Wood Joins Tykes on Loan

Chris Wood has today joined Barnsley on loan for an initial three month spell at Oakwell.

Wood goes straight into the weekend squad for the match against Reading at the Madjeski Stadium. Barnsley currently sit 10th in the Championship, mainly as a result of their strong home form.

Wood will join a (semi-) illustrious list of All Whites who have played at the South Yorkshire club, Allan Pearce, Leo Bertos, David Mulligan, Jeremy Christie and Rory Fallon all started their careers there more than a decade ago. Signed after impressing during the U17 World Cup held in New Zealand in 1999, the Tykes proved a spring board into the English game for each player. Pearce never appeared for the first team and eventually moved on to Lincoln City before returning home. Bertos made twelve appearances before his best period in England at Rochdale followed by spells at a number of lower league outfits prior to his move to the Glory. Rory Fallon had the most success at Barnsley playing 52 times for the first team and scoring 11 goals before moving to Swindon. Mulligan was also a moderate success at Barnsley playing 66 times for the first team before moving to Doncaster after being released at the end of 2003/04 (despite being offered a new contract just 5 months earlier). Christie managed just 10 appearances before signing with the Football Kingz.

Back to Mr Wood - it appears that a rumoured loan deal with Derby was agreed before the close of the transfer window, but injuries to first team players scuppered that move and Barnsley have now swooped.

Good luck to Chris, we'll be watching with interest.

Update - Wood and Reid Miss Cup Tie Selection

Neither Chris Wood or Winston Reid featured for their clubs in mid-week Carling Cup ties. Although both managers played reasonably strong sides, you would have expected that the two young kiwis may have earned selection in match day squads. Both are fringe players at best currently and in Wood's case especially, a loan move appears more and more important if he is to get something out of this season.

Ryan Nelsen returned from injury and had a start in his side's 3-1 loss to Aston Villa. Nelsen was substituted in the 66th minute when the score was 1-1.

One that slipped through the cracks over the weekend was Kris Bright's first league appearance for the Shrews. The young forward was a late substitute in a win over Northampton which returned them to the top of League 2. The Shrews forward combination of Jake Robinson and Matt Harrold have been firing so far this season so Bright may have to bide his time behind the club's big names.

Carling Cup Opportunities for Wood, Reid?

Both Chris Wood and Winston Reid may get some first team football this week in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup. Both West Brom and West Ham are likely to rest players with one eye on the weekend's Premier League fixtures, with Reid and Wood potential beneficiaries. Wood has only had one Premier League appearance this year for West Brom (as a substitute against Liverpool) but did play and score in the previous round of the Carling Cup. Meanwhile, Reid is now recovered from his hip injury and played a full Reserve team match at Everton late last week.

West Ham play at Sunderland Wednesday morning (NZ time) and West Brom host Man City 24 hours later.

Rare Sighting of Steven Old

Steven Old was sighted on Kilmarnock's bench in their 2-1 loss at home to Celtic overnight. For Old, it was a rare inclusion in the match squad, only the third time this season he has been involved in any capacity. Unfortunately, he did not make it onto the pitch, and it is now many months since he notched an appearance for the Scottish Premier League battlers.

Since arriving at Rugby Park prior to last season, Old has only featured in 10 competitive matches for Kilmarnock, most coming at the beginning of last season. Disappointingly for the Manawatu defender, a good number of those appearances were as a stop gap at right full back, hardly his ideal niche. Without knowing too much about Kilmarnock's squad or attending too many trainings and reserve team matches, its difficult to challenge Old's scant opportunities. But while Old has obvious technical limitations and struggles as a distributor, he has shown - notably at the Beijing Olympics - that he is a strong, athletic, reasonably quick defender. For a team that plays much of its football without the ball and under the kosh those are not bad attributes. So, its a pity he's not been given much of a run at centre back.

Old's contract is for three years and he still has the best part of two seasons left to run. So, he has an income sewn up for some time. However, unless there is a change in his situation at Kilmarnock he may be well advised to secure a loan or look for another contract. Otherwise, he risks being unemployable and without a future as a professional footballer once his Kilmarnock days come to an end.

Wood Still Derby County's Number One Loan Target

The Derby Telegraph has reported that Chris Wood remains the number one loan target for Derby County. The Rams currently sit 5th to bottom in the Championship and scoring goals has been a problem. They have only mustered 7 in 7 games and those have been spread across 6 different goalscorers. The young All White striker's strength and nose for goal have generated strong interest from Derby (although another 9 Championship clubs have made inquiries about Wood's availability).

Derby Manager Nigel Clough indicated that they would be closer to bringing a new striker to Pride Park after this week's round of Carling Cup matches. West Brom will host Manchester City and it is believed Wood is a good chance to feature in that match (he scored in WBA's last Carling Cup fixture).

Killen on Target Again

Chris Killen continues to build a handy goal scoring record in China, scoring his 4th in 8 appearances for Shenzen Ruby yesterday. Unfortunately, they lost their 5th game in succession, 3-2 to league leaders Shandong Luneng.

You can see the goal here (and note assist for the first goal).

Bright Pressing for Inclusion

Injury and a winning team have made it difficult for occasional All White striker Kris Bright to break into Shrewsbury Town's starting XI. But he is continuing to make his case via the Shrews Reserve side, scoring his third goal in four matches in a mid-week loss to Oldham. For the moment, he's top goal scorer in the Reserve totesport.com League West. Meanwhile, the Shrews first team are second in League 2 despite a first loss (2 nil to Gillingham) of the season last weekend.