Big move should earn Wood credit
Chris Wood may finally get the recognition he deserves in this country following his astounding £25 million transfer to Newcastle.
Despite all his achievements over the past decade in England — and especially since 2017 at Burnley in the Premier League — it still feels like the enormity of what he has done hasn’t been fully appreciated.
Fifty goals in the Premier League. A hat-trick. Scoring twice at Old Trafford. Double-digit tallies over four consecutive seasons.
As Ryan Nelsen said last year, it’s something we “might never see again” from a New Zealander.
But for whatever reason, Kiwis haven’t fully grasped the magnitude of what Wood has done. Maybe now.
Whatever your sporting persuasion, Friday was a remarkable moment for
New Zealand sport.
A kid from Auckland, who later attended St Paul’s Collegiate in Hamilton, was the subject of a $50 million transfer, a record fee for a player aged over 30 in Premier League history. Staggering stuff.
Circumstances have inflated the figure, no doubt, but that’s not the point. Newcastle had money to spend and they chose Wood as their main man, above other options in England and Europe.
Wood may have struggled this season, but the fee is based on his outstanding resume, with 154 goals in 454 matches in England, the majority in the Championship and Premier League.
It’s also a reward for graft, guts and grit. Wood wasn’t blessed with pace or trickery but worked hard to make the most of his gifts, notably an instinctive scoring ability. Still, nothing came easy in New Zealand, as he was overlooked for a string of junior representative teams.
In England, he battled to prove himself at nine clubs, including six loan deals, and endured some dark days, before finally getting a regular Premier League opportunity just before his 26th birthday.
And he has thrived in the most competitive football league of all.
Now Wood will be in the spotlight more than ever. Newcastle may have been in the doldrums in recent seasons — and have famously not won a major trophy since 1955 — but that’s only half the picture.
They were Premier League runners-up twice in the 1990s, also reaching two FA Cup finals, and qualified for the Champions League in 2003. They boast fanatical support — only six teams have higher average crowds than their 50,000. They are still a big club and could spread their wings with the expected Saudi investment.
And now Wood will lead the line at St James Park, following in the footsteps of Geordie icons such as Malcolm McDonald, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.
The move is a gamble for Wood, away from an established role at Burnley, but he’s willing to risk failure to evolve his game.
“Nothing great ever happens in your comfort zone”, he said on Friday.
The pressure to perform will be on a different scale. But the switch could take him to a new level, with greater supply lines at Newcastle and more opportunities to impress.
What it means for the All Whites remains to be seen, as there’s now a lot on his shoulders, for club and country. He sounds as committed as ever to the national team but has a punishing schedule the next five months and there will be pressure to prioritise his club needs.
But that’s the future. For now, we should celebrate the continued rise of Christopher Grant Wood, which has inspired thousands of young Kiwis to believe in their own sporting dreams.
From his humble beginnings at Onehunga Sports and Onehunga Mangere, to Cambridge, Hamilton Wanderers and Waikato FC, it’s been one hell of a journey. And there could be a lot more to come.