Jonathan Woodgate

At 44 years old, Jonathan Woodgate has this physical status:

Club career

Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but later transferred to Leeds United at the age of sixteen after differences about his future with Middlesbrough and his family. He helped Leeds win the FA Youth Cup in 1997 and made his senior debut in October. Woodgate was a consistent and excellent performer for Leeds during his time as a trainee, facing Rio Ferdinand, Lucas Radebe, and Dominic Matteo for a starting position. He was regarded as one of the most complete all round players to come through Leeds' academy, and played for Leeds in a time when the club was competing in the UEFA Cup, Champions League, and regularly finished at the top of the Premier League. Due to multiple injuries on various occasions, his number of appearances were greatly reduced. Woodgate was sold to Newcastle to raise some much-needed funds as a result of Leeds' financial difficulties. He was dubbed the club's 'jewel in the crown,' and his sale angered many Leeds United fans as Peter Ridsdale revealed the club's bleak financial situation. Terry Venables, who disagreed with Woodgate's resignation, was also fired as a result of the sale.

Woodgate was signed by Newcastle United in January 2003 for £9 million with add-ons. He impressed and became a fan favorite right away. In Newcastle's 2004 UEFA Cup semi-final match against Olympique de Marseille, completely negating their forward line and medical forward Didier Drogba. Unfortunately for Newcastle, a serious injury caused him to miss his final season early, and he did not participate in the second leg, where Newcastle were defeated 2–0 and knocked out.

Woodgate paid for Real Madrid in August 2004 for a £3.3 million transfer fee. This was to the surprise of many in the football world, due to his regular absences due to injury at his previous clubs, as well as the fact that he was hospitalized at the time of the transfer.

Woodgate did not make it to Real Madrid for his first season in Spain, before making his debut against Athletic Bilbao on September 22nd, 2005. He scored an own goal and was later suspended for his second bookable offence, but the game didn't go well for him. In Real Madrid's 4–1 UEFA Champions League victory over Rosenborg BK on October 19, he scored his first goal for the club in European competition.

Woodgate had established himself as the first team player in February 2006, with Sergio Ramos, Iván Helguera, Francisco Pavon, and lvaro Meja all rotating in the middle. Even his newspaper referred to him as "become Madrid's true king." However, he was unable to continue playing due to further injury setbacks. He was expected to make the England squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but he was ruled out of the squad due to back surgery.

Woodgate's website, Marca, in July 2007, was voted the worst signing of the 21st century by visitors of Spain's top sports daily, garnering 37.1 percent of the votes cast.

Woodgate joined Middlesbrough's hometown team on a one-year loan deal on August 30, 2006. On September 9, he made his debut against Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium. Century FM, a local radio station, later selected him Man of the match. Middlesbrough announced Woodgate would be their first summer signing for £7 million. He has been with the club since four years, and continues to play until June 2011.

He was named North East Player of the Year by the Prince's Trust in October 2007, defeating players from Newcastle and Sunderland. Woodgate sustained an injury during the 2007–08 season, allowing fellow hometown defender David Wheater to start in his position during pre-season. Wheater's form in pre-season earned him a spot in the starting XI for the first day of the Premier League season – Wheater's form then progressed, leading to the transfer of Woodgate to Tottenham Hotspur.

Woodgate departed for Newcastle after refusing the opportunity to re-sign for Newcastle, re-signing for Newcastle, Woodgate then joined Tottenham Hotspur for a reported £8 million fee on January 28, 2008. He made his Tottenham debut against Everton two days later and scored his first Tottenham goal against Chelsea on February 24, 2008. Tottenham then defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final against Chelsea on extra time to win Tottenham their first trophy since 1999. He received the Man of the match award for his efforts. In a 4–4 draw at White Hart Lane on 19 March 2008, Woodgate scored his first Spurs league goal, which also against Chelsea. In a 2–1 loss at White Hart Lane to Aston Villa on September 15, he was the first captain to captained Tottenham. Woodgate became the second vice-captain after Harry Redknapp's appointment, behind Robbie Keane.

Woodgate told the press that Spurs' off-season of 2008-09 season was worse than when Leeds were relegated. Woodgate had been transferring to Newcastle United a few months before Leeds' eventual demise at the end of 2003–04. Since succumbing to a long-term groin injury, Woodgate only played three times in Spurs' highly fruitful 2009–10 campaign. Harry Redknapp weighed in on Woodgate's departure due to new Premier League regulations which restricted squad sizes to 25 players – ironically, these rules were introduced in order to support English and Welsh footballers' careers. Woodgate went to Australia for surgery.

