|
February 24, 2003
(Monday)
Woody wanted to
remain at Leeds - Robson
HE may not have been
at Elland Road for this past versus present
encounter but it was impossible to escape mention of the name
Jonathan Woodgate.
Sorely missed by the home side and eagerly anticipated by the
visiting Geordies, the England defender's absence did little to dull
the arguments which still rage over his £9m switch to the North East.
Told to stay at home by new manager Sir Bobby Robson, it was clearly
a wise decision from the experienced veteran who, at 70, knows how to
read football and its dramas.
When asked if he felt Woodgate would have made a difference to the
Leeds defence on Saturday, Robson refused to answer verbally but his
body language gave him away as he nodded his head ever so slightly
and smiled knowingly. He was only reiterating what thousands of Leeds
fans had pointed out during the previous 90 minutes.
Robson, in taking advantage of Leeds United's financial mess, has
bought a quality player in Woodgate. However, he revealed on Saturday
how the player's love for Leeds almost scuppered the deal and how he
believes Leeds will once again challenge at the very top level.
"Leeds will come back. All that they have been guilty of is borrowing
money to try and get success," he said. "If they had not borrowed the
money then people would have accused them of not being ambitious.
They were speculating to accumulate but it has just gone wrong for
them.
"The only way to get among the top boys is to invest in players
because you know the young players coming out of the academy are not
going to do it. That is what Leeds tried to do two years ago and it
looked as though they were on the right track and looked to be one of
the best teams in the country. You have to feel sympathy for them."
Robson believes Woodgate would have had mixed emotions about the
result.
"I told Jonathan to stay away. I would have thought he would have
been pleased with the result. He did have mixed feelings about
Saturday because to be fair to Jonathan he really did love Leeds
United," he said.
"They gave him his chance and developed him. I would have said that
two weeks before he signed, he did not want to go anywhere. He was
still hoping that Leeds would get it right and that he would stay
there. But it so happened that Leeds needed the money and he had to
make a difficult decision.
"Now he is happy to be at Newcastle but he will have regrets about
leaving Leeds United. I am sure he will have watched the TV on
Saturday night and perhaps thought he had made the right choice but I
am also sure that he would have rather played and won 3-0."
Woodgate, who was not allowed to play because of a clause in his
contract, is likely to make his debut for Newcastle in their next
Premiership match against Chelsea.
Next article:
Robson looks forward to a start for Woodgate
Previous
article:
Fast-track for Woody
<< Back to New and Articles
|
