Iain Wood (sporting director)

Last updated
Iain Wood
IW1.png
Personal information
Full name Iain Wood
Place of birth Brighton, England
Managerial career
YearsTeam
2022–present Barrow (Sporting Director)

Iain Wood is an English football director. Wood is currently the Sporting Director of EFL League Two club Barrow. [1] He has previously worked as a football agent, representing several high profile players and managers. [2]

Contents

Intermediary career

Wood was born in Brighton, England. Wood moved into intermediary work and represented a large volume of players and staff across world football, most notably working for New Era Global Sports. [3]

Wood spent 15 years in player management with extensive experience and networks in the Premier League, English Football League and the National League. He has considerable knowledge of building club player development functions, previously working with the likes of Chris Wilder and Alan Knill. [4] Most recently, Iain ran his own successful agency and is based in Leeds. [5] Wood represented Chris Wilder in January 2014 when it was widely reported he had resigned from his post at Oxford United. Wood came out with a statement at the time denying the rumours. [6] However, his client did move from Oxford, joining Sheffield United where Wood said, “It all happened so quickly and I would like to thank Sheffield United for how they went about their business." [4]

Football director career

In May 2022, Iain Wood was announced as the new Sporting Director at Barrow. The club announced he would be responsible for all on-field activities in collaboration with the first team manager; including player development, retention and recruitment, provision of training facilities, medical and support team liaison and the football analysis team. [1]

Later in May 2022, in his first major decision at the club, it was announced that Wood had appointed FC Halifax Town manager Pete Wild, to take up the position of first team manager at Barrow. [7] Wood would go on to explain in 2023 that he was the 'only choice' for the club. [8] “As soon as I got the job and saw the surroundings of Barrow, got a little bit of an understanding of supporters, the surroundings and the owners going for someone like Pete was a no brainer. “He was my number one target, and being my number one target it was maybe a bit of a learning curve as well because I didn’t have a B and C, I was so set on Pete Wild joining Barrow." [9]

In his first few months at the club, Wood oversaw 14 player departures and 13 player arrivals, as himself and the new manager, Pete Wild, looked to build a squad capable of pushing up the EFL League Two table. One of their first additions was Tranmere Rovers midfielder, Sam Foley. [10]

In April 2023, it was announced that Wood was looking to create a B Team for the first time at Barrow, to operate alongside the first team squad. [11] Wood said he wanted to "create a sustainable pathway for local talent to be able to have the opportunity to play for their hometown club." [11] He continued, "The creation of the B team will provide players with a platform to make the step into playing within the English Football League, all successful players will benefit from training full time alongside our first team squad within our existing facilities in Manchester”. [12]

In the summer of 2023, Wood oversaw Barrow's move to a new training ground. They moved to the facilities at FC United of Manchester in Moston, Manchester. Wood described the move as "a massive step up for us in attaining the standards that we are wanting to achieve daily." [13] He continued, "Myself, the staff and the players are excited about this move as we continue to keep pushing in the right direction and give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve our goals next season.” FC United of Manchester was founded in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer's takeover. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrow A.F.C.</span> Association football club in Barrow-in-Furness, England

Barrow Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system.

Ian Ross Evatt is an English professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Bolton Wanderers. He also owns shares in Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd, the company that own Bolton Wanderers, making him one of minority owners of the club itself.

Paul Ogden is an English football coach and former player who is chief scout at EFL League Two club Barrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ollie Banks</span> English footballer

Oliver Ian Banks is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National League side Chesterfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jolley</span> English football coach (born 1977)

Michael Jolley is an English professional football manager who was most recently in charge of Segunda Federación side Vélez CF.

Jayden Andrew Reid is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Veikkausliiga club IFK Mariehamn.

Richard Thomas Bennett is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League North club Southport, on loan from National League North club Scunthorpe United.

Matthew Elsdon is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Hebburn Town.

Joshua William Kay is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for AFC Fylde.

Joseph Nicholas Grayson is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender and midfielder who plays for Gateshead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikael Ndjoli</span> English footballer (born 1997)

Mikael Bongili Ndjoli is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for National League club Hartlepool United.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Wild</span> English football manager (born 1984)

Peter Lee Wild is an English football coach who is the manager of Barrow.

The 2020–21 season is Barrow's 119th year in existence and their first season in League Two having gained promotion from the National League in 2020 ending a 48 year exile from the Football League. Along with League Two, the club will also participate in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.

Festus Arthur is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for Southport on loan from National League club FC Halifax Town.

Remeao Andrew Hutton is an English professional footballer who plays as a full back for EFL League Two club Gillingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Dixon</span> English footballer

Joel Stephen Dixon is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for National League side Hartlepool United.

Dimitri Disseka Sea is a French professional footballer who last played as a forward for Barrow. He is a product of the Aston Villa Academy and Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt, having moved to England from his native Paris aged 15.

The 2021–22 EFL League Two was the 18th season of Football League Two under its current title and the 30th season under its current league division format. The season is known for the dramatic finish to the last automatic spot (3rd) between Bristol Rovers and Northampton Town. Bristol Rovers started the day needing to better the result of 3rd placed Northampton Town or win by 5 goals more than their rivals. Northampton Town beat 22nd placed Barrow 3-1, and by halftime, Bristol Rovers seemed on course for a playoff position despite leading 2-0 against Scunthorpe United, thanks in part to Lobley's own goal. However, the team delivered a remarkable second-half performance, netting 5 goals against a youthful Scunthorpe side. With just 5 minutes remaining, Anderson's header propelled Bristol Rovers into the automatic promotion spot. The dramatic final moments saw Bristol Rovers clinch automatic promotion from League Two based on goals scored as the two teams were tied on points and goal difference. Manager Joey Barton implored fans to clear the pitch after Anderson's decisive goal triggered a pitch invasion, halting the match for nearly 20 minutes. Fortunately, the remaining 5 minutes and added time were played without incident, sealing Bristol Rovers' immediate and triumphant return to EFL League One following last season's relegation, beating already relegated Scunthorpe United 7-0.

Scott Gavin Moloney is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Northern Premier League Premier Division club FC United of Manchester.

The 2022–23 EFL League Two was the 19th season of the Football League Two under its current title and the 31st season under its current league division format. It began on 30 July 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "Iain Wood Appointed As Sporting Director". www.barrowafc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  2. ↑ Sutcliffe, Richard. "Meet the EFL club who train 100 miles from their home ground". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  3. ↑ Byrne, Cormac (2018-04-26). "Belfast football agent hoping to remove stigma surrounding job". Belfast Live. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  4. 1 2 Holmes, Mark (2016-05-13). "Wilder snubbed Championship interest for Sheff Utd". TEAMtalk. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  5. ↑ "Barrow AFC appoint new sporting director". The Mail. 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  6. ↑ "Agent: 'Wilder has not resigned as Oxford boss'". Sports Mole. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  7. ↑ Douglas, Mark (2022-09-23). "Meet the mechanic turned manager who has masterminded the rise of League Two's surprise package". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  8. ↑ "Wild was the one and only for Barrow AFC". The Mail. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  9. ↑ "BBC Radio Cumbria - BBC Radio Cumbria Sport, Iain Wood". BBC. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  10. ↑ "Another new face signs for Barrow – cumbriacrack.com" . Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  11. 1 2 "B team to be created for Barrow – cumbriacrack.com" . Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  12. ↑ "Barrow B Team". www.barrowafc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  13. ↑ "Barrow AFC confirm FC United of Manchester pre-season friendly". The Mail. 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  14. ↑ "Barrow AFC reveal new training base". The Mail. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.