Woodgate played his first game in 14 months in a friendly match with QPR on January 19th. In a 9–2 victory at Spurs Lodge, the defender took only 45 minutes. Following this, he came on in the 59th minute for the injured Vedran orluka in Champions League match with AC Milan on February 15th. He missed the majority of the game, but he was later diagnosed with a strain to his left adductor muscle. Spurs were unable to convince Woodgate to enter a pay-or-play contract, and he was released on June 16, 2011.

Woodgate signed a one-year deal with Stoke City as a result of a further year on his deal, with the hope of a further year on his deal if he were to recover. Following Woodgate's transfer to Stoke, the actor said he needed to restart his career. He also confirmed that he turned down a number of other job offers from various clubs. He made his Stoke debut against Aldershot Town in a pre-season friendly, playing for 62 minutes. Stoke beat Hajduk Split 1–0 in the UEFA Europa League, making him his full debut in the UEFA Europa League. In a 0–0 draw with Chelsea, he then completed his first full 90 in the Premier League. Woodgate was left out of Stoke's Europa League squad by manager Tony Pulis, who feared a return to Woodgate's injury if he stayed too long traveling.

Despite a good start to his Stoke career, Woodgate went on to have poor results against Sunderland, Newcastle, and Bolton. Pulis dropped him off the track and said he needed to step up his game. He didn't improve much, and Woodgate's match against Wolverhampton Wanderers started the game at right back, but Woodgate defeated him strongly. He fought against Matt Jarvis and gave up a point, but Pulis replaced him after twenty minutes. Despite playing at right back, he admitted that his Stoke performances had been 'up and down'. Stoke's deal came to an end on June 30, 2012, and despite being offered a new contract, he returned to his old club, Middlesbrough.

Woodgate joined Middlesbrough, his hometown team, re-joining him on June 6, 2012, after committing to a three-year deal. On August 11, he made his second appearance for Boro against Bury in the League Cup for second time. In a 4–1 win over Charlton Athletic on November 3rd, Woodgate scored his first goal for Middlesbrough.

Woodgate opened a match for Middlesbrough for the first time in 6 months on February 10, 2015, scoring the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Blackpool, which took Boro to the top of the Championship table. When the team lost the play-off final to Norwich City at Wembley, he was an ineffective substitute on May 25. Woodgate announced his retirement as a musician on July 16, 2015, after immediately announcing his resignation as a musician. Woodgate left Middlesbrough on the expiration of his deal in May 2016 and retired from football after playing only one game in the 2015-16 season.

International career

Woodgate was first called up to the England squad in April 1999, but Kevin Keegan named him in the squad for the friendly against Hungary. However, he sustained an injury while playing for Leeds United and was forced to withdraw from the team. He was called up for the Euro 2000 qualifiers against Sweden and Bulgaria against Sweden and Bulgaria in May 1999. Woodgate scored in the 1-1 draw against Bulgaria on June 9th; he started the game before being replaced by Ray Parlour in the 64th minute. He stayed in the squad for the Euro 2000 qualifiers against Luxembourg and Poland, but he did not appear in either game. Woodgate was called up for the friendly against Belgium in October 1999, but he later had to withdraw from the team due to a back injury. This was his last match with the England squad for almost three years. The Football Association has ruled that Woodgate will not be allowed to play for England until the court case involving an incident in January 2000 was over, and that no further punishments were given. This meant he would miss out on both Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Woodgate was called back to the England squad for the friendly against Portugal on September 2nd, 2002 by manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. He earned his second cap after replacing Rio Ferdinand at halftime in Villa Park's 1–1 draw. In October 2002, Woodgate was called up to the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Slovakia and Macedonia; he started and played the entire 90 minutes in both games. Woodgate was blighted over the next two years, but he did win his fifth cap in a friendly against Sweden on March 31, 2004. He started with a 0-5 loss at Ullevi in Gothenburg and was recalled by Anthony Gardner at halftime. In April 2004, a thigh injury while playing for Newcastle United barred Woodgate from the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal.

