Yet Another Members Birthday Today: CCFPA Sends ‘Woody’ Our Birthday Best As He Hits 39!
Richard Wood in the Sky Blue
What a busy Sky Blue birthday today has been – with three Sky Blues birthdays to mark! After Gary Gillespie and Steve Jacobs we now complete the trio of CCFC player from our membership celebrating a birthday today – and this one is the last one still playing. Popular former Sky Blue central defender, of relatively recent vintage, Richard Wood was born on 5th July 1985 and is therefore celebrating his 39th birthday today. Congratulations!
His 2020 birthday celebration saw Richard savouring a treble set of achievements. Not just being 35 but both his then club Rotherham United and his former club Coventry City had been confirmed as the automatically promoted pair from League One in 2019-20 with CCFC as Champions and the Millers as runners up, despite the curtailment of the season due to coronavirus.
Conor Thomas, CCFPAs Billy Bell & Richard Wood in the Ricoh lounges 2019
That season the Millers, with ‘Woody’ captaining their side, had the better of the exchanges, beating us 4-0 in Yorkshire (one of only three Sky Blues defeats) and drawing at St Andrews in our ‘home’ fixture. A season later, however, as the Sky Blues survived their Championship season in sixteenth place the Millers, with Richard still their skipper, went straight back down to League One in penultimate place in the second tier and the Sky Blues did the double over Rotherham United to boot!
Now firmly in his veteran years, proud West Yorkshireman born in Ossett (and initially a Leeds United fan), ‘Woody’ plyed his professional trade last season (in 2023-4) with Doncaster Rovers (turning out 28 times this season) after nine seasons with the Millers (2014-23) and over 250 games and more than twenty goals at Rotherham United plus, whilst there, another 24 games and three goals in brief loan spells at Crawley Town, Fleetwood Town and Chesterfield.
Richard also became a legend at his first major league Club, Sheffield Wednesday where he made 189 first team league appearances from 2003 contributing eight goals.
Ex CCFPA committee man Frank Pritchard signing up Woody
The Sky Blues managed to prise him away (initially on loan in 2009) and he became a central defender of grit and determination for the Sky Blues (including spells as captain) for a total of 134 league and cup games (scoring nine goals) before leaving the Ricoh at the end of his contract in the summer of 2013 to sign for Charlton Athletic.
After 26 games for the ‘Addicks’ Richard moved back north to fellow Championship club Rotherham United. Of Woody’s goals for the Millers none was more important than his brace at Wembley in the L1 Play Off final win against Shrewsbury Town the day before the Sky Blues own successful date with destiny in May 2018 in the L2 Play Off Final.
Richard in Millers’ kit
Captain courageous Richard led his team back into the Championship after a years’ absence just as the Sky Blues victory over Exeter City ensured an immediate return to the higher division after a disappointing relegation the previous season!
Richard willingly signed up to the Association soon after leaving the Ricoh and has been back since as our ‘special’ match-day guest, though obviously his active football life precludes more frequent visits.
We wish him good luck next season and hope he has a wonderful birthday today!
