Jeff Wood (footballer)

Jeff Wood

Personal information
Full name	Jeffrey Reginald Wood
Date of birth	(1954-02-04) 4 February 1954 (age 69)
Place of birth	Islington, England
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Europa (head of coaching)
Youth career
	Cambridge United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1975–1982	Charlton Athletic	147	(0)
1982–1983	Colchester United	0	(0)
1983–1984	HJK Helsinki	54
1984–1985	Exeter City	33	(0)
1985–1986	Happy Valley	44	(?)
1986–1987	Rabat Ajax	72	(?)
1987–1990	Grankulla IFK	44	(0)
1990	Gnistan	74
1992-1993	Wivenhoe Town F.C.	43
Total		474	(0)
Managerial career
1996–1999	Brighton & Hove Albion (assistant)
1999	Brighton & Hove Albion
2001–2002	Sliema Wanderers
2014–2015	Lions Gibraltar
2015	Gibraltar (assistant)
2015–2018	Gibraltar
2018	Gibraltar U-17
2019	Manchester 62
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jeffrey Reginald Wood (born 4 February 1954) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the head of coaching for Europa, and was also goalkeeping coach for the Wales U19 and Wales U21 teams.

Career

Playing

After being released as a youth player by Colchester United, Wood started his professional career at Charlton Athletic, spending seven seasons at the club and winning promotion to the Second Division in the 1980–81 season, before moving back to Colchester for one season. He left without making an appearance, having been kept out of the team by Mike Walker, and moved to Finnish club HJK Helsinki in 1982. He spent two seasons there and then returned to England, signing for Fourth Division side Exeter City for the 1984–85 season. Wood then moved to Hong Kong side Happy Valley, whom he played for in two spells, firstly on loan during Finnish close season then full campaign, before returning to Exeter City before moving to Malta for two-and-a-half seasons winning two League championships and two FA Cups with Rabat Ajax. He spent the final years of his full-time playing career back in Finland with three seasons each at Grankulla IFK and Gnistan.

In December 1996, Wood was appointed by his former Charlton teammate Steve Gritt as assistant manager at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Third Division. ^[1] This came in one of the lowest points in Brighton's history, with the club only narrowly avoiding relegation to non-League football in the 1996–97 and then finishing the next season in second-bottom position, albeit 15 points clear of relegated Doncaster Rovers. In January 1999, with the club embroiled in a financial crisis, he was appointed as Brighton's manager until the end of the 1998–99 season after Brian Horton left to take over at Port Vale. ^[1] Wood remained unbeaten in his first three games, but then picked up only one point in the club's next ten games and was sacked on 9 April 1999, with the club battling relegation. ^[1]

Managerial

Wood spent time coaching in the United States, before joining Chesham United as assistant manager in 2000. Following the abrupt departure of Chesham's manager Jon Kendall to St Albans City in October 2000, Wood joined Maltese Premier League side Sliema Wanderers as a coach. ^[2] He remained with the club for two seasons as they finished as runners-up in both the league and Maltese Cup.

Wood joined Isthmian League side Harlow Town as a coach soon after and, in June 2003, rejected the offer to manage their divisional rivals Chesham United. ^[3]

Wood earned a UEFA 'A' Pro Licence and was appointed to manage Charlton Athletic's European Soccer School in southern Spain in 2004, later financing and maintaining it himself after Charlton withdrew their funding in 2006. ^[4]

Wood was employed as Norwich City's goalkeeping coach in February 2011, with the club winning promotion to the Premier League two months later. ^[4] He left at the end of the 2011–12 season.

He was appointed as the goalkeeping coach for the Wales U19 and Wales U21 teams and, on 30 July 2013, Wood was appointed goalkeeping coach at Conference Premier side Luton Town. ^[5] He left Luton in May 2014 to join Gibraltar Premier Division side Lions Gibraltar as head coach. His first season in charge saw the club finish bottom of the league.

In July 2015, he was appointed manager of Gibraltar. ^[6]

In February 2018 Jeff Wood resigned as manager. After spells managing the Gibraltar under-17 side, he took over at Manchester 62 on 19 June 2019, ^[7] assisted by Juan Francisco Fernández Molina. ^[8]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 10 October 2017.

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Brighton & Hove Albion	January 1999	April 1999	13	2	2	9	015.38
Sliema Wanderers	2001	2002
Lions Gibraltar	2014	2015	27	3	7	17	011.11
Gibraltar	2015	2018	17	0	1	16	000.00
Manchester 62	2019	2019	4	1	1	2	025.00

• No available statistics for Sliema Wanderers.

References

1. "Albion manager Jeff Wood has been sacked". The Argus. Newsquest Media (Southern) Ltd. 9 April 1999. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
2. "Chesham act over Kendall". The Daily Telegraph. 3 October 2000. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
3. "Search goes on for Chesham". Non League Daily. 12 June 2003. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
4. "Norwich City coach Wood backs Ruddy to be top of the tree". Eastern Daily Press. Archant Community Media Ltd. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
5. "Hatters appoint Wood as goalkeeping coach". Luton Today. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
6. Wood takes permanent Gibraltar role - UEFA
7. Jeff Wood takes over Man 62 Football Gibraltar. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
8. Wood to be assisted by Molina Football Gibraltar. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.

Sources

• Profile at PlayerHistory