2008/09 was a strange season at times for Richard Wood. The Owls longest serving player was given the honour first team Captaincy by Brian Laws but upset many supporters by handing in a transfer during the first half of the campaign amidst rumours of interest from a number of rival Championship clubs, most notably Coventry City.
In recent seasons Wood has built up a reputation as being a solid reliable performer at this level and it is not unsurprising that he has attracted attention but 2008/09 was not his best season.
Wednesday started the season well at Hillsborough but struggled defensively away from home, conceding more than the majority of the teams in the division. Wood is not renowned as being as a big communicator on the pitch and as Captain and often being the most experienced member of the defence at this level he has to take some of the responsibility for this.
The fact that he played over 40 games in the league shows that he is trusted by the club’s management and they have faith in his ability and his performances will not have been helped by not having the same centre-back partner on the pitch consistently due to injury and a loss of form from his team mates.
Wood definitely has value at this level but some supporters will feel that if he is not fully committed to the club’s cause and future even when given the captaincy then perhaps they should cash in on this value.
Having now lost the Captaincy Wood will no doubt be disappointed but Brian Laws has stated he views Wood as a future Captain who can learn from Darren Purse and has no reason to question his commitment .
Overall Verdict: 7/10.