Middlesbrough

Will Tottenham see the best of Woodgate?

By Tim Wigmore ⋅ January 28, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Jonathan Woodgate’s career has patently not fulfilled its immense potential. Calm, confident and commanding at the back, his talent was such that he made his England debut aged just 19. Ever since, however, a combination of bad luck – club turmoil and changes in management - off-field misbehaviour and, above all, injury has prevented him achieving the success so many had predicted for him. At 28, the time to deliver has arrived. He should hope his move to join Juando Ramos’ Tottenham revolution is his last.

The quality Woodgate possesses is undeniable. He is that rare breed: a centre-half combining the best of archetypal British traits – grit and an indomitable spirit – with the classical Continental skills – ease and grace on the ball. In short, he has all that is needed to be amongst the world’s best defenders. Why else would Real Madrid have gone to such lengths to signing him, pushing through a £13.4million transfer in the summer of 2004 even though he was not fully fit at the time?

Ah yes. ‘Not fully fit’. This state of affairs has been so regular during Woodgate’s career that it is in danger of being his footballing epitaph. Darren Anderton was nicknamed ‘Sicknote’ such was his propensity for obtaining injuries. But even that does not do Woodgate and his capacity for getting injured justice. When he was at Newcastle, he famously played just 37 out of a possible 128 games. It was all well and good producing some sterling performances during those 37 games, including keeping clean sheets against Arsenal and Manchester United, but a star centre-back fit for less than one in three games is less use than an average one fit every week.

Similarly, after a nightmare debut at Real Madrid, it is generally believed that he helped to bring solidity to their defence. But quality only means so much when you can only muster 12 games in two seasons. Eventually, they decided the perennial uncertainty over the state of his fitness could only be having a debilitating effect on their already porous defence, and Woodgate was allowed to join hometown club Middlesbrough.

While it represented an outstanding signing for the Teesiders – and one that has been justified through a combination of some fine performances and a much-improved fitness record – it was hard to escape the feeling that a talent such as Woodgate’s should not be in a side scrambling for mid-table respectability. It is dispiriting to see a player in surroundings that belittle his quality. Watching Joleon Lescott and Sol Campbell suffer at the hands of Russia and Croatia, it was hard to believe that Woodgate, a player with the composure on the ball so imperative to international football, has still only won six caps.

At Tottenham, Woodgate will be joining a club who have suffered a tumultuous campaign. However, they have a manager of proven quality, a number of terrific players, and look set to mount a serious challenge for a place in the Uefa Cup next season. Woodgate and Ledley King could form an outstanding pair of centre-backs. The inevitable qualifier, alas, is ‘fitness permitting’.

The constant barrage of injuries must have had a spirit-sapping effect, and it is testament to his strength of character that Woodgate is still here, fighting to get the best out of himself. He enjoyed an almost unbroken spell in the side until the New Year before – typically – injury befell him yet again. It is encouraging, certainly, that his fitness record has improved measurably since joining Middlesbrough in the summer of ’06. But for a player with such an unenviable injury record, it must be very hard not to develop an innate fear of injuries; to fear even a minor knock is something serious; and to find freedom and peace of mind on the football pitch elusive as a result.

In professional sport, quality alone is never enough. This must be supplemented by a mental equanimity and resilience, aided by both physical fitness and a body able to get avoid and react well to injuries. As he makes what should be a career-defining move, Woodgate will be uncomfortably aware of the importance of luck. Not making the grade is one thing; not being giving the chance to fail something else entirely.

Will Woodgate prove a success at Spurs?
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