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.
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]
^"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.
