About Jonathon

Full Name: Jonathon Simon Woodgate

Date of Birth: January 22, 1980

Birthplace: Teesside, Middlesbrough

Family: Father Alan, mother Ann and sister Stephanie

Height: 6' 2" (approx. 188cm)

Weight: 12stone 9lb (approx. 80.5kg)

Current team: Newcastle United

Squad Number: 27

Position: Centre back

Date signed: January 31, 2003

Previous club: Leeds United (signed May 31, 1997 from trainee)

International honours: England U-18, Full International (debut vs. Bulgaria)

Personal honours: Packard Bell Leeds United Young Player Of The Year 1999

Fave band: Bee Gees

Fave movie: The Green Mile. When asked if he cried at the end of the movie, he didn't answer it. Guess he should have had tears in his eyes! Bless the lad! *thanks Chelsy for that - Akiyo*

Cars: A silver BMW convertible, Porsche 911 Carrera and a Jeep all with personalised number plates ending with his initial JSW.

Click here for more about Woody!

Jonathon joined Leeds United at the age of 13 and was part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup in 1997. A year later he made his debut in the England U-18 team.

Although tipped by former manager George Graham as probably the most talented youngster, he was not handed his his Premiership debut until Graham left Leeds. Former caretaker David O'Leary showed Woody his confidence on him by giving his first team debut away against Nottingham Forest in November 1998, O'Leary's second game in charge of the first team. Woody gave O'Leary no regret for his decision and has been a regular in the team ever since. He went on and won his first England cap against Bulgaria in June 1999 at the age of 19.

The 1999-2000 season, his second season in the Premiership competition, was an impressive one and we could see the improvements of his skills under the guidance of former Arsenal and Republic of Ireland central defender David O'Leary. Not until January 2000 we saw his form dip due to events happened off the pitch.

The 2000-2001 season was a disappointing one for Jonathon. With injuries and the court case he made only 12 Premier League appearances.

In the 2001-2002 season, he gave a string of excellent performances which heard fans chanting "Woody for England" after the high-profiled count case ended. However, injuries kept him from appearing more than 15 times in in the first team.

With the World Cup coming up in June in Japan and Korea, there were speculations about England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson's decision of whether to pick Bowyer and Woody. However, before announcing the squad, Eriksson had already announced that he would not consider either of them for England until after the World Cup Finals at Japan and Korea, leaving Woody's World Cup hopes shattered.

Woody started the 2002-2003 season with a recall to the England team. He came on as a substitute for Rio Ferdinand in the second half in the friendly against Portugal in September 2002. His form had not come down since and went on to prove to be the future of the England defense. With a controversial switch to Newcastle United in January, Woody made a fresh start of his career. "I can't wait to pull on the famous black and white shirt and make St James' Park my new home," said Woody.

since 17/6/2001