Chris Wood (footballer, born 1991)

For other uses, see Chris Wood (disambiguation).
Chris Wood

Wood warming up for Leicester City in 2013
Personal information
Full name Christopher Grant Wood[1]
Date of birth (1991-12-07) 7 December 1991
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Leeds United
Number 9
Youth career
Cambridge FC
Waikato FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2008 Waikato FC 5 (0)
2008 Hamilton Wanderers 17 (16)
2009–2013 West Bromwich Albion 21 (1)
2010 → Barnsley (loan) 7 (0)
2010–2011 → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 29 (8)
2011–2012 → Birmingham City (loan) 23 (9)
2012 → Bristol City (loan) 19 (3)
2012 → Millwall (loan) 19 (11)
2013 → Leicester City (loan) 1 (2)
2013–2015 Leicester City 52 (12)
2015 → Ipswich Town (loan) 8 (0)
2015– Leeds United 23 (8)
National team‡
2007 New Zealand U17 3 (0)
2012– New Zealand U23 5 (1)
2009– New Zealand 39 (14)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:55, 30 December 2015 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2014

Christopher Grant "Chris" Wood (born 7 December 1991) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a striker for English club Leeds United and the New Zealand national team.

Wood was born in Auckland and started his senior career with Cambridge FC, Waikato FC and Hamilton Wanderers before moving to England to play for Premier League side West Bromwich Albion.

Wood has been capped over thirty five times for the New Zealand national team, scoring thirteen goals. He played for the side at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Early life

Born in Auckland, Wood attended Royal Oak Primary and Cambridge East primary then St Paul's Collegiate School and started his youth and senior career with Cambridge FC playing in the Northern League from the age of 15 years, after which he attracted the attention of Waikato FC Academy prior to playing for the senior ASB Premiership club Waikato FC. He then later transferred to play for Hamilton Wanderers[3] in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier before moving to English club West Bromwich Albion. His sister Chelsey Wood is also an accomplished footballer, having represented New Zealand at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile and the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany.[4]

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Wood was recommended to West Bromwich Albion's Academy by Roger Wilkinson, who set up a trial for him.[5]

Wood found a rich vein of goal scoring form for West Brom's youth academy side, leading to a call up to the reserve team where he was just as prolific. Injuries to West Brom front-liners gave Wood a surprise call up to a trip to Fratton Park to play Premier League side Portsmouth in April 2009. Wood came off the bench to become just the fifth New Zealander to play in the Premiership.[6]

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Wood agreed his first professional contract, signing a two-year deal at Albion, with a further two-year option in the club's favour.[7] This was followed in December 2009 when he signed a new three and a half-year deal, with West Brom having the option to extend that for a further year.[8] He scored his first professional goal for West Brom on 15 September 2009, a stunning 25-metre strike into the top left corner, in a 3–1 win over Doncaster Rovers.[9]

He scored his second senior goal in a 2–0 win over Huddersfield Town less than seven minutes after coming off the bench in West Brom's FA Cup third-round tie on 2 January 2010.[10]

Barnsley

Wood was sent out on a 93-day emergency loan for Barnsley on 24 September 2010.[11] The loan was terminated early by mutual consent after seven league appearances for the club without scoring.[12]

Brighton

Playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011

On 19 November, Wood signed for Brighton & Hove Albion on loan until January 2011.[12] He scored on his debut against Bristol Rovers but saw a penalty saved just days later against Southampton. He added to his scoring tally by scoring in the 3–1 FA Cup win over Portsmouth. He then scored twice against Peterborough United.

Birmingham City

The day before the first match of the Football League Championship season, Wood joined Birmingham City on a one-month loan.[13] He made his debut the following day, replacing Keith Fahey in the second half of a 2–1 defeat at Derby County.[14] Playing as the lone striker in Birmingham's first match in major European competition for nearly 50 years, the Europa League play-off round first leg against Portuguese club Nacional, Wood hit the frame of the goal twice. The game finished goalless.[15] He scored his first goal for Birmingham in the second leg of the tie against Nacional.[16] On 11 September, Wood scored a hat-trick to lead Birmingham to victory over Millwall,[17] followed by two goals against Nottingham Forest on 2 October to take his league total to seven goals from eight games.[18] His loan was then extended for a second time, until 5 January 2012.[19] His eighth, to clinch a 2–0 defeat of Leicester City, came when Marlon King played a cross-field ball for Wood to run on to and, according to The Independent, "the composure he revealed to go past Kasper Schmeichel and slot the ball home from an angle was impressive".[20] Four days later, Wood scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time to defeat Club Brugge 2–1 in the Europa League group stage.[21] His loan ended on 5 January 2012 after 29 games in all competitions, from which he scored 11 goals.[22]

