Flying Kiwis: Chris Wood, 2016-17 Season Preview
Chris Wood – Leeds United (English Championship)
If you followed this column last season then you know that things got fairly tumultuous for Leeds. Buddy, nothing has changed. Out went Steve Evans as manager while owner Massimo Cellino remains to the ire of fans.
Cellino did make a clever appointment of boss though. Garry Monk, formerly one of the hottest English managers in the game until he was sacked by Swansea, is a great get for Leeds and exactly the kind of guy with something to prove that they needed. Plus they got him early enough in the pre-season that they could trust him with transfers too. Which helped. Matt Grimes and Kyle Bartley both in on loan from his old team Swansea.
Wingers Pablo Hernandez and Hadi Sacko also came in on loan with Billy Whitehouse joining the midfield from Doncaster and Rob Green coming in on a free to play keeper. Yes, that Rob Green. The one that used to play for England. Not a bad get at this level either. The two fellas that they spent good money on were Marcus Antonsson and this dude, Kemar Roofe. Who scored absolute screamers in the First Division for Oxford United.
A couple of strikers those last two lads, which makes sense with Chris Wood often struggling for consistency and support last season and Mirco Antenucci bolting back to Italy. Woody’s still their number one central forward but now he has good competition, hopefully, which is always a positive. As far as exits go, there were a few which is normal at this level though only Lewis Cook was sold of their main blokes. The teenager, who was awarded the Championship’s Young Player of the Year honour last season, moves to Bournemouth for something close to £6m – a deal too good to decline. Cook was a major player in their midfield though, plus he also won goal of the season. Left back Charlie Taylor was another thought likely to be sold to a Premier League club but they rejected his transfer request.
Leeds didn’t head over to America or China for pre-season… they hopped a plane to Ireland instead where they played friendlies with Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers. Woody played 90 combined minutes over the two, scoring a penalty in the second one.
Back in Yorkshire, a practise game against local side Guiseley caused a few red faces as they fell 3-0 down in 12 minutes but they managed to overturn that to win 4-3, Wood playing this one without getting on the scoresheet, although his deflected shot led to the first Leeds goal. He didn’t play in the 2-1 loss to Peterborough but bagged another spottie in a 2-1 win over Atalanta, getting 71 mins in there.
They could do with another player or two but a quality manager and a strong pre-season had many people excited for Leeds. Wood shared a bit of time with Antonsson, they combined for three goals against Shamrock and the Swedish forward was keen to turn that partnership into something regular:
Marcus Antonsson: “I feel it’s getting better and better, Chris is a good guy off the pitch and I fit in well with him. I think that partnership can be really good this season. The guys here are amazing – a really good group. They’ve helped me a lot and it’s been great so far.”
As for Kemar Roofe, he and Wood played together back in the day.
Kemar Roofe: “I already knew Chris Wood from our West Brom days - I know he’s got the big chest and volley down to a tee! I’ve been speaking to him. It’ll be good (to work together again). I know his game and he knows my game, so that makes our jobs easier.”
Chris Wood, meanwhile, has backed himself to score 20 goals this season, after coming up with only 13 last season. Given he missed while with that hammy injury, he wasn’t too stunk up by that total.
Chris Wood: “All things considered it was a good return. It wasn’t a great return, I know that, but it was good when you consider everything that went on. I can do better, though, and I know I can be the leading striker here. I’m looking forward to proving that this season.”
That’s some fighting talk right there, son. He’s been healthy through the off-season, playing a bit for the All Whites too if you remember, and that’s all nice and promising. A few other things from that quoted article:
YEP: At the time, United’s head coach Steve Evans talked of a fitness plan which would see Wood return “keener, meaner and leaner.” Reports of this pre-season, a pre-season under new boss Garry Monk, say Wood is exactly that: fit, in shape and ahead of every other player in the club’s sprinting programme.
Chris Wood: “It’s been a very busy summer for me but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. That’s how it goes when you’re playing for your national team and it keeps you in shape. You don’t get much time off or much of a holiday but I’m very happy to play for New Zealand so it’s not a problem. I feel like I’ve come back feeling good and that’s the main thing for me. I feel fully fit.”
The Whites finished 13th last season and a return like that again will be unacceptable. Luckily Cellino is promising up to 50% refunds on season tickets if they don’t do that and make the playoffs. How very kind of him. There are some very strong clubs in the Championship this season though and these lads are running at 10/1 odds for promotion – not the shortest of them. Leeds will need to improve a very porous defence and they’ll need their big kiwi to be a bit more clinical. The wingers look good though, Stuart Dallas enjoyed himself for the Northern Ireland team at the Euros. On top of that, it’s the old question of consistency. Still, the framework is there for a decent team. First game was away to QPR on the weekend, here’s the XI that was picked:
So with all that in mind, they went and lost 3-0. A drubbing to kick off their season and they finished the day in last place on the table. Bloody awful. It couldn’t have started worse either as new keeper Rob Green flapped at the first corner kick they conceded and captain Sol Bamba turned it into his own net in shambolic fashion. Four minutes gone in the season and they were down 1-0 already.
A couple of strikes off the woodwork kept Leeds in the game into half time and after that they improved a little, at least managing to keep the ball a bit. But they hardly looked like posing a threat and were 2-0 down after 73 when Tjaronn Chery put away a penalty kick. Sebastian Polter added a third very late in the thing.
One problem was playing a 4-5-1 formation that saw Wood as the lone striker, which in itself sounds solid except that they showed last season they don’t create enough chances with only one man up top. When Antonsson came on, they moved to a 4-4-2 and looked at least marginally better. Roofe played wide and Grimes played in the hole – you’d have picked Roofe to be at striker and Grimes in CM. It was cool to see Ronaldo Vieira get a debut in the middle though, he’s 18 and with that name can hardly fail. Except for in this game where he gave away the penalty. They’ll be relieved to know that Spain international Pablo Hernandez, who played for Monk at Swansea, has finally got his clearance to play now and should be available for the second game.
YEP Player Ratings: “Chris Wood Wasn’t able to bully QPR in the same way that Polter bullied Leeds. Didn’t see a single chance of note. 4/10”
Yo but no reason to panic yet, at least Vinnie Jones doesn’t think so.
Up Next: Home to Birmingham, 2am Sunday (NZT)