Richard Wood, at Xscape

[Innes]

was that the 3-2 match

if so that was horrible. went 2 up whilst being one of the worst away teams they must have played. tuddy penalty andddd esajas I think scored directly from a corner. that taraabt was playing for them, gave buxton the run around but they just couldn't score, had a few disallowed then esajas struck outta nowhere to put us 1 up at half time.

we were going mental, kind of, with disbelief. was quality. then they made it 2-1 and you just knew, you just knew...

Edited July 7, 2012 by Innes

[SiJ]

Actually I was thinking of the home game the season afterwards.

They went a goal up and then we equalised, proceeded to batter them for the rest of the match and then Laws - despite having Beevers on the bench - decided to bring on Wood, knowing full well that he was going to get booed to flip.

Wood goes and loses his man (Gorks) who scores the winner.

After that match I remember predicting that we would get relegated and low and behold we did.

Was also the day that I realised that Laws had properly lost the plot.

Edited July 7, 2012 by SiJ

[Guest BirdonaMaguire]

was that the 3-2 match

if so that was horrible. went 2 up whilst being one of the worst away teams they must have played. tuddy penalty andddd esajas I think scored directly from a corner. that taraabt was playing for them, gave buxton the run around but they just couldn't score, had a few disallowed then esajas struck outta nowhere to put us 1 up at half time.

we were going mental, kind of, with disbelief. was quality. then they made it 2-1 and you just knew, you just knew...

Lost 2-1 at Hillsborough

[Guest BirdonaMaguire]

Laws made a horrendous decision bringing him on against QPR after news of him wanting to leave came out.

Needless to say he was give a terrible reception when he came on and then lost his man for QPR to get the winner.

There was a lot more to do with it than the transfer request, he was naive, really naive but as a club, at that time we were lower than non league, read into that what you will.

The rumour about "highest paid defender" were great pr for the club but 3/5ths of f**k all close to being true.

[Innes]

Actually I was thinking of the home game the season afterwards.

They went a goal up and then we equalised, proceeded to batter them for the rest of the match and then Laws - despite having Beevers on the bench - decided to bring on Wood, knowing full well that he was going to get booed to flip.

Wood goes and loses his man (Gorks) who scores the winner.

After that match I remember predicting that we would get relegated and low and behold we did.

Was also the day that I realised that Laws had properly lost the plot.

and i went to all that trouble

Yes I remember now terrible decision. Did he do it to hang him out to dry?

[Mr. Chow]

he wants to come back, but do we want him?

[Guest BirdonaMaguire]

No, we're a club with a plethora of left sided centre backs.

[SiJ]

Yes I remember now terrible decision. Did he do it to hang him out to dry?

Honestly think he did.

Unfortunately for Brian it backfired on him horribly.

[Guest BirdonaMaguire]

SiJ knows, all three parties lost, Woody, Laws and Wednesday

[Bluesteel]

Take football out of it and most people are good blokes. Same with Danny Wilson, I met him years ago and he was great, but I still give him grief as Blades boss.

With Wood the club was a shambles, but he handled things badly and only managed a sideways move that didn't pay off. He has the physical attributes you'd expect of a top cb, but something seems to be missing, perhaps positioning/concentration.

[Wolfmanjack]

He was a decent player, certainly not as bad as some on here would have us believe, but he certainly got ideas above his station.

Handing in transfers requests when you are the captain is never going to endear you to the fans.

Love to know how much it was that Cov ending up paying him a week.

He signed for Coventry for exactly the same as wednesday offered him. Laws didn't like him and effectively forced him out of the club.

[Guest BirdonaMaguire]

He signed for Coventry for exactly the same as wednesday offered him. Laws didn't like him and effectively forced him out of the club.

erm not true, he got £200k less for signing for them, he had agreed a deal, less than purse, but wanted loyalty bonus (the club refused) c**ts

[Blueblood]

Is it just me that thinks the guy was out of order in confronting him about him leaving us 5 years ago, especially while he's with his family

[Utah Owl]

No Blueblood, I agree with you and I think Neil did earlier on too.

Wood is just a guy doing a job and trying to get the best deal he can for him and his family, if it were anything other than sport none of us would bat an eyelid over it.

[nevthelodgemoorowl]

Don't have that much time for him tbh. Good bloke or not, handing in a transfer request as club captain just doesn't endear me to him at all. Yes, the club was in some dire straits at the time, but as the captain you have to stand up, be counted for and its times like those you show why you're the captain of Sheffield Wednesday.

Did very well for us alongside Beevers, but it's when times are tough that you see the real player and personality. You only have to look back a few months to this season to realise what kind of characters our current crop are, those who never gave up and were ready to fight all the way to the end; even when we as fans were calling time on our automatic ambitions.

I am much more optimistic with players like that bearing the shirt of Sheffield Wednesday, rather than any egotistical players such as Richard Wood, who was willing to desert the club he captained. Those type of characters, along with our dark past, seem long behind us now.

