Chris Woods

2.1. Early Club Career

Chris Woods joined Nottingham Forest as an apprentice in 1976 when he was 17 years old. He served as a backup goalkeeper, first to John Middleton and later to Peter Shilton. Despite Shilton being cup-tied for the 1977-78 Football League Cup, Woods played in every match of the competition, helping Forest reach the final where they defeated Liverpool in a replay. Woods notably kept two clean sheets during this successful League Cup campaign. However, these proved to be Woods' only senior appearances for Nottingham Forest, as Shilton remained the club's first-choice goalkeeper. The club went on to win the Football League, another League Cup, and the European Cup during this period.

In July 1979, the 19-year-old Woods moved to Queens Park Rangers in a transfer valued at 250.00 K GBP. As the first-choice goalkeeper for QPR, he made his Football League debut and played in 63 league games over his two seasons with the club.

Woods was then signed by Norwich City in March 1981 for 225.00 K GBP. In 1985, he secured his second League Cup winners' medal when Norwich defeated Sunderland 1-0 at Wembley. Despite this success, Norwich City was relegated at the end of that season. Following the season, England coach Bobby Robson included Woods in a post-season tour of America. The following year, Woods earned a Second Division championship medal. His contributions to Norwich City were further recognized in 2002 when he was voted into the club's Hall of Fame.

2.2. Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday

Graeme Souness signed Woods for Rangers in the summer of 1986 for 600.00 K GBP. Woods was part of a significant influx of English talent brought to the club by Souness, which also included players like Terry Butcher and Graham Roberts. In his first season with Rangers, Woods won both a Scottish Premier Division title and a Scottish League Cup medal. Between November 1986 and January 1987, he established a British record by playing 1196 consecutive minutes of competitive football without conceding a goal. This impressive run was eventually broken on 31 January 1987 at Ibrox, when Adrian Sprott scored the only goal for Hamilton Academical in the 70th minute of a Scottish Cup tie.

Woods earned another Scottish League Cup winners' medal with Rangers in the 1987-88 season, though rivals Celtic managed to win a league and Scottish Cup double that year. Rangers regained the league title in 1989, a season during which Woods missed half of the campaign due to an infection that impacted his balance and vision. He secured further Scottish league titles in the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons. In the 1991 close season, new Rangers manager Walter Smith decided to replace Woods with Scottish international Andy Goram. This change was partly influenced by a new UEFA rule that limited the number of foreign players a team could field in European matches to three, making a Scottish goalkeeper a strategic advantage.

In August 1991, Woods transferred to Sheffield Wednesday, managed by Trevor Francis, for a fee of 1.20 M GBP. Sheffield Wednesday had recently won the League Cup and achieved promotion to England's top tier. Woods experienced significant cup final disappointment during his time at Wednesday. In 1993, Sheffield Wednesday lost the 1993 Football League Cup Final 2-1 to Arsenal. Just a few weeks later, Woods faced Arsenal again in the 1993 FA Cup Final. The initial match ended in a 1-1 draw, but Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory in the replay, with Andy Linighan scoring the winning header in the closing seconds of extra time. Ironically, both Linighan and Woods were former Norwich players. The defeats in both finals cost Sheffield Wednesday a place in European competition for the 1993-94 season. By the 1995-96 season, Woods had fallen out of favor at Wednesday, with Kevin Pressman becoming the first-choice goalkeeper.

2.3. Later Career and Retirement

During the 1995-96 season, Chris Woods had a short loan spell with Reading. In 1996, he moved to the United States to play for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. In October 1996, Graeme Souness, who was then the manager of Southampton, arranged for Woods to join the club on loan from Colorado Rapids as cover for Dave Beasant, with a view to a permanent transfer. Woods' second league appearance for Southampton resulted in a significant 7-1 defeat at the hands of Everton. In his fourth league appearance, he suffered a broken leg while playing against Blackburn Rovers, after which he returned to the US to recover.

Following his recovery, Woods returned to England for brief stints with Sunderland and Burnley. He ultimately retired from playing professional football in 1998.

3.1. Understudy to Peter Shilton

Woods' role in the England squad mirrored his club career, as he largely served as Peter Shilton's backup. He made his international debut in a friendly match against the USA in Los Angeles on 16 June 1985, while still a Norwich City player. For the next five years, he was rarely omitted from an England squad. Woods was included in the squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico but did not make an appearance, as England reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

While playing for Rangers, Woods received his second start, and fifth cap overall, in a 2-0 victory over Yugoslavia at Wembley. This win was crucial in England's qualification campaign for the 1988 European Championships. In 1987, Woods came on as a substitute for Shilton twice and started two other matches: a European Championships qualifier against Turkey and a goalless draw against Scotland at Hampden Park in the Rous Cup. Two additional starts followed in the season preceding the European Championships in Germany.

