Chris Wood and Dara O’Shea’s Unique Connection Ahead of Match

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood is scheduled to play against Ipswich defender Dara O’Shea at the City Ground this Saturday. While Wood and O’Shea have never been teammates, they share a distinct bond. Republic of Ireland international O’Shea resided with Wood’s parents, Julie and Grant, during his tenure as a young player at West Brom, referred to as the Baggies. The couple regularly offered accommodation to Baggies players who were living away from their permanent residences. This arrangement meant that Wood would sometimes return home to discover O’Shea, who joined Ipswich from Burnley in the summer, relaxing in the family’s living room. He said: “A couple of times! Unfortunately, I was never too close to Birmingham the times he was there. I was at other clubs across the country. It worked well for Dara and my parents and they have stayed in contact, at least at parent level with his mum and dad.” “It was a nice way to give back and feel part of the club. They’ve had a number of boys and one of those was Dara, who’s done extremely well over the years. He did well at West Brom, when he went to Burnley and now at Ipswich.” “Mum and dad are extremely nice to take in players as digs parents. It’s a great way to give back to a club which gave me a huge stepping stone in my career. They took a big chance on a Kiwi boy from New Zealand.”