Steve Woods

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For other people with similar names, see Steven Woods (disambiguation).

Steve Woods
Personal information
Full name Stephen John Woods[1]
Date of birth (1976-12-15) 15 December 1976 (age 47)[1]
Place of birth Davenham, Cheshire, England[1]
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1992–1996 Stoke City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–1999 Stoke City 34 (0)
1998 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 5 (0)
1999–2001 Chesterfield 25 (0)
2001–2009 Torquay United 249 (11)
2009–2010 Stalybridge Celtic 38 (1)
2010–2011 Northwich Victoria 10 (0)
2011 → FC Halifax Town (loan) 3 (0)
Total 364 (12)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stephen John Woods (born 15 December 1976) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Chesterfield, Plymouth Argyle, Stoke City and Torquay United.[1]

Career[edit]

Woods was born in Davenham, Cheshire and began his career as a trainee with Stoke City, turning professional in August 1994.[1] He made his league debut in March 1998, coming on as first-half substitute for Ally Pickering in a 2–1 defeat at home to Huddersfield Town.[1] Later that month he joined Plymouth Argyle on loan, making five appearances before returning to Stoke. Woods' first start for Stoke, under manager Brian Little, came on the opening day of the 1998–99 season, a 3–1 home victory over Northampton Town.[1] He remained a regular in the side for most of the season playing in 39 matches with Stoke finishing in a poor position of 8th.[1]

He was released by Stoke in May 1999 and joined Chesterfield in July 1999. He failed to establish himself at Chesterfield and was allowed to join Darlington on trial in November 2000.[2] He returned to Chesterfield at the end of his trial and moved to Torquay United on a free transfer in August 2001. He initially signed on a short-term contract, making an impressive debut against AFC Bournemouth in the League Cup. Torquay manager Roy McFarland was impressed enough to reward Woods with a contract for the next two seasons.

He was a regular in his first season, but in 2002–03 played only nine times due to a serious knee injury. He was given a short-term 'prove your fitness' deal at the end of the season,[3] which was extended as he returned to form. He later helped Leroy Rosenior's side win promotion to League One, and remained a significant player in the side relegated the following season and who battled to avoid a second successive relegation in the 2005–06 season. He remained with the club following their relegation to the Conference National in 2007 and was appointed captain for the following season. In March 2009, Torquay manager Paul Buckle announced that the club would not be offering Woods a new contract for the 2009–10 season, citing his reasons as wanting to bring through his younger players such as Mark Ellis and Chris Robertson.[4]

He spent the 2009 pre-season with Morecambe, joining Stalybridge Celtic in August 2009. For the 2010–11 season he signed with Northwich Victoria[5] and in September 2010 he commenced on a part-time bachelor's degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Salford. In March 2011 he joined FC Halifax Town on loan.[6]

Career statistics[edit]

Source:[7]

Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other[A] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke City 1997–98 First Division 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1998–99 Second Division 33 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 39 0
Total 34 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 40 0
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 1997–98 Second Division 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Chesterfield 1999–2000 Second Division 25 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 30 0
2000–01 Third Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 25 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 30 0
Torquay United 2001–02 Third Division 38 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 40 2
2002–03 Third Division 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
2003–04 Third Division 46 6 1 0 1 0 1 0 49 6
2004–05 League One 36 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 38 2
2005–06 League Two 38 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 43 0
2006–07 League Two 32 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 38 0
2007–08 Conference National 23 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 25 0
2008–09 Conference National 27 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 32 1
Total 249 11 17 0 5 0 5 0 276 11
Stalybridge Celtic 2009–10 Conference North 34 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 41 1
2010–11 Conference North 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 38 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 45 1
Career Total 351 12 22 0 11 0 12 0 396 12
A. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the FA Trophy and Football League Trophy.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Lowe, Simon (2000). Stoke City The Modern Era - A Complete Record. Desert Island Books. ISBN 1-874287-39-2.
  2. ^ "Woods on trial at Darlington". BBC Sport. 7 November 2000. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Woods happy with new deal". BBC Sport. 21 May 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Gulls to part with stalwart Woods". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Steve Woods signs". Northwich Victoria. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Northwich Victoria captain Steve Woods joins FC Halifax Town on loan". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. ^ Steve Woods at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links[edit]

Steve Woods at Soccerbase Edit this at Wikidata

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