At the 1988 European Championships, England suffered two defeats in their initial group games, rendering their final group match against the USSR meaningless. As a result, coach Bobby Robson opted to rest Shilton, allowing Woods to play his first match in a competitive finals. This was his 13th cap in total, and he conceded three goals in a 3-1 defeat.

During this period, other goalkeepers emerged as potential successors to the aging Shilton. Notably, David Seaman of QPR earned his first cap in a draw against Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. However, Woods remained Robson's primary understudy to Shilton, who was approaching, and then surpassed, Bobby Moore's record of 108 caps, eventually reaching 125. Dave Beasant also earned two caps as a substitute as Robson evaluated other options, but Woods consistently remained the first choice should Shilton be unavailable. Throughout these developments, England successfully qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

For the 1990 World Cup, Robson initially selected Woods and Seaman as Shilton's backups. However, a hand injury to David Seaman days before the tournament forced Robson to replace him with Beasant. England ultimately reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated by West Germany in a penalty shootout. Woods did not play in the World Cup, as Robson kept Shilton in goal for his 125th and final cap for England in the third-place play-off match against Italy following their semi-final loss.

3.2. Becoming First-Choice Goalkeeper

Following the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Bobby Robson resigned as England manager, and his successor, Graham Taylor, immediately installed Chris Woods as England's number one goalkeeper. By the summer of 1991, Woods had accumulated 24 caps as England progressed steadily through their qualification campaign for the 1992 European Championships. During this period, England remained unbeaten in six matches, keeping three clean sheets and conceding only three goals.

Woods entered the 1992 European Championships as England's first-choice keeper. He managed to keep clean sheets in England's first two group matches against Denmark and France. However, England failed to score in either match, making victory essential in their final group game against hosts Sweden. Unfortunately, Sweden won the match 2-1, leading to England's elimination from the tournament. This marked a significant disappointment for Woods in his first, and ultimately only, major tournament as England's primary goalkeeper.

3.3. End of International Career

Chris Woods continued to be part of the England squad the following year as England struggled in their qualification campaign for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. During this period, Woods conceded a crucial equalizer from a long-range shot by Kjetil Rekdal in a 1-1 home draw with Norway. He also conceded an 85th-minute penalty from Peter van Vossen in a 2-2 home draw against the Netherlands.

In June 1993, England suffered a critical defeat in Oslo against Norway. This was followed by another loss against the USA in Boston during a summer tour in 1993. Following these results, manager Graham Taylor dropped Woods from the squad. After briefly trying two other goalkeepers, Taylor ultimately installed David Seaman as England's new first-choice. Woods' 43-cap international career concluded with a match against the United States, the same opponent he debuted against. Although he was an unused substitute for the subsequent four international matches, he did not make any further appearances.

4.1. Club Goalkeeping Coaching

Woods began his coaching career in 1998, taking up a position under Walter Smith at Everton. His primary responsibility at the club was the development of goalkeepers. He remained with Everton until July 2013, when he moved to Manchester United to take on the goalkeeping coach role, following manager David Moyes who also made the same move. Woods initially retained his position when Moyes was sacked in April 2014. However, he was subsequently replaced by Frans Hoek upon the appointment of Moyes' permanent successor, Louis van Gaal. In June 2015, Woods became the goalkeeping coach at West Ham United. He departed from this role in May 2018, following the appointment of the new manager, Manuel Pellegrini.

4.2. National Team Goalkeeping Coaching

In addition to his club coaching responsibilities, Chris Woods has also held significant roles at the international level. In 2011, he was employed by the United States national team as their goalkeeping coach, where he notably linked up with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard. In August 2021, he took on a similar position with the Scotland national team, where he currently serves as the goalkeeping coach.

5.1. Club Honours

• Nottingham Forest
  • League Cup: 1977-78
  • European Cup: 1978-79
• Norwich City
  • League Cup: 1984-85
• Rangers
  • Scottish Premier Division: 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91
  • Scottish League Cup: 1986-87, 1987-88, 1990-91

5.2. Individual Honours

• PFA Team of the Year: 1985-86 Second Division
• Norwich City Player of the Year: 1983-84
• Norwich City Hall of Fame inductee: 2003