Woods joins Pools on loan from Leeds

By Albatross
September 9 2004

Neale Cooper's attempts to sign Kevin Betsy have been thwarted, but he has brought one new face in this week: Leeds midfielder Martin Woods has joined Hartlepool United on a month's loan. The teenager has yet to break into the first team at Elland Road and is hoping to gain experience at the Vic.

So who is Martin Woods?

He's 18, from Scotland, and a midfielder. Described as a tough tackler and good passer of the ball, Woods has come through the ranks at Leeds, and was given a squad number this sesaon - although he's yet to actually make an appearance for the first team. He has been involved with the Scottish Youth setup at u17 and u18 level.

We do know that Cooper and Scott attended yesterday's reserve game between Sunderland and Leeds - a game that the Yorkshire side won 2-0 - and Woods played for most of the game. It may be that there were some discussions going on to bring the player to Pools for a month afterwards, which have now come to fruition.

While Woods is hardly bringing in the sort of experience we had hoped to sign, he does seem to be well thought-of by some at Leeds; and at the moment, with us looking thin on the ground, Cooper has had to work quickly. Given our current injury woes, he is almost certain to at least be on the bench for Saturday's trip to Oldham.

Meanwhile, the Hartlepool Mail's latest fishing expedition brings us the story that Cooper and Scott are apparently on Preston North End's hit list as they seek a new manager. Whether this has more substance than last week's "Boyd to Sunderland" hot story in the same paper is open to question.