Just goes to show how little you know about the game. What sort of respect would Wood have held in the dressing room were he to settle for less than an improved offer after the club had intimated that they wanted to keep him, he had no option but to walk, he would have become a laghing stock ammongst his subordinates.

Just to say his replacement started dire, had a middle spell where he was poor, then ended his spell with us really poor. Only recall 3 or 4 good games for Purse.

[LichfieldOwl]

I have a lot of time for Richard Wood - he possessed ability at times that made me proud to have a Wednesdayite is the team. It was a shame how his period with the club ended but it was a period which rightfully showed him as a leader and a guy who played with his head - despite his lack of pace - on the field. He may be slow, which he definitely is, but he was able to put his body on the line whenever we needed him. I think the forceful (as it seems) actions of him to hand in a transfer was downright ridiculous, but I don't blame Wood for that, I blame his agent; no TRUE Wednesdayite would do it without some influence.

I wish you well Richard in L1, just make sure you score in the right end this time against the pigs!

Edit - he was also my idol growing up as a kid. Maybe that's why I never made it!

Edited July 8, 2012 by Barenecessity

[Orlando_Trustful]

Missed the boat now Rich. Get fooked.

[TrickyTrev]

Richard Wood and his agent really poo on Wednesday and cost the club a he'll of a lot of money at a time when we could ill afford it.

During the summer when we were in contract negotiations with him (as he only had a year left on his current deal), Roy Keane who at the time was at Ipswich Town made a bid of around £750k for Wood. As Wood however was viewed as being the best defender at the club and had not only assured us that he wanted to stay here but that he was also willing to negotiate his terms and come to an agreement on wages, we turned this bid down.

Then as negotiations continued, Wood went back on his word and refused to move from his initial wage demands (in spite of of the fact that he said he was willing to negotiate and that we'd offered to make him the highest paid defender at the club). This put the club in a very difficult position and come January when he had 6 months left on his deal and it was obvious he wasn't willing to negotiate, we accepted a bid of half what Ipswich had offered in the Summer from Coventry.

Effectively he cost the club around £400k at a time when we were fighting for our very existence. Had he been honest during the summer, we'd have accepted the bid from Ipswich, thanked him for his service and moved on.

This was the turn of events as I remember them being explained by our then chairman and manager and as I'm yet to hear an alternative turn of events from anyone else who would be in a position to know, I have no reason to doubt them.

As a result I'll not lose any sleep at the thought of him playing reserve football for a League 1 club.

[Chris_B_SWFC]

Some scary blokes go up to a professional footballer who's enjoying a bit of peace and quiet with his friends/family and 'confront him' about 'pooing on us'

What's he gonna do ? Say "you lot can flip off wi ya Sheffield Wednesday - I decided to leave cos I got a better offer and was proper fooked off wi Wednesday" ?

Buying you a beer might have been an inevitability given that you 'confronted' him?

Sometimes I just don't get it... but confronting players whilst they're out is not something I'd find enjoyable or satisfying given that they're gonna spin you a line to get rid of you/chill you out

Plus flipping one from me Neil, well said.

The OP should tell his mate the he's a bell end.

You "confront" a pro footballer in his spare time to tell him you didn't like the fact that he went elsewhere for more money (something 90% of us would do) three years ago?

I hope he spat in your pint.

[Wolfmanjack]

Richard Wood and his agent really poo on Wednesday and cost the club a he'll of a lot of money at a time when we could ill afford it.

During the summer when we were in contract negotiations with him (as he only had a year left on his current deal), Roy Keane who at the time was at Ipswich Town made a bid of around £750k for Wood. As Wood however was viewed as being the best defender at the club and had not only assured us that he wanted to stay here but that he was also willing to negotiate his terms and come to an agreement on wages, we turned this bid down.

Then as negotiations continued, Wood went back on his word and refused to move from his initial wage demands (in spite of of the fact that he said he was willing to negotiate and that we'd offered to make him the highest paid defender at the club). This put the club in a very difficult position and come January when he had 6 months left on his deal and it was obvious he wasn't willing to negotiate, we accepted a bid of half what Ipswich had offered in the Summer from Coventry.

Effectively he cost the club around £400k at a time when we were fighting for our very existence. Had he been honest during the summer, we'd have accepted the bid from Ipswich, thanked him for his service and moved on.

This was the turn of events as I remember them being explained by our then chairman and manager and as I'm yet to hear an alternative turn of events from anyone else who would be in a position to know, I have no reason to doubt them.

As a result I'll not lose any sleep at the thought of him playing reserve football for a League 1 club.

I could give you an explanation of actual events, as told to us at the Ricoh, by a friend of Richard Wood, the last time we played Coventry, and according to him, yet again with a player, the club treated him very shabbily. Having said that, he wasn't somebody I ever rated too highly. I remember the night before we played Barnsley, he was on Radio Sheffield saying how pleased he was playing against a small centre forward, because he hated playing against big strikers, as they tended to be very physical, and were usually too strong and too rough for him to handlle. Didn't fill me full of confidence.