Flood, Willo

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Fullname: William Robert Flood
aka: Willo Flood, William Flood, Willo the Wisp
Born: 10 April 1985
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Signed: 31 January 2009
Left: 13 January 2010
Position: Midfielder
Debut: […]
Squad no.: 16
Internationals: none

Trivia

• Willo Flood’s last game for Dundee Utd before signing for Celtic was coincidentally against Celtic in a League Cup semi-final. In the penalty shoot-out he missed the final penalty that gave Celtic the advantage to score and go through. Before any conspiracy theorists come out with daft ideas, note that this was Willo’s second penalty in the shoot-out and he had actually scored with the first one. He wasn’t the only player to miss a penalty that night.

Biog

Dubliner Willo Flood joined Celtic in the January 2009 transfer window, in a move he couldn’t say no to.

The player signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, but few really understand why Gordon Strachan bought him.

He fulfilled a dream by playing for Celtic and got a dream debut by playing against Rangers, and admittedly he had a fair game against them in what was a difficult match. That was the highlight of his time.

Problem was that Celtic already had an abundance of midfielders, and Willo Flood had little new to offer. Enthusiastic as he was, there was little obvious place for him, and he was lost way behind in the queue for a starting place despite the favourable opinions on him by the then manager.

He got few starts and become forgotten & little used. He managed to grab a game in the Europa League/UEFA Cup against Rapid Vienna away and little impressed in an admittedly dead rubber game played at -8C weather. It was the writing on the wall for him (his last chance).

Sadly he didn’t manage to be part of a cup winning side for Celtic. It was all a bit of a shame. He came over as a very nice guy but he didn’t get enough opportunities to justify a regular place for himself in the side.

Finally moved to Middlesborough with Gordon Strachan in Jan 2010, the manager who took him to Celtic in the first place. We wished all the best to him, but despite not getting many first team opportunities for Celtic, he never complained to the papers at the time (like some others would and have) which we can respect.

He later stated in an interview in 2013 that he never got many chances so doesn’t really look back on having been a Celtic player. He regarded the move as a mistake and a regret. A bit harsh, but in time he should appreciate to have had at least the chance at a top tier club unlike many others who never did. It is better to have tried than to be left later in life wondering ‘What if?‘.

He later admitted that he wanted gametime and not just picking up a cheque like some others have done over their contracts. A move back to Dundee Utd was thwarted by then Celtic manager Tony Mowbray who replied to him that he wanted to keep him as he thought Willo Flood was like a ‘safety blanket‘ for him & the squad. Mowbray unsurprisingly didn’t last long (comments from online interview by Willo Flood with Simon Ferry).

Willo Flood managed eight first team games, which is a fair amount. His post-Celtic critical comment was more reflective of his frustration that it didn’t work out at Celtic, but he still got to experience major competitive football in European competition and in Scotland, which the rest of us can only dream of.

We wished him the best.

His spell at Middleborough didn’t work out (due to a long-term knee injury), and in time he moved on to Dundee Utd (two spells) and then to Aberdeen. He was a regular for those time, and well respected, facing Celtic in the domestic matches and then helping Aberdeen to win the league cup in 2013-14, their first trophy in 19 years. He played in the final alongside ex-Celt Barry Robson, but Willo Flood didn’t take one of the penalty kicks in the shoot-out although he had played the entire 120mins.

Aberdeen were going through a good period as well, finishing high in the league standings. He was praised by his Aberdeen manager for “consistency of performance, he brings an attitude to the team and he brings a real mentality to the whole club” which we can admire.

He later signed for Dunfermline before controversially going back on the deal after only one week, and moving instead to Bali Utd in Indonesia, before that was cut due to signing rules. He couldn’t find another club that season, so effectively his football career was now over.

On announcing his retirement from football in 2019, he aimed to pursue a career as a football agent.

