August 20 - Woody Signs for Real

It was a transfer that no-one saw coming. What were the most glamorous club in the world doing buying an injury-prone convicted criminal for £13.4 million to marshal their defence? Yes, it was on this day in 2004 that saw Jonathan Woodgate complete his move from Newcastle to Real Madrid.

Jonathan Woodgate had had somewhat of a stop-start career to this point. As a member of the Leeds FA Cup Youth winning side of 1997, he soon established himself in Leeds’ senior side, fast becoming a fan’s favourite and he made his England debut in 1999 against Bulgaria. At this time it looked like Woodgate would fulfil his obvious potential, but that infamous night on the town in January 2000 saw Woodgate and Lee Bowyer accused of assault. A long court case followed and Woodgate was convicted of affray. His time on the playing field was minimal during this period and was eventually sold to Newcastle in January 2003, as Leeds began to feel the financial pinch of their free-spending ways.

At Newcastle, the Toon Army soon took to Woody and manager Sir Bobby Robson would breathlessly describe him as “more brilliant than brilliant.” Injuries continued to plague Woodgate though, so when Madrid came calling, offering Newcastle almost £5 million more than they had previously paid for him, they couldn’t say no, especially as Woodgate was carrying what was proving to be a very serious injury at the time.

His first season at the Bernabeu proved to be an injury-hit washout and Woodgate did not make his debut until 22 September 2005. Proving to be a master of the understatement, Woody said that “it was not the best start in the world”. An own goal and red card meant that Woody’s bow in the famous white shirt of Madrid couldn’t really have gone much worse. Things did get better though, as he turned in a number of impressive performances, with Real keeping clean sheets in 10 of the 14 games he played in that season, but more injuries and managerial changes saw Woody sent out on loan to his home-town club Middlesbrough for the 2005/06 season, where he has since signed permanently and added to the five England caps he had previously won. At the moment though, he remains on the treatment table - some things never change.

Somewhat harshly, Spanish newspaper Marca recently ran a poll where they invited readers to vote for the worst signing of the 21st century, and Woodgate romped home, taking 37% of the vote. See below for footage of what Woody’s capable of when he’s not nursing an injury or getting his hair done, and join us tomorrow for a look at a landmark game from the 1960s to bore your mates with down the pub.

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

 Loading ...