Looking Back on Chris Wood’s 53 Weeks As A Newcastle United Player
Chris Wood was never destined to be a Newcastle United player for very long. He joined them at a pivotal moment: the first transfer window after their Saudi takeover when the club was lingering down in the relegation zone and needed a quick fix. He was a bridge player to help guide them into a new era even knowing that he was unlikely to be a part of it. In a weird way, the better that the Woodsman did, the sooner they were likely to replace him.
Sure he could always have hung around as a backup, waiting for others to get injured. But that would’ve been a waste when there were always other opportunities available to him. There’s simply too much demand for experienced Premier League goal scorers for a bloke like Woodsy to be left lingering on the end of the bench. There are always clubs in threat of relegation. Those clubs always need goals. And in the Premier League they’ve always got the money to do something about it.
Even still, his Newcastle exit seemed to happen sooner than expected. He joined the Magpies on 13 January 2022. He left them for Nottingham Forest on 20 January 2023. One year and one week spent in the black and white, half of one season then half of the next. In terms of playing time he’s timed it absolutely perfectly because of the 53 weeks at St James Park, there was only about a two week period in which he was anything worse than the backup centre forward... and those were the last two weeks before he left.
Back in early December there was a report going around that Newcastle were looking to offload some of their fringe players, partly to tidy up the squad but also partly for financial fair play reasons in the wake of a couple of hefty transfer windows in which they spent an estimated £200m on nine players. Chris Wood, however, was not considered one of those possible offloads. He was happy where he was and keen to fight for a place.
The Telegraph on 2 December 2022: “With that in mind, there have been discussions about which players could be sold to raise funds, but the Magpies hierarchy have decided they do not want to lose striker Chris Wood as the New Zealand international has been an excellent back-up forward this season. With club record signing Alexander Isak due to be fit again for the resumption of the Premier League campaign, against Leicester City on Boxing Day, Wood will find it even harder to get into the side. But the striker has privately expressed his happiness on Tyneside and wants to stay where he is a popular member of the dressing room.”
If you’re wondering how popular he was, check out the replies on that IG farewell. Also…
That article also claims that they’d rejected loan interest for him in the offseason and intended to do the same in January... unless the player changed his mind. Well, he must have changed his mind because now he’s gone. Joined Nottingham Forest on loan for the remainder of the season with Forest possessing an obligation to buy him permanently as long as certain triggers are met (not sure what those are but the main one will no doubt be avoiding relegation). Technically there are outcomes which could see him back at Newcastle next season - when they’re almost certain to be preparing for continental footy, potentially Champions League - but realistically he’s played his last game for Newcastle United. Privately content as he may have been, two weeks of actually experiencing life as a third-choice striker combined with an offer to start for a rival team and there ya go. Can’t really blame a fella.
Thus caps a very strange twelve months, during which many Niche Cache words have been used in service of defending Chris Wood’s honour amidst what often felt like a mass misunderstanding of Wood as a player and also what his actual role in the NUFC team was. But that also made this a really fascinating situation and despite constant criticism throughout the entire spell... it seems like his efforts will be remembered quite fondly in hindsight. So let’s explore all that.
Gotta start with the elephant in the room which is that Chris Wood only scored 4 goals in 35 games for Newcastle United. That tally looks utterly tragic and frankly was the source of many complaints. Seems a lot of folks still think a striker is only there to score goals (and that goalies are only there to prevent them). Chris Wood did not score very many goals, that is true. He also had a few bad misses gone askew in there which drew further attention to that fact – most notably the chance he ballooned against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup defeat in his last meaningful appearance for the club. Therefore it stands to reason that he was terrible, right?
Clearly not. For one thing, this season’s efforts are skewed by all those small bench cameos he’d been getting. Nine of his 19 games in 2022-23 saw him brought on in the 83rd minute or later. Good luck doing much with that. Actually, with two goals in 540 minutes (including his Nottm Forest debut) he has a better goals per ninety minutes ratio this season than Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Zaha, or Mohamed Salah. Those lads are also dining on assists whilst playing way more often so it’s not a perfect comparison, but it does at least puts Wood’s conversion rate into better focus.
Now, last season was different. Last season he played heaps... and still only scored twice. Two goals in 1327 minutes was an awful scoring rate and you can’t really sugarcoat that. Yet this is where we come back around to the point that goals are not the be-all and end-all. A player can be struggling for his scoring touch and still make a profound contribution in other ways.
Sure it woulda been nice if he’d been more prolific but you know what matters more than goals? Wins matter more. And there were plenty of those to go around during the Chris Wood Era. In the 35 games he appeared in the Magpies took 67 points which, accounting for the three more games it’d take to complete a full season, would be on pace for Champions League qualification most years.