[…]

Playing Career

Celtic:

Season	SPL			League Cup			Scottish Cup			European			TOTAL
	P	S	G	P	S	G	P	S	G	P	S	G	P	S	G
2008-09	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	0
2009-10	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	2	0
TOTAL	2	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	4	5	0

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish Cup		League cup		Other
Middlesborough	13/01/2010		Free
Celtic	30/01/2009	13/01/2010	£150k	2 (4)	0	0 (0)	0	1 (0)	0	1 (1)	0
Dundee Utd	10/07/2008	29/01/2009	Loan	20 (0)	0	1 (0)	0	3 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Dundee Utd	20/07/2007	23/05/2008	Loan	33 (3)	1	3 (0)	0	5 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Cardiff	02/08/2006	30/01/2009	Signed	5 (20)	1	2 (0)	0	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Coventry	18/08/2005	18/11/2005	Loan	7 (1)	1	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Rochdale	15/03/2004	09/05/2004	Loan	6 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Man City	25/08/2003	02/08/2006	Trainee	5 (9)	1	0 (1)	0	2 (0)	1	1 (0)	0
Totals			£0	78 (37)	4	6 (1)	0	12 (0)	1	2 (1)	0
			goals / game	0.03		0		0.08		0
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

Honours with Celtic

none

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Articles

Celtic sign Flood (BBC)

Celtic have completed the signing of Cardiff’s Irish midfielder Willo Flood in a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old told the club website: “It really is a tremendous honour to sign for a club of Celtic’s stature. “I have been a fan of Celtic all my life and this is a dream come true.” Flood made almost 70 appearances while on loan at Dundee United and was offered a permanent deal at Tannadice, but chose to join his boyhood heroes. Flood started his career at Manchester City where he stayed for three seasons before moving to Cardiff City. “This is an exciting challenge and one which I am really looking forward to,” Flood added.

“I will be joining a great group of players and I will be giving everything I can to make as big a contribution as possible to Celtic. “I hope to play my part in achieving more and more success for the club and its supporters.” United manager Craig Levein was keen to keep the midfielder in Tayside and he and the Tannadice board attempted to persuade him to stay. Earlier this week Flood admitted he would have mixed feelings about leaving the Terrors. And his affection for United was evident after signing for the league leaders. He told the Celtic website: “I would like to thank Dundee United FC for all they have done for me. “I have enjoyed my time there immensely and I wish the club all the best for the future.

“My focus is now Celtic and I can’t wait to get started with my new club.” Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, who watched Flood shine for United in January’s 2-2 draw at Celtic Park but miss a penalty in the Co-operative Insurance Cup shoot-out on Wednesday, said: “We are delighted to welcome Willo to Celtic. “He has had a tremendous time at Dundee United where he has shown great ability, drive and enthusiasm. We look forward to working with him.”

Flood admits Celtic mistake

Willo Flood admits his move to Celtic has not gone according to plan and may now go on loan in January.
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11781/5771292/flood-admits-celtic-mistake

Last Updated: 14/12/09 3:45pm

Willo Flood admits his move to Celtic has not gone according to plan.

The 24-year-old midfielder only moved to Parkhead in January after spending 18 months on loan at Dundee United from Cardiff City.

But he has started just two games since his move and admits things have not gone well for him.

“I think it’s fair to say that me moving to Celtic has not gone according to plan,” he said.

“At the time, it was the chance of a lifetime and the chance to join a club like Celtic, where you could win things and play in the Champions League. It was not something I could turn down, but it hasn’t turned out the way I wanted it.

“I’m not involved, I’m not featuring and at this stage of my career I need to be playing regularly.”

Flood admits a loan deal is likely in January with his future then further assessed in the summer.

“They will decide what I do, but it’s best that I go out on loan, at least, and see what happens then,” he continued.

“I’ve spoken to Tony Mowbray about it and he’s been great with me. He’s one of the most honest people I’ve met in football, he hasn’t messed me around in any way.

“He says it would be best for me to go out on loan next month, get some games in and get my sharpness back and we’ll assess things again in the summer.”