England manager Steve McClaren called Woodgate to the squad against Spain in February 2007 after nearly three years without having an international cap. Woodgate began with a 1-0 loss at Old Trafford on Saturday before being replaced by Jamie Carragher in the 65th minute. He kept his place in the squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Andorra the following month. Due to a knee injury, he will miss both games. Woodgate was selected in Fabio Capello's first two England squads for the friendlies against Switzerland and France in early 2008, but he did not appear in either game. Woodgate was named in the England squad for the end-of-season friendlies against the United States, Trinidad, and Tobago in May 2008. In the 2–0 victory over the United States, he was an unused substitute before winning his seventh cap in Trinidad and Tobago. Woodgate earned his eighth and final cap in the friendly against the Czech Republic on August 20th. He replaced Rio Ferdinand in the 58th minute of the 2–2 draw at Wembley Stadium.

Coaching career

On Friday, Woodgate was named as an assistant coach to newly named Middlesbrough caretaker boss Steve Agnew following the dismissal of Aitor Karanka, making Woodgate one of three new arrivals in the club's coaching staff alongside fellow part-timers Joe Jordan and Paul Jenkins. Woodgate resigned from the Premier League after new manager Garry Monk brought in his own coaching staff, with him being replaced by James Beattie.

Woodgate joined the academy coaching staff in June 2017 as the under-18 team's assistant coach under Mark Tinkler after his release from the first team. Woodgate returned to his first assistant coach role in December 2017, after Tony Pulis, who took over a fired Monk. Woodgate was the only one of Pulis' coaching staff not to be dismissed from his duties in May 2019, making him the frontrunner to replace the Welshman.

Woodgate was appointed as the new permanent manager of Middlesbrough on June 14, following a three-year deal. Robbie Keane and Leo Persichichich as his assistants, while Danny Coyne was hired as the club's new goalkeeping coach. Following Woodgate's arrival, Woodgate announced that he planned to reintroduce football to the club, after being told by club chairman Steve Gibson that he wanted to "play a more expansive game," with both teams aiming to redevelop the team's style of play after Pulis' turbulent spell.

The Smoggies closed down the signings of former club goalkeeper Tomás Mejás, Marcus Browne, Marc Bola, and Anfernee Dijksteel during the summer transfer window. Woodgate's first game as a manager was a 3–3 draw against newly promoted Luton Town on August 2nd, which saw supporters mock his team's defense. Middlesbrough finished eighth in the Championship in August after winning a single out of a possible six as well as collecting three draws and two defeats. Middlesbrough fell into the relegation zone after a goalless draw against Fulham, and the players remained in the team for two more games until being thrown out of first place by goal difference, only qualifying for a higher league position.

Middlesbrough supporters demanded that Woodgate be fired, despite many doubting his team's ability to prevent relegation. Former Cardiff City and a veteran Premier League manager Neil Warnock was favored to replace him, prompting chairman Gibson to state that the team is "understanding January needs" to improve the team. Middlesbrough's December, on the other hand, was a fruitful month, with four victories as well as a single draw and defeat. Charlton Athletic, Stoke City, Huddersfield Town, and then-league leaders West Bromwich Albion were beaten by a tumultuous victory over Nottingham Forest, a loss to Swansea City, and their finish to nineteenth place in the Championship table, finishing off 2019 nine points above the relegation zone. Woodgate was named Month Manager of the Month for December as a result of Middlesbrough's return to form.

Middlesbrough were extremely active during the winter transfer window: Patrick Roberts, Lukas Nmecha, Ravel Morrison, and Harold Moukoudi all arrived on loan, while Dejan Stojanovic charged for an undisclosed fee from St. Gallen. Middlesbrough was dipped in form, with Woodgate's side losing 1–0 to Leeds United, tying for first place with Wigan Athletic; the latter is looming in the relegation zone. Fans demanded for Woodgate to be fired once more; the boss later told unsettled followers that Gibson will "back him" despite their regular decline in form.

Woodgate was fired as Middlesbrough chief on June 23, 2020, with the club just outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference after 38 games, beginning with a 3–0 home loss to Swansea in the club's first game after the season's restart. On the same day, Neil Warnock had him replaced.

Woodgate was appointed as the AFC Bournemouth's senior first team coach on a 2021-2021 deal, which will run until the 2020-21 season. Woodgate was appointed as the caretaker boss on a temporary basis two days after being fired by boss Jason Tindall two days later before being named head coach until the end of the season on February 212021. Woodgate was named Champion of the Month for April 2021 after six victories from seven games announcing their position in the play-offs. Bournemouth finished the season in 6th place and reached the playoffs against Brentford, but the team lost 3–2 on aggregate, condemning them to another season in the championship. Woodgate's replacement, Scott Parker, was announced on June 28, 2021, and Woodgate and Woodgate both left the club following his deal's conclusion.

Career statistics

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