Full name George Wood 1970–1971 East Stirlingshire Place of birth Douglas, Scotland Name George Wood | Playing position Role Football player Years Team Position Goalkeeper | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1952-09-26) 26 September 1952 (age 63) | ||
George Wood (born 26 September 1952) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Blackpool, Everton, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Cardiff City during his career.
Contents
Club career
George Wood started his career at East Stirlingshire for whom he scored a goal from his own penalty area against Queen of the South on 9 January 1971.
He moved to Blackpool in 1972, for £10,000 as a cover for John Burridge. This fee thus comprised an initial £7,000, which was followed by another £3,000 after making twelve appearances for the club. Wood made his debut on 15 April 1972, in a 2–0 home victory over that of Oxford United. He then spent the next four years jostling for the No. 1 jersey with Burridge, eventually establishing himself in 1975–76 after Budgie was sold to Aston Villa.
He was signed by First Division side Everton for £150,000 on 18 August 1977. He was the first-choice goalkeeper at Goodison Park for the next three seasons, making over 120 appearances for the Toffees.
Wood joined Arsenal in August 1980 for £140,000, to be the successor to Pat Jennings, with whom he shared the first-team goalkeeper's spot for the next three seasons. Jennings' longevity counted against Wood, and, as he was unable to supplant the Irish veteran, Wood was given a free transfer in May 1983 having made 61 appearances in goal for Arsenal.
He was then signed by Crystal Palace and was their first choice keeper for the next four-and-a-half seasons. Wood made 192 league appearances for Palace, winning the club's Player of The Year" award in 1986.
Wood made a move to Cardiff City in January 1988, where he made 67 league appearances, and ended his league career with a loan spell to Bloomfield Road , featuring once again for the Tangerines in 1989. He then played for Hereford United in the 1990–91 season. Stints followed afterward at non-league sides Merthyr Tydfil and Inter Cardiff which was a side that Wood later managed.
International career
Wood's international career saw firstly Alan Rough and then later Jim Leighton competing with him for a place in the side. He made his debut for Scotland, playing against Northern Ireland on 22 May 1979.
Wood was also a member of Scotland's squad for the 1982's World Cup which was held in Spain. Wood in all earned four caps for Scotland the first of such coming in 1979 and his last being against Northern Ireland on 28 April 1982.
Coaching
He was the goalkeeper coach at Hartlepool United, having previously worked in a similar position at Cardiff City. In June 2009, Wood was appointed as goalkeeping coach at Swindon Town.
He then returned to former club Blackpool for a third time within August 2011 in a similar role. In December 2012 he joined Crystal Palace as goalkeeper coach.