After enjoying on the prime stage of New Zealand soccer on the age of simply 15, Chris Wooden moved to England when he was 16 and, inside two years, made his Premier League debut for West Brom underneath Tony Mowbray in 2009.
Though he performed often the next season as West Brom have been relegated to the Championship, as soon as they have been promoted once more Wooden discovered he needed to go elsewhere to play constant minutes.
That led the Kiwi to an unimaginable three-year interval the place he performed on mortgage for six completely different golf equipment – starting from Barnsley to the south coast at Brighton, a return to the Midlands at Birmingham, a spell within the west at Bristol Metropolis, a worthwhile spell within the capital at Millwall earlier than discovering himself again within the Midlands at Leicester – the membership he would then be part of completely.
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“I just wanted to see the country!” Wooden joked. “It made me the player I am today because I learned different things from different clubs and the experience that came with it.
“I went the place the soccer was, Barnsley was a troublesome time, then went to Brighton and we gained League One – had a good time.
“Played with Birmingham then went to Bristol City to try and get more game time – but it was all different situations and scenarios – they were all great in their individual way.”
A turning level at Leeds
After a couple of years at Leicester, Wooden joined Leeds in 2015 and extremely, regardless of such a protracted journey that took him round England, the striker was nonetheless simply 23 years previous.
Wooden mentioned: “I needed to go to Leeds to play more consistent football. When I was in the Premier League with Leicester, I only played seven games – I needed to go and get more game time.”
Wooden had two managers in his first season with Uwe Rosler and Steve Evans nevertheless it was when former supervisor Garry Monk and ex-England striker James Beattie joined the membership that Wooden loved his finest season up to now – scoring a powerful 27 objectives in 44 appearances within the Championship.
“When Garry Monk and James Beattie came in, it was a bit of a change in the guard from the previous manager.
“Beattie had an enormous affect on my profession. There have been instances when the followers have been most likely on my again in the beginning of the season however James actually helped me on and off the pitch, to work on my psychological energy and to know you may get via something.
“That’s what helped and put me on to my best season. It was down to him helping me and giving me the tools to be able to thrive on the pitch.”
Chris Wooden scores for Leeds in 2016
“He was actually playing the role of a single striker, a focal point for the team,” Beattie defined.
“He was getting frustrated because he wasn’t seeing the ball as much as he wanted to and he thought he wasn’t contributing – but he was quite a lot.
“Should you drop into midfield and clog every thing up then the patterns will not come and you will not be capable to end off the possibilities – it took a little bit little bit of time however he was there in the long run and his willingness to hear and belief me.”
Burnley and Consistency
You would be forgiven for pondering Wooden is simply simply displaying how constant he could be on the prime stage of English soccer.
When he joined Burnley for round £15m in 2017, he was the Clarets’ file signing on the time however in time, he greater than confirmed his worth for the facet.
Returning to the Premier League seven years after he made his debut, Wooden was vastly vital in conserving Burnley within the prime flight for the next 5 seasons.
“I had five great years there and scored lots of goals and achieved lots – getting into the Europa League with Burnley and things like that – we did extremely well with 18 other lads that stuck together for five years,” Wooden mentioned.
He notched greater than 10 objectives in every of his first 4 seasons on the membership and created an efficient duo with strike associate Ashley Barnes.
Wooden described his time with Barnes as ‘telepathic’ however does the latter, who has lately re-joined the Clarets, really feel the identical?
“We just had that connection,” Barnes mirrored on his time with Wooden.
“We were just doing the opposite movements all the time and it was just killing these defenders – we could both hold the ball up and both run in behind.
“It was only a combine and match of actions and that’s the reason we succeeded a lot.
“He can find the net wherever – he is phenomenal. We had a fantastic relationship on and off the pitch and I still speak to him now.”
Nottingham, Nuno and a contact of legacy
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Chris Wooden scored a hat-trick in Nottingham Forest’s thumping win over Brighton
After a yr at Newcastle and first-team alternatives considerably restricted, Wooden joined Forest in January 2023.
He solely featured seven instances within the second half of that season after he picked up a thigh harm which dominated him out for the remainder of the season.
Though he featured underneath former Forest head coach Steve Cooper, his aim output considerably elevated when present boss Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed in December 2023.
“Nuno gave me the confidence to be his number nine and start, and then we started to play a bit more positively with more attacking creativity,” mentioned Wooden.
“Whereas at the start of the season, we were maybe a bit more defensive – I think the game Nuno brought in really suits the way I play.”
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Chris Wooden is demonstrating a historic conversion charge at Nottingham Forest up to now this season while scoring a excessive proportion of his possibilities with one-touch finishes.
As his former highschool coach, New Zealand worldwide Mike Groom mentioned about Wooden’s affect on his homeland: “When they talk about Mo Salah and Erling Haaland – they mention Chris Wood in the same breath – you can’t compete with that.
“It is theatrical, it is magical, it is the stuff of desires and children’ desires are fuelled by these photos and that publicity.
“We’re still a rugby-playing country, but Chris is single-handedly beginning to change that.”
Wooden has not simply turn out to be a prolific Premier League striker but in addition New Zealand’s file aim scorer, captain and is extraordinarily near breaking the file for appearances made for his nation.
Should you had instructed a 16-year-old Wooden when he first arrived in England about his profession would he have believed what he has been in a position to obtain up to now?
“It’s definitely exceeded what I dreamed of when I was a kid and hopefully, I’ve got a lot more I can achieve to make it an even better dream,” Wooden mentioned.
“I want to keep the path open for New Zealanders to hopefully make it into the Premier League one day – I want to grow that generation of new kids wanting to play football and wanting to dream of doing the best they can and ending up in the biggest league.”
Watch Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest on Sunday reside on Sky Sports activities, kick-off 2pm
