Darren Wood

Darren Wood

Personal information
Date of birth	9 June 1964 (1964-06-09) (age 47)
Place of birth	Scarborough, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Playing position	Full back
Youth career
–	Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1981–1984	Middlesbrough	101	(6)
1984–1989	Chelsea	144	(3)
1989–1990	Sheffield Wednesday	11	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Darren Wood (born 9 June 1964) is an English former footballer, who played as a full back in the Football League between 1981 and 1990 for Middlesbrough,^[2] Chelsea^[3][4] and Sheffield Wednesday.^[2]

Born in Scarborough, Wood began his career with Middlesbrough, making 101 league appearances between 1981 and 1984.^[2] He became the focal point of a dispute which ended Malcolm Allison's managerial reign at Middlesbrough: with the club on the verge of liquidation, Allison threatened to resign if Wood were sold to Chelsea for £100,000,^[5] declaring that it was "better for the club to die than to linger on".^[6] Chairman Mike McCullagh accused Allison of no longer being reliable in trying to save the club and promptly sacked him,^[7] installing Jack Charlton as caretaker manager.^[8] In September 1984, Wood joined Chelsea for a fee reported as "around £50,000" and the return of former Middlesbrough captain Tony McAndrew to Ayresome Park.^[9] The Evening Gazette reported that Liverpool had offered £250,000 for Wood just six months earlier.^{[citation needed]}

Wood eventually played in 178 matches in all competitions for the west London club.^[4] He was sold to Sheffield Wednesday in 1989, but made only a handful of appearances before retiring due to injury.^[10]

After retiring as a player he went into the food supply business.^[10]

References

1. ^ Rollin, Jack, ed (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). London: Queen Anne Press. p. 490. ISBN 0-356-17911-7. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Darren Wood". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player1/darrenwood.htm. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
3. ^ "Chelsea : 1946/47–2008/09". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/chelsea/chelsea.htm. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Darren Wood". Historical Player Database. Chelsea F.C. http://theblues.chelseafc.com/cgi-bin/playersearch.pl?Darren%20WOOD. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
5. ^ Horridge, Dave (22 March 1984). "Taylor's torment" (PDF). Daily Mirror: p. 30. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/incoming/article4977.ece/BINARY/stitched+1984+Barca+report.pdf. Retrieved 26 November 2009. "Malcolm Allison will quit Middlesbrough if the club sell full-back Darren Wood to Chelsea for £100,000. The Boro boss gave his ultimatum to chairman Mike McCullagh yesterday. But Boro face the threat of closure unless they can raise £200,000 before today's transfer deadline." 
6. ^ "Malcolm Allison (October 1982 to March 1984)". Middlesbrough F.C. http://www.mfc.premiumtv.co.uk/articles/malcolm-allison-october-1982-to-march-1984-20030703_70678_395718. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 
7. ^ "Another exit for Allison". The Times: p. 23. 29 March 1984. "'He can no longer be relied upon to co-operate with us in trying to save the club. I have dismissed Malcolm Allison,' McCullagh said." 
8. ^ Dougray, John (30 March 1984). "Charlton back at his old desk". The Times: p. 22. 
9. ^ "Reinforcement for Chelsea". The Times: p. 23. 26 September 1984. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Bevan, Chris (6 March 2008). "Did you see Tykes thrash Chelsea?". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7276231.stm. Retrieved 26 November 2009. 

External links

• League stats at Neil Brown's site

Persondata
Name	Wood, Darren
Alternative names
Short description	Professional footballer
Date of birth	9 June 1964
Place of birth	Scarborough, Yorkshire, England
Date of death
Place of death