Neil Woods

Mick Coop was born in Grimsby as well.   Shame that he did not miss that late pen against us.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Long before the players I mentioned there were youngsters from this area going to Nottingham Forest. Duncan Mckenzie being probably the most well known.

I think some played for a local team called Notre Dame if my memory serves me right and other players went through that team to NF.

According to the man himself McKenzie was rejected by Town for being too small.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Long before the players I mentioned there were youngsters from this area going to Nottingham Forest. Duncan Mckenzie being probably the most well known.

I think some played for a local team called Notre Dame if my memory serves me right and other players went through that team to NF.

I don`t know Neil Woods at all but I know people who do and have kids playing under him who speak very highly of him and his staff. He has a fantastic reputation for how he is not only with the kids but also the parents and siblings . His personality from what I understand is a huge factor in the latter day retention of youngsters in this area .By the same token his working relationship with MJ must be good to see so many young players in and around the matchday squad it`s been year`s since this has been the case . I think we are due to see the fruits of this in the next 12-24 Months with regular starters and it`s the best thing for us as a Club homegrown players are a must have.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

I don`t know Neil Woods at all but I know people who do and have kids playing under him who speak very highly of him and his staff. He has a fantastic reputation for how he is not only with the kids but also the parents and siblings . His personality from what I understand is a huge factor in the latter day retention of youngsters in this area .By the same token his working relationship with MJ must be good to see so many young players in and around the matchday squad it`s been year`s since this has been the case . I think we are due to see the fruits of this in the next 12-24 Months with regular starters and it`s the best thing for us as a Club homegrown players are a must have.

you're right, he is a lovely genuine bloke, and its that too nice aspect that I think cost us the year we went down, well that along with many other things but you know what I mean, doing a fantastic job with the youth and long may it continue

In his first spell as Head of Youth/Youth Team Coach he had a degree of success with a decent supply of young lads coming through.  Danny North, Andy Taylor, Ryan Bennett, Bradley Wood, Nick Hegarty, Peter Bore...all lads either developed through the youth system or finished their education with us.  Plus Jack Barlow (remember him?) who netted us a decent figure, I think it was about £300k

Now obviously Bennett and Barlow are the ones who made some money for us but the others made quite significant contributions to the first team.  

Danny North - 81 appearances 17 goals
Andy Taylor 43 appearances 7 goals
Bradley Wood - 113 appearances 1 goal
Nick Hegarty - 109 appearances 9 goals
Peter Bore - 153 appearances 15 goals

The emergence of those 5 and Bennett into the first team all came in a quite short period of time but no doubt wasn't a case of something happening over night.  Woods had been in post 3-4 years before the players started breaking into the first team.  

2016 he came back and now, 3 years on, we're really starting to see some fruit.   I know it's not solely down to him and there's a huge amount of thankless work that goes on in the background from a  small army of volunteers, but Woods certainly seems to have the magic touch.   It makes you wonder how different our club could be today if Woods had remained with the youth in 2009 rather than taking the managers job...

Quoted from diehardmariner

  It makes you wonder how different our club could be today if Woods had remained with the youth in 2009 rather than taking the managers job...

Considering the other name in the frame at the time when Woods was appointed was Russell Slade I don't think the outcome would have been too much different.

Even if a player only makes 100+ appearances in the Town first team and doesn't make it any further, the club has not needed to buy or pay wages to yet another journeyman.

Times have changed a lot since the 70s but the Moore brothers, Drinkell, Wilkie and Lund, Ford, Donovan and Lumby before that, were exceptional talents. That also discounts others who "got away" like McKenzie, Glenn Cockerill, Brian Klug Paul Empson (for a while) and others who nearly made it like Keith Brown. Before the 70s the club always had a history of local players with lads like Jimmy Fell and Keith Jobling and even back to pre-WW2.

I'm sure Neil Woods would have been a good youth coach then as now but in those days of course the job was most definitely part time which perhaps makes the successes even more remarkable.

It wasn't even the first time a Woods side has won a title. Anyone else there that night at Loftus Rd when we won whichever youth comp it was v QPR? The QPR lads were all bigger and more athletic and it looked like we were gonna get a pasting but the spirit came through in the second half.

There was a small midfielder called Josh Fuller playing for us I was sure was going to make it. Turned the game round in the second half. Made a couple of appearances for the first team. Think he ended up at Clee Town for a while.

Woods is a nice enough person which always helps

Crucial to the club is Mr Woods, hope he can develop some players for us.  We will need them to offset what 'the clown' brings in.