Alexander James Woodyard (born 3 May 1993) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for York City.

Career

Woodyard started his career in the youth system of

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, but moved to Southend United as a sixteen-year-old in 2010, starting a two-year scholarship. He made his professional debut in December 2010, starting in their 3–1 away loss to Burton Albion in

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

. He had already made three appearances at the age of seventeen and was one of only two players to receive a professional contract from his age group in the summer of 2011. In August 2011, he was sent out on loan to

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

for an initial month along with George Smith to gain some first team experience. His loan was later extended until the end of November, with Woodyard making thirteen appearances for the club scoring once in a 4–3 win over Basingstoke Town. Woodyard made his first Southend appearance in eighteen months in October 2012, a 3–1 win over

Dagenham & Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Often known simply as Dag ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

. He impressed on his return to Southend, winning the ''Shrimpers'' Player of the Month award in October and November 2012. In March 2013, he joined

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

side

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

on a one-month loan. He made a total of twelve appearances as Braintree finished in the top-half of the table. Upon his return to Southend in May 2013, he was told that his contract would not be renewed as he was deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Phil Brown. Woodyard spent a total of four years with the club, making fifteen first team appearances. In August 2013, he signed for Conference Premier side

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

after impressing in pre-season friendlies. He had a turbulent start to his Dartford career, taking abuse from the fans despite solid performances on the right wing. In February 2014, he endeared himself to the fans after an impressive performance against Aldershot Town. In May 2014, after making 43 appearances and following Dartford's relegation to the Conference South, he was invited back for pre-season. In June 2014, he turned down the opportunity to stay on at Dartford and signed for Conference South side

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

. After a successful stay at Concord Rangers, where he made 36 appearances and scored one goal, Woodyard joined

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side

. In June 2016, Woodyard signed for Lincoln City, following his Braintree manager Danny Cowley to Sincil Bank. He ended the 2016–17 season as Lincoln's player of the season as they won promotion back to the football league, before signing a new two-year deal on 6 July 2017. On 30 May 2018, he joined Peterborough United for an undisclosed fee after the release clause in his contract was met. On 3 January 2020 it was announced that Woodyard would join Tranmere Rovers on loan for the remainder of the season. On 12 June 2020, Woodyard got released by Peterborough United after a 2-year stint at the club. Within those two years he managed 54 appearances for the club and was also captain in the 2018/19 season. In August 2020 he signed for

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 April 2021 in a 2–1 win against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

. He notably scored against

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

MK Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

in an April 2022 1-1 draw. On 26 July 2023, Woodyard had his contract with AFC Wimbledon terminated by mutual consent to allow him to join National League club York City on a two-year deal.

Career statistics

Honours

Lincoln City *

: 2016–17 *

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

: 2017–18

References

External links

Southend United profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodyard, Alex Living people 1993 births Footballers from Gravesend, Kent English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Southend United F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Braintree Town F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players York City F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players England men's semi-pro international footballers