Trevor Wood Explained

Trevor Wood
Fullname:Trevor John Wood
Birth Date:3 November 1968
Birth Place:Saint Helier, Jersey
Position:Goalkeeper
Youthyears1:1985–1986
Youthclubs1:Brighton & Hove Albion
Years1:1986–1988
Clubs1:Brighton & Hove Albion
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:1988–1994
Clubs2:Port Vale
Caps2:42
Goals2:0
Years3:1994–1997
Clubs3:Walsall
Caps3:69
Goals3:0
Years4:1997
Clubs4:Hereford United
Caps4:19
Goals4:0
Years5:1997–2001
Clubs5:St Patrick's Athletic
Caps5:100
Goals5:0
Totalcaps:230
Totalgoals:0
Nationalyears1:1995
Nationalteam1:Northern Ireland
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1996
Nationalteam2:Northern Ireland B
Nationalcaps2:1
Nationalgoals2:0

Trevor John Wood (born 3 November 1968) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 130 league games in the English Football League and 100 league games in the League of Ireland. He won one international cap for Northern Ireland in 1995.

He began his career at Brighton & Hove Albion but did not feature in the first team before he signed with Port Vale in May 1988. Mostly a backup keeper for the "Valiants", he moved on to Walsall in May 1994. He helped the "Saddlers" to promotion out of the Third Division in 1994–95, before he signed with Hereford United in 1997. He then moved to Ireland to play for St Patrick's Athletic, and helped his new club to the League of Ireland title in 1997–98 and 1998–99, before he retired in 2001.

Playing career

Wood was a squad member for Brighton & Hove Albion before having a successful trial with John Rudge's Port Vale in May 1988.[1] He kept a clean sheet on his debut; a 2–0 home win over Huddersfield Town on 3 October 1988.[1] Despite this he was used mainly as a reserve keeper. He made only two appearances in the Third Division as back-up to Mark Grew and loanee Mike Stowell during the promotion campaign of 1988–89.[1] He played just three Second Division games in 1989–90, with Grew retaining his place between the sticks at Vale Park.[1] Wood earned the first-team jersey in August 1990.[1] He injured his thigh however, in a 2–0 defeat at Oldham Athletic on 16 February 1991, and took two months to win his first-team place back.[1] He made 37 appearances in all competitions in 1990–91, being preferred ahead of Grew.[1] In August 1991, he once more fell out of favour, as Grew played every minute of the 1991–92 campaign. Wood was in goal for the 4–3 defeat on penalties to Go Ahead Eagles in the TNT Tournament on 9 August 1992, a tournament the Vale still managed to win.[1] He started the 1992–93 season as first-choice keeper. Still, he lost his place to new signing Paul Musselwhite after five league games, having conceded a penalty at Vetch Field in an 'off the ball' incident with a Swansea player.[1] At the end of the 1993–94 season, Wood was given a free transfer, and signed with Walsall in May 1994.[1]

The "Saddlers" won promotion out of the Third Division as runners-up in 1994–95 under the stewardship of Chris Nicholl. They then went on to finish eleventh in the Second Division in 1995–96, before Wood moved on to Graham Turner's Hereford United in the 1996–97 campaign. The "Bulls" finished bottom of the Football League, and were relegated into the Conference.

He then signed for St. Patrick's Athletic and played in the Champions League preliminary round against Celtic in 1998, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–0 draw at Celtic Park.[2] Celtic won the second leg 2–0 at Tolka Park.[2] The "Saints" won the League of Ireland title in 1997–98 and 1998–99, also boasting the best defensive record on both occasions. However, they dropped to sixth and fifth in 1999–2000 and 2000–01, and Wood left the club, having made 100 league appearances.

International career

FIFA regulations at the time allowed a player born outside of the United Kingdom with a British passport to choose which national team he wanted to represent, despite the Jersey Football Association having county football association status within England's Football Association. Wood was the first player to take advantage of the lax regulations when he was called up for a qualifying game against Republic of Ireland for UEFA Euro 1996 in March 1995.[3]

Wood earned a Northern Ireland cap on 11 October 1995 during the same qualifying campaign, coming on for Alan Fettis at half-time in a 4–0 win over Liechtenstein at the Sportpark Eschen-Mauren.[2] He had been suggested to coach Bryan Hamilton by Chris Nicholl, his manager at Walsall.[2] He then slipped down the international pecking order behind Fettis, Tommy Wright, Roy Carroll, and Aidan Davison.[2] On 26 March 1996, he played in a rare Northern Ireland B team game, a 3–0 win over Norway Olympic XI at The Showgrounds in Coleraine.[2]

Career statistics

Source:[4]

ClubSeasonDivisionLeagueFA CupOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brighton & Hove Albion1986–87Second Division00000000
Port Vale1988–89Third Division20000020
1989–90Second Division30000030
1990–91Second Division3202030370
1991–92Second Division00000000
1992–93Second Division50002070
Total4202050490
Walsall1994–95Third Division3905060500
1995–96Second Division2002010230
1996–97Second Division1000000100
Total6907070830
Hereford United1996–97Third Division1900000190
St Patrick's Athletic1997–98League of Ireland Premier Division330
1998–99League of Ireland Premier Division330
1999–2000League of Ireland Premier Division330
2000–01League of Ireland Premier Division10
Total1000
Career total2300901202510

Honours

Walsall

St Patrick's Athletic

1997–98 & 1998–99

Notes and References

  1. Book: Kent, Jeff. Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. 315. 1996. 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. Web site: Trevor Wood. nifootball.blogspot.com. 2 March 2012.
  3. Web site: Shouldice. Frank. Republic vs. Northern Ireland Preview: Jack's Hungry for a Win. https://web.archive.org/web/20090525192228/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-2335663.html. dead. 25 May 2009. Irish Voice . HighBeam Research. 22 February 2014. 28 March 1995.
  4. Web site: Player profile . National-Football-Teams.com . 10 July 2016.