Nick Montgomery and Liam Reddy". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Nick Montgomery". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  22. ^ "A-League Stats Nick Montgomery". aleaguestats.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Statistics for Wollongong Wolves FC playing in 1st – PS4 NPL NSW Men's 2017". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Nick Montgomery". Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Nick Montgomery". ALeague Stats. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Managers: Nick Montgomery". www.soccerbase.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  27. ^ "A-League All Stars vs. Juventus 2 – 3". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.