Bristol City

After returning to the West Bromwich Albion team as an unused substitute in their third round FA Cup tie against Cardiff City,[23] Wood joined Championship club Bristol City on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season.[24]

Millwall

On 17 September 2012, Wood completed a two-month loan deal to Championship side Millwall. He made his Millwall debut by coming on as a substitute for Darius Henderson against Cardiff City, and on his first start, scored a consolation goal against his former club Brighton & Hove Albion. On 18 November 2012, Wood extended his loan until January 2013, and scored the winner against Leeds United on the same day. On 24 November, his goal against Blackburn Rovers won Sky Sports News Goal of The Day.

Leicester City

Wood playing for Leicester City in 2013

West Bromwich Albion recalled Wood from Millwall on 27 December 2012, and announced the following day that it had accepted offers from Millwall and fellow Championship club Leicester City for the permanent transfer of Wood. He chose to join the latter, and the move was expected to be completed when the January 2013 transfer window opens.[25] Leicester confirmed that the player had agreed personal terms.[26] Wood started and scored twice after only 24 minutes in his first game for Leicester on 1 January 2013 against Huddersfield Town, initially joining on loan in order to be registered in time to play.[27]

On 12 January 2013, Wood scored a first-half hat-trick against Bristol City at Ashton Gate to take his goal tally to 6 goals in 3 games for Leicester. He finished the regular season with 11 in 24, helping Leicester qualify for the Championship play-offs. On 12 May 2013, Wood played in the semi-final second leg against Watford. In a dramatic finale, after Watford goalkeeper Manuel Almunia saved both a penalty taken by Anthony Knockaert and a rebound which would have sent Leicester through to the final, Troy Deeney scored in the seventh minute of added time to take Watford through on aggregate.[28]

On 26 March 2014, TV footage appeared to support Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel's claim that he had scored what would have been the first goal of his career, when Leicester equalised in injury time against Yeovil Town. However, the match officials ruled that his header had not crossed the line, and the goal was officially credited to Wood, who followed up to put the ball in the net.[29] Five days later, after replacing Jamie Vardy as a substitute, Wood scored a stunning long-range volley against Burnley to put Leicester six points clear at the top of the Championship.[30] Wood finished the season with 8 goals in all competitions as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season as champions.[31]

On 16 August 2014, he came on for Leonardo Ulloa after 78 minutes of Leicester's first match of the Premier League season, at home to Everton. Seven minutes later he scored the equaliser in a 2–2 draw.[32]

Ipswich Town loan

On 27 February 2015, Wood joined Ipswich Town on loan until the end of the season. He wore the number 39 shirt. On 25 April, he was recalled by his parent club during their successful fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Leeds United

On 1 July 2015, Wood joined Championship club Leeds United on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee,[33][34] reported to be in the range of £2.5 to £3 million.[35][36] As a result, he became Leeds' most expensive signing since the arrival of Nick Barmby in August 2002.[37][38] Wood was given the number 9 shirt for the coming season.[39] On 8 August, the opening day of the season, Wood made his debut for Leeds in the Championship in a 1–1 draw against Burnley.[40] Four days later, Wood missed his penalty in a penalty shootout against Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup, with Leeds losing the shootout 4–2 after a 1–1 draw.[41]

Wood scored his first goal for Leeds on 19 August in a 2–2 draw with Bristol City.[42] His second was Leeds' equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday,[43] and scored his third goal in three games with an 88th-minute strike against Derby County that sealed a 2–1 victory. Wood scored his fourth goal from the penalty spot in the 2–1 victory over MK Dons on 19 September, before scoring another penalty in the 1–1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage on 21 October.[44]

International career

Wood represented New Zealand at Under-17 level and was a standout performer for the All Whites at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, a tournament which earned him a trial with English football club West Bromwich Albion, for whom he later signed.

