The Throwback

A tier of strikers exists in the subconscious of every fan. Not those that flop after lighting up lesser leagues or those that star on Champions League nights.

Instead, those like Chris Wood, who fans know in passing but never realize the numbers they put up.

If the Barclays man trend of a few months ago accomplished one thing, it brought light to the players who will eventually be remembered. Wood and strikers like him, one day, will be the stuff of football bar trivia.

PHOTO: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK

Sitting near the top of the top scorer title, Wood is having another great season. After struggling since his failure at Newcastle, Nuno revived him. In a Nottingham side shocking the league, the Kiwi turned back the clock to produce some vintage performances.

While Wood is undoubtedly the greatest Kiwi player of all time, his style of play harkens back to what makes football so unique. Unlike other sports where some styles go the way of the dodo, football always finds a way to preserve all types of players. From the Serie A to the Prem, strikers like Wood fill the memories of even the most casual of fans.

If Wood keeps this form up, he will be following in the footsteps of Vardy.

Both players never promised to be stars but have written their names in Prem history.

Wood remains a dinosaur in today’s Premier League. It’s a throwback to an era where taller strikers dominated through a mixture of physicality and great game reading.

Having spent most of his career in the Championship, Wood was easily profiled as a striker who was too good for the second division but not ready for the first. There’s no shame in being that player; even the most talented struggle to adapt to the Premier League. Often, those players who push teams to promotion find themselves club icons.

After tearing up the Championship with Leeds, Burnley, and Dyche saw enough in the Kiwi to give him his first real shot in the Prem. At 26, Wood promised to be a solid player but lacked the potential to be a true star. However, as is often the case, a manager may make or break a career. 

Sean Dyche’s style fits the striker like a glove. Wood was one of the few managers to play a more traditional style and was born to be his striker. 

An ill-advised move to Newcastle followed good seasons with a struggling Burnley side. Newcastle wanted that striker to provide stability as they aimed to make that jump to the Champions League. However, Howe’s style never meshed with Wood and he was eventually replaced by the more talented Isak.

Nuno’s appointment at Nottingham saved him, as he gave the Kiwi a chance to be the same player he was at Burnley. A pure striker who needed only to focus on scoring. He gives this surprising Forest side the ability to level their play with his experience.

The career of Chris Wood mirrors that of many who moved from the Championship to the Prem—a player who needs to play the style that fits him best to unlock his potential.

Andy Carroll personifies this type of player the best. One is best suited to lower table clubs who, once every few seasons, push their team to another level. 

Other sports see ebbs and flows, like football, but they also see the disappearance of archetypes. For example, in the NBA, the midpoint wizard that dominated the league from the 1990s to the early 2010s has gone the way of the dodo. As the game evolved to the three-point revolution, other skill sets became more important to winning. 

Football faces those same ebbs and flows but seems to be more resilient. Many assumed with Chiellini’s retirement, the sport would be devoid of stoppers like him. Even as ball-playing center-backs become the norm, every team employs at least one stopper.

The poacher who lives off of crosses or passes to his feet continues to find his place in modern football. Every league has seen at least one become a legend in the past decade.

For a while, the Serie A took the mantle from the Prem as the league to see these fossils. Kevin Lasagna and Alessandro di Natale electrified fans with their throwbacks to another era. Even a more modern example of Wout Weghorst in the Bundesliga made a name for himself with this style. 

Part of the beauty of this sport is the way it surprises fans. Old ways of playing come back with new twists the same way. Wood’s ability to stick around, even after the disaster at Newcastle, proves that this sport is much more flexible than it’s given credit for.

Very much like the ouroboros, the sport eats itself in an infinite way.

Everything becomes recycled, but in a way that feels fitting to it.

If Forest finishes in a European competition spot, Nuno deserves the majority of the credit, but some should go to Wood. He proved that not every striker has to be a converted winger or a great passer.

Sometimes, the old ways can compete with the new.

PHOTO: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK