Michael John Cook (born 18 October 1968) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He was most recently the manager of National League South side Chippenham Town. In his playing career, Cook played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

and

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

, after starting his career with an FA Youth Cup win with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...

In December 2019 he appeared in court on allegations of dangerous driving. He pleaded guilty to careless driving in February 2020 and was banned from driving due to the number of points he had accrued.

Career

Born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Cook started his career in the youth team at

where he won an FA Youth Cup medal. After a brief spell on loan to

he signed for

on a free transfer in 1989. Cook's career at the

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional College F.C., Cambridge United's feeder cl ...

was blighted by injury; he made only 17 appearances in two seasons. His one goal for the club was a vital one however, scoring at Aldershot to help cement a play-off place at the end of the 1989–90 season. He was also a substitute at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

for the 1–0 win over Chesterfield in the final. After another loan spell at York City, a spinal injury forced Cook's retirement from the professional game at the age of 22. He had spells in non-League football with

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

Corby Town Corby Town Football Club is a football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Steel Park. History The club was established in 1948, taking over from Stewarts & Lloyds as the main team ...

, Cambridge City, and many other clubs, and worked for Cambridge United as Football in the Community officer. Cook took up a similar post at

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league sy ...

in 1999, alongside spells as assistant manager of Gloucester City and, from September 2004, as manager of Cinderford Town. After ten years with Cheltenham, Cook joined the staff of the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

in July 2009 as a regional coach educator. On 8 January 2019 Cook became the manager of Gloucester City, replacing

Chris Todd Christopher Richard Todd (born 22 August 1981) is a Welsh retired footballer who played as a defender and current assistant manager of Yeovil Town. Playing career Swansea City Born in Swansea, Todd began his career as a trainee with his home ...

as manager. He was sacked from this role in November 2019. In January 2020, Cook was appointed interim manager of Chippenham Town until the end of the season before being given the job on a permanent basis following a successful interim spell in March 2020 following the early curtailment of the season. Cook left the club by mutual consent on 9 April 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Mike 1968 births Living people People from Stroud Footballers from Gloucestershire English footballers Men's association football midfielders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players York City F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. managers Cambridge United F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Corby Town F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Cambridge United F.C. non-playing staff Cinderford Town A.F.C. managers Cheltenham Town F.C. non-playing staff Chippenham Town F.C. managers Southern Football League managers National League (English football) managers