After a string of impressive performances for club, Wood's rise on the international stage continued and was fast-tracked into All Whites coach Ricki Herbert's squad for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa,[45] and made his debut in a friendly against Tanzania on 3 June 2009 in a warm up match to the tournament.[46][47]

In May 2010, he was named in the All Whites World Cup squad, and at 18 was the youngest member of the New Zealand team which travelled to South Africa.[48] He came on as a substitute in All Whites first group match in a 1–1 draw against Slovakia and New Zealand's first ever point in a World Cup finals match.[49] On 20 June 2010, Wood came on as a substitute in New Zealand's famous 1–1 draw against Italy, Wood also came on as a substitute in the 0–0 draw against Paraguay on 24 June, New Zealand were knocked out of the tournament after drawing all three Group games.

Wood scored his first official international goal on 10 October 2010 in his country's 1–1 draw with Honduras He was given a yellow card for the unusual nature of his celebration of the goal, where he revealed his underwear to the spectators.[50]

Wood scored his first international hat-trick against Solomon Islands on 10 June 2012 in the 3rd/4th play-off of the OFC Nations Cup. Wood was named in New Zealand Under 23's Squad for the 2012 Olympics where they lost to Belarus national under-23 football team on 26 July, before Wood scored for New Zealand Under 23's in a 1–1 draw against Egypt Under 23's on 29 July 2012 at Old Trafford, Wood also started the final group game in a 3–0 defeat to Brazil Under 23's which saw New Zealand Olympic squad knocked out of the tournament.

On November 14, 2014, Wood became the youngest ever captain for NZ All Whites, a record previously held by Tommy Smith.

International goals

Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first.[51]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 October 2010 North Harbour Stadium, North Shore, New Zealand  Honduras 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 29 February 2012 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand  Jamaica 1–2 2–3 Friendly
3 4 June 2012 Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands  Papua New Guinea 2–0 2–1 2012 OFC Nations Cup
4 6 June 2012 Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands 1–0 1–1 2012 OFC Nations Cup
5 10 June 2012 Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands 1–0 4–3 2012 OFC Nations Cup
6 2–0
7 3–0
8 7 September 2012 Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia  New Caledonia 2–0 2–0 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification
9 11 September 2012 North Harbour Stadium, North Shore, New Zealand  Solomon Islands 5–1 6–1 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification
10 14 November 2012 Hongkou Football Stadium, Shanghai, China  China PR 1–1 1–1 Friendly
11 5 March 2014 National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan  Japan 1–4 2–4 Friendly
12 2–4
13 14 November 2014 Nanchang Bayi Stadium, Nanchang, China  China PR 1–1 1–1 Friendly
14 12 November 2015 Al-Seeb Stadium, Seeb, Oman  Oman 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Club statistics

As of match played 7 November 2015
All-time club performance
ClubSeasonDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
New Zealand League Chatham Cup Other Total
Waikato FC 2007–08[52] NZFC 50—[lower-alpha 1]——50
England League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
West Bromwich Albion 2008–09[53] Premier League 200000—20
2009–10[54] Championship 1812130—232
2010–11[55] Premier League 100011—21
Club total 2112141—273
Barnsley (loan) 2010–11[55] Championship 700000—70
Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) 2010–11[55] League One 2982100—319
Birmingham City (loan) 2011–12[22] Championship 239—006[lower-alpha 2]22911
Bristol City (loan) 2011–12[22] Championship 193———193
Millwall (loan) 2012–13[56] Championship 1911———1911
Leicester City 2012–13[56] Championship 20922—2[lower-alpha 3]02411
2013–14[31] Championship 2640034—298
2014–15[57] Premier League 711010—91
Club total 53143244206220
Ipswich Town (loan) 2014–15[57] Championship 80———80
Leeds United 2015–16[44] Championship 1560010—166
Career totals 1995274958222363
  1. ↑ As a franchise team, Waikato FC are ineligible to play in the Chatham Cup, New Zealand's national knockout cup competition.
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. ↑ Appearances in Football League play-offs

Honours

Club

[58]