We need to backtrack now for some proper context of why that’s so immense. Because when Wood swapped Burnley for Newcastle, it was largely seen as a great example of Newcastle weakening a relegation rival. NUFC had won one game from their first 19 and had just been knocked out of the FA Cup by Cambridge United. They’d changed managers from Steve Bruce to Eddie Howe but it was taking some time for Howe’s tactics to have a proper effect on results. They were constantly throwing away leads. The only clean sheet they’d kept all league season was, ironically, against Chris Wood’s Burnley. Its’ one thing to have all the cash in the world but you’re not bringing Neymar to St James Park when the Championship is looking more likely than the Champions League.
So what they did was move for reliable Premier League sorts that they knew could do a job from day one. Guys like Keiran Trippier, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, and Chris Wood. With a wee bit of Bruno Guimaraes sprinkled on top for fun (might as well put at least one luxury item through the checkout). The fix was almost instant...
Newcastle Utd in 2021-22 pre-Wood signing:
19 GM | 1 W | 8 D | 10 L | 19 GF | 42 GA | -23 GD | 11 PTS
Newcastle Utd in 2021-22 post-Wood signing:
19 GM | 12 W | 2 D | 5 L | 25 GF | 20 GA | +5 GD | 38 PTS
Obviously that wasn’t all down to Wood’s influence... but he did start 15 of those 19 games so he clearly played his part, goals or no goals. The results were very similar this season too. Wood left them sitting in the top four with 36 points from 19 games and their only defeat being a 2-1 loss vs Liverpool at Anfield in which the winner was scored in the seventh minute of injury time.
Once more for emphasis: Chris Wood joined a team that had only won once in nineteen games and he leaves that team having only lost once in nineteen games.
Looking at those numbers though, Newcastle didn’t suddenly start scoring bundles of goals (Wood clearly didn’t help that cause either). It was their newfound defensive solidity that turned them into such a force and as funny as it sounds Chris Wood was sort of seen as a defensive striker. For starters, his aerial ability was something that Eddie Howe made an immediate focus. Long balls in his direction became a feature of the team, with Wood often then able to hold the ball up and drag his team into the opposition half where their pre-Bruno midfield was otherwise unable to consistently get them. Less defending equals better defending. Not to mention Wood being able to win headers for defensive set pieces. In the 1773 minutes that Wood spent on the pitch for NUFC in the Premier League, they conceded a mere 18 times. That’s less than a goal per game.
This was a point that his manager was never shy in stressing. While fans and pundits may tend to focus on goals, Eddie Howe was zoned in on his processes and he could see the ways in which his team was much improved by having Chris Wood out there.
As time went on, Wood became more and more effective out of possession as well, displaying a mobile pressing version of himself that hadn’t really been witnessed before... certainly not at Burnley. It got to where this season, with more competition for places after the club record signing of Swedish striker Alexander Isak, Wood was largely used as what you’d have to classify as a defensive substitute. A ‘closer’ might be a more flattering way to describe his role. Very rarely was he chucked on when his team were pushing for a goal but if they were hanging on then up you get, son.
Woodsy made 14 sub apps for NUFC this season. Already mentioned that nine of them happened in the 83rd min or later with many of those merely time-wasting manoeuvres. Well, the other five where he actually got a decent chance to stretch his legs were against: Liverpool (27 mins, subbed on at 1-1), Arsenal (23 mins, subbed on at 0-0), Manchester City (21 mins, subbed on at 3-3), Manchester United (13 mins, subbed on at 0-0)... and Southampton (45 mins, subbed on at 1-0).
The latter only happened because Callum Wilson was feeling unwell and had to go off at half-time but guess what? Chris Wood scored in that Southampton game as the Magpies won 4-1. The rest of them were all against members of the so-called top six and in every instance his team were trying to hold on for a draw... which they managed to achieve in all but the late Liverpool defeat. As for Chelsea and Spurs, well Spurs don’t really count at the moment though he did get three minutes helping his team close out a 2-1 win against them. And in their match against Chelsea he started and played 75 very good minutes in a 1-0 victory.
Yeah but who wants to be a specialist defensive sub? Not a chap who prided himself on scoring 10+ goals in each of the previous four Premier League seasons – putting him in an exclusive club alongside: Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane & Heung-Min Son.
Chris Wood spent 53 weeks doing what’s best for Newcastle United. He did his part in helping them out of a jam and then tried to fit in where he could as the team began to evolve beyond him. Remember they signed Isak right at the end of the summer window, gotta wonder if Woodsy might’ve flown the coop back then had the Swede arrived a month earlier. When he first signed he emphasised that he was keen for a new challenge. Old mate certainly got that... but it soon ceases to be challenging and just starts being boring when your whole game is stripped back to one bare-bones idea: Big Man Defend Good.
Like, it’s actually crazy how much of a different player he was at Newcastle compared to at Burnley. These images are from FB Reference’s scouting reports, comparing Wood to other Premier League strikers over the calendar year he spent at Newcastle (left) and his last full season with Burnley (right)...
See how at NUFC his already dominant aerial prowess got slightly more pronounced while his defensive yarns took a huge leap (interceptions, bruh!). Playing for a team that eventually became quite good on the ball, certainly with better possession stats than Burnley ever had, his pass attempts also went up... although his accuracy dropped by a surprisingly large amount. Not as badly as all those attacking numbers did though. Those things absolutely plummeted and a very good explanation for that can be seen right there in the bottom row of the second block: Progressive Passes Received.
