Leeds United would have expected more after £5m Chelsea saga | OneFootball

Leeds would have expected more from this duo, after their move to Stamford Bridge back in 2006.

Leeds United will have expected more from the careers of two of their former academy products after a well-publicised saga saw them leave for Chelsea back in 2006.

Both Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo swapped West Yorkshire for West London as 16 year olds, prompting accusations of tapping-up and poaching from the Leeds hierarchy.

A settlement of £5m was eventually reached between the two clubs, but not before a prolonged period of disagreements between the two.

Given that Leeds lost two of what, at the time, were their most talented youngsters, it’s fair to say the Whites will be fairly underwhelmed by the careers that the midfield duo have gone on to have.

The departures of Woods and Taiwo prompted accusations from Leeds

Chelsea’s acquisition of the two youngsters in 2006 certainly raised a few eyebrows within the Leeds boardroom.

The Whites’ chairman at the time, Ken Bates, who ironically had previously also been the chairman at Chelsea, pointed his finger at the London giants when he accused them of breaking youth development rules to ‘tap-up’ the young duo.

Bates suggested Chelsea should face a points deduction, a transfer embargo and even be thrown out of cup competitions as punishment for their misdemeanour. Bates’ made these suggestions on the grounds that he believed a financial punishment would be immaterial to the Blues, such was the wealth of their owner, Roman Abramovich.

He also stated in his claims that Chelsea had also tried to persuade a third youngster to make the switch to Stamford Bridge. That third academy prospect was Danny Rose, who rejected Chelsea’s advances, before departing Elland Road for their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur the following year.

Bates branded Chelsea’s initial £200,000 compensation offer as “insulting” before he eventually reached an agreement with the Blues over a settlement of £5 million.

Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo’s careers have seriously underwhelmed

When Woods and Taiwo left Elland Road in 2006, Leeds would have expected them to go on and achieve great things at the game’s top level. However, that couldn’t be further from what has actually happened.

Unlike Rose, who retired with over 200 Premier League appearances as well as 29 senior England caps, Woods and Taiwo’s careers faded away pretty quickly.

The pair both departed Chelsea having failed to register a single Premier League appearance. Woods was released in the summer of 2011, while Taiwo was sold to then League One side Carlisle United for an undisclosed fee in January 2010.

Despite having both represented England at youth level, the pair have drifted into the footballing wilderness, so to speak.

After 118 appearances and six goals for the Cumbrians, Taiwo moved even further north, crossing the border in a move to Hibernian in 2012.

However, he spent just two seasons in the Scottish Premiership, before dropping into the Championship with Falkirk. He spent four years at Falkirk before jumping back up to the Premiership with Hamilton Academical in the summer of 2018. He lasted just one season though, before departing by mutual consent the following summer and retiring in June 2019, aged 29.

By comparison, Woods, who did at least make two senior Chelsea appearances in the FA Cup, has had a more nomadic and drawn out career.

He joined Yeovil Town in February 2012, but failed to impress enough to earn himself a contract extension and was released at the end of the season.

A spell with Doncaster Rovers followed, but the midfielder made just two appearances before dropping into non-league with Harrogate Town.

His performances for Harrogate attracted the attention of then League Two side Hartlepool United, who handed him another shot at the EFL following a successful trial.

Woods would go on to spend five seasons at Victoria Park, notching 143 appearances, 18 goals and eight assists for the Pools, who were relegated into the National League during his time with the club.

Woods then returned to Harrogate for a chunk of the 2018/19 season, before spells with Dover Athletic, hometown club York City, and South Shields in recent years.

The 34-year-old recently departed Blyth Spartans, making the step-up back to the National League North with Scarborough Athletic back in December.

While Woods and Taiwo have gone on to craft reasonable careers for themselves within the lower reaches of the game, Leeds would surely have had higher hopes for them when they were prised away by Chelsea in 2006.

When you lose two players to a club of that stature, you expect that they will go on and become a fixture in squads at the highest level for several years to come, and that just simply hasn’t happened.