West Bromwich Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion

Leicester City

Individual

References

Statistics

General

  1. ↑ "List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  2. ↑ "Teams and Players: Chris Wood". Leeds United F.C. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Richens, Matt (13 April 2009). "City teen plays his way into big time". Waikato Times. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Junior Football Ferns named for cup". Oceania Football Confederation. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Lepkowski, Chris (18 April 2009). "West Brom's Kiwi star Chris Wood is keeping his feet on the ground". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  6. ↑ "Portsmouth vs WBA". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Wood pens pro contract". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012.
  8. ↑ "Profiles: Chris Wood". West Bromwich Albion F.C. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "West Brom 3–1 Doncaster". BBC Sport. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Huddersfield 0–2 West Brom". BBC Sport. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Baggies loan teenage striker Chris Wood to Barnsley". BBC Sport. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  12. 1 2 "West Brom striker Chris Wood signs for Brighton on loan". BBC Sport. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Birmingham City sign West Brom striker Chris Wood". BBC Sport. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Derby 2–1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  15. ↑ Tattum, Colin (19 August 2011). "Nacional 0, Birmingham City 0". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Birmingham 3–0 Nacional (agg 3–0)". BBC Sport. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  17. ↑ "Wood hat-trick tames Lions". Sky Sports. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "Nott'm Forest 1–3 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  19. ↑ "Birmingham extend loan of West Brom's Chris Wood until January". BBC Sport. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  20. ↑ Culley, Jon (17 October 2011). "Eriksson refuses to see red as Leicester pay for indiscipline". The Independent. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  21. ↑ "Birmingham strike late to beat Club Brugge". UEFA. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  22. 1 2 3 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  23. ↑ "WBA vs Cardiff City". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012.
  24. ↑ "West Brom forward Chris Wood joins Bristol City on loan". BBC Sport. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  25. ↑ "Wood set to join Foxes". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "Terms agreed for wood". Leicester City F.C. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  27. ↑ "New striker Chris Wood is perfect tonic for Leicester City's promotion push". Leicester Mercury. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  28. ↑ Prentki, Tom (12 May 2013). "Watford 3 Leicester City 1 (agg 3–2): match report". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  29. ↑ "Spoilsports! League deny Schmeichel goal". ESPN. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  30. ↑ "Leicester City: Goal hero Chris Wood is all set to play a key role". Leicester Mercury. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  32. ↑ "Leicester 2–2 Everton". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  33. ↑ "Wood completes United switch". Leeds United F.C. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  34. ↑ "Chris Wood: Leeds United sign Leicester City striker". BBC Sport. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  35. ↑ "Leeds United sign £3m Leicester City striker Chris Wood". Yorkshire Evening Post. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  36. ↑ "Leicester City confirm sale of Chris Wood to Leeds United". Leicester Mercury. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  37. ↑ "Barmby joins Leeds". Daily Mail. 2 August 2002. Retrieved 2 August 2002.
  38. ↑ "Leeds United: Big-money deal for Wood takes Rosler by surprise". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  39. ↑ "2015/15 squad numbers announced". Leeds United F.C. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  40. ↑ "United in opening day draw". Leeds United F.C. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  41. ↑ "Doncaster: United exit Cup on penalties". Leeds United F.C. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  42. ↑ "Report: Late comeback holds United". Leeds United F.C. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  43. ↑ "Report: Wood clinches Derby draw". Leeds United F.C. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  44. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  45. ↑ "Kiwis call up teen for South Africa". FIFA. AFP. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  46. ↑ "Kiwis taste defeat in Africa". FIFA. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  47. ↑ "FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009: Teams: New Zealand Squad List". FIFA. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  48. ↑ "All Whites World Cup squad named". Stuff.co.nz. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  49. ↑ "New Zealand 1–1 Slovakia". BBC Sport. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  50. ↑ "Woodzee nets as All Whites thrill". New Zealand Football. 9 October 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  51. ↑ "NFT profile". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  52. ↑ "Chris Wood: NZ Football Championship 2007/2008". worldfootball.net. Heimspiel Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  53. ↑ "Games played by Chris Wood in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  54. ↑ "Games played by Chris Wood in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  55. 1 2 3 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  56. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  57. 1 2 "Games played by Chris Wood in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  58. ↑ "C. Wood". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  59. ↑ "Soccer: New winners at football awards". The New Zealand Herald. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.

External links

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