From the 89th percentile to the 9th percentile. Nobody’s kidding themselves that Chris Wood is some kind of creative maestro but give him service and he can give you goals. Newcastle quite frankly did not give him the service – they didn’t even try to. In fairness they shouldn’t really be altering the vision to incorporate a backup striker who isn’t seen as a part of the long term vision. But they could have done a little more. A token cross now and then, you know? The Woodsman’s out there chopping away so that the team could heat their meals and those same jerries wouldn’t even let him eat.
It’s not that it was done by design, necessarily. The players around him just didn’t suit the same style of play as him. Kieran Trippier is an exception as crossing is immaculate but the England fullback was injured for a large portion of Wood’s time as a starter last season. Other than that you’re talking about wingers like Allan Saint-Maximin who needs to beat six defenders before he even considers squaring the ball, Miguel Almiron who is a left-footer on the right wing who prefers to dribble inside and shoot, Jacob Murphy and Ryan Fraser would’ve been okay if they’d played on the right but the in-form Almiron has pushed them to the other side. As a consequence, Newcastle completed the third fewest crosses in the Prem last season and while it’s been a lot better this term that’s happened too late for Woodsy.
Things should be different with Nottingham Forest. There we oughta see a player who much more resembles the Chris Wood of his Burnley days. The fit was never great with Newcastle but Nottm Forest, newly promoted and trying to avoid falling into a relegation battle, should be way more inclined to utilise him for his known strengths. Didn’t see that in his debut where he played 74 minutes without registering a shot getting next to zero service and looking on a different page to the rest of his team (and vice versa)... but that was before he’d even had a single training session with the squad so it’s not a fair representation.
It will be curious to see which aspects of Newcastle Wood remain when Forest Wood gets going. Some of that pressing mobility should come in handy while every manager loves a disciplined defender who tracks back and covers for others. Regardless, you’ve also gotta imagine they signed Chris Wood to help with their struggles in front of goal and if that’s the case then the pattern is obvious: give him service and The Woodsman shall provide. Two of his four goals for Newcastle were penalties. Take them out of the mix and there’s a clear correlation throughout his PL career between shot quantities and goal quantities...
| Team | Season | Minutes | Goals | Shots/90 | NPxG/90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | 22-23 | 446 | 2 | 1.61 | 0.21 |
| Newcastle | 21-22 | 1331 | 2 | 1.42 | 0.18 |
| Burnley | 21-22 | 1403 | 3 | 1.92 | 0.31 |
| Burnley | 20-21 | 2765 | 12 | 2.28 | 0.38 |
| Burnley | 19-20 | 2462 | 14 | 2.38 | 0.55 |
| Burnley | 18-19 | 2603 | 10 | 2.01 | 0.31 |
| Burnley | 17-18 | 1639 | 10 | 2.20 | 0.39 |
(NPxG/90 = Non-Penalty Expected Goals Per Ninety Minutes)
Does have to be mentioned that he was already on the slide in that last half-term with Burnley. Missed a few big chances, wasn’t in the best of confidence. The team was losing a lot. Probably contributed to his desire to leave but unfortunately he took that shooting form with him and after a year of having to adapt his game in order to keep playing he’s still not rediscovered his rhythm. You know what strikers are like though. That could all change with one big performance.
You couldn’t claim that Chris Wood’s transfer to Newcastle Utd was met with universal acclaim. A lot of fans weren’t so chuffed about the supposed richest club in the world buying a 30 year old Burnley striker... even though only a few months earlier, before the takeover, those same fans would’ve been happy with anyone at all. Having said that, many did see the pragmatic purpose of the move. They knew he was only ever going to be a stopgap option for a team in transition.
Now it feels like he’s leaving with the pure goodwill of that Newcastle fanbase. That’s because he joined at a perilous time and left at at a glamorous time. For 53 weeks he gave all he had for that badge, never moaned about his minutes or his role, simply put his head down and did what was asked of him to the best of his ability... then he said his farewells before the situation got stale. Showbiz lore says you’ve gotta know when your time is up. Wood could have squeezed some more juice out of this thing if he really wanted to but what’s the point? Waste a year of his career in the hope of five minutes of Champions League action off the bench?
Nah, no fun. They already signed Alexander Isak to replace him, the writing was on the wall from that day onwards. The bro stuck in there while Isak got settled (and injured) but now a new project has come along requiring his services. It’s not hard to imagine him standing outside St James Park with his hat and suitcase taking one last wistful look at the place he briefly called home before turning with a smile and thinking to himself: My work here is done. Of course then just before the credits roll there’ll be a phone call from a frantic Steve Cooper complaining about all the injuries in his Nottingham Forest squad and how there’s only one man that can save them. He’s already sent a car to take him to the airport. Get in, Woodsy, a new mission awaits.
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