External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tony William Godfrey | ||
| Date of birth | 30 April 1939 | ||
| Place of birth | Pangbourne, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Basingstoke Town | |||
| 1956 | Norwich City | ||
| 1956–1958 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1965 | Southampton | 141 | (0) |
| 1965–1970 | Aldershot [2] | 172 | (0) |
| 1970–1972 | Rochdale [2] | 71 | (0) |
| 1972–1976 | Aldershot [2] | 68 | (0) |
| 1976–1977 | Basingstoke Town | ||
| 1985 | Basingstoke Town | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1979–19?? | Andover | ||
| Alton Town | |||
| Fleet | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Tony William Godfrey (born 30 April 1939) [1] is an English retired footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Southampton, Aldershot and Rochdale in the Football League.
Godfrey was born in Pangbourne, Berkshire and played football for North Hampshire Schools. [3] After leaving school he was an apprentice bricklayer and played in goal for Basingstoke Town in the Hampshire League, becoming their youngest-ever player. [3] After a brief period on the books of Norwich City, he was signed by Southampton of the Football League Third Division South in May 1956 for a fee of £500, on the recommendation of Basingstoke's coach, Stan Clements, a former Southampton player. [3]
He started his career with the "Saints" in the youth team, which reached the semi-final of the FA Youth Cup in 1957. [3] He made his reserve-team debut in March 1958 [4] and signed a professional contract shortly after his 19th birthday. [3] He continued to play regularly in the reserves until his first-team debut on 6 December 1958, when he took the place of John Christie who was unavailable with an injured knee for the FA Cup Second round match at Queens Park Rangers. Godfrey acquitted himself well with a "confident, cool, alert and agile" [3] performance making several fine saves and keeping a clean sheet as Southampton won the match 1–0. [5]
Godfrey retained his first-team place for the next five matches in the league, before Christie's return, although he was soon recalled, making 17 league appearances in his debutant season. [5] With Christie leaving The Dell in the summer of 1959, Godfrey became first-choice 'keeper, playing the first 11 games of the 1959–60 season (including six victories), before an injury allowed Bob Charles to take his place. [6] His career was then interrupted by his National Service which was spent in the Army, who he represented at football. [3]
Southampton gained promotion to the Second Division in 1960 with Ron Reynolds now in goal. In the 1960–61 season, Godfrey vied with Reynolds for the first-choice position in goal, making only eight appearances, [7] but regained the No. 1 spot for 1961–62 after Reynolds broke his ankle in the opening match. [8] By the start of the following season, however, Reynolds had fought his way back into the first-team and Godfrey only made six appearances. [9]
Reynolds was finally forced to retire after dislocating a shoulder in September 1963, thus allowing Godfrey to briefly become the unchallenged first-choice "custodian". [10] In the summer of 1964, Southampton signed John Hollowbread from Tottenham Hotspur and Godfrey was once again second-choice, until after a run of 18 matches with only two victories, Hollowbread was dropped and Godfrey recalled. [11] Hollowbread regained the No. 1 position for the start of the 1965–66 season until he sustained a knee injury in September 1965, which ended his career. [12] Godfrey was once again recalled but after 14 matches, lost his place to Campbell Forsyth, who had been signed from Kilmarnock. Godfrey's final match for Southampton came on 4 December 1965 and shortly afterwards he was sold to Aldershot. In his seven years with Southampton, Godfrey made a total of 149 first-team appearances. [3]
He joined Aldershot in December 1965 for "a four figure fee" [13] but was unable to make his debut for them because he was suffering with hepatitis. [3] His debut came on 19 March 1966, in a goalless draw with Notts County at Recreation Ground. [14]
He soon became the first-choice goalkeeper, being ever-present in the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. [14] He stayed with Aldershot for 4+1⁄2 years before he was signed by his former Southampton teammate Dick Conner at Rochdale in the summer of 1970. [3]
Godfrey spent two seasons with Rochdale, in the second of which he was the club's Player of the Season before returning to Aldershot in July 1972. He made 71 League appearances for the Spotland club. [15]
On his return to Aldershot, he was again ever-present in the 1972–73 season, [14] when Aldershot were promoted from the Fourth Division for the first time. [13] He was to remain at the Recreation Ground for another three seasons, until, with Glen Johnson now the first-choice 'keeper, he decided to retire in 1976. [13] [14]
Godfrey then returned to Basingstoke Town in a player-coach role, before spells as manager at Andover, Alton Town and Fleet, followed by a return to Basingstoke. In 1985, aged 45, Basingstoke were suffering an injury crisis, so Godfrey returned for one match, thus becoming their oldest-ever first-team player, having been their youngest player 30 years earlier. [3]
Godfrey settled in a village south of Basingstoke where he resumed his career as a builder until his retirement. [3]
John Alexander Christie was a football goalkeeper who played for Southampton F.C. for most of the 1950s.
William Rochford was an English footballer. A member of the Portsmouth team that won the 1939 FA Cup, he played over 100 matches for Portsmouth and for their south coast rivals, Southampton.
Arthur Wood was an English goalkeeper who played for Southampton and Clapton Orient. He was the son of the England international forward, Harry Wood.
Douglas McGibbon was an English footballer who played at centre forward for Southampton, Fulham and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the years just after the Second World War. He once scored six goals in a match, one of which was timed at under 5 seconds from the second half kick-off.
William Fraser was an English professional footballer who played at inside forward for Northampton Town and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s.
Walter Tom Cox (1872–1930) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs around the turn of the 20th century.
David Bowen Hamer was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a full-back for Southampton St. Mary's in the early years of the Southern League.
Leonard Edward Charles Stansbridge was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Southampton in the period either side of the Second World War.
Joseph Walter Clark was an English professional footballer who played as an outside forward for Cardiff City, Southampton and Rochdale in the 1920s.
James Ellison was an English professional footballer who played as a full-back for various clubs, including Southampton and Rochdale, in the 1920s.
Norman Kirkman was an English footballer who played as a full-back for various clubs in the Football League in the 1940s and 1950s, before a brief career as a manager.
Charles Reuben Purves was an English footballer who played as an inside-forward in the 1940s and 1950s. He played in the Football League for Charlton Athletic and Southampton.
Walter James Judd was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward in the 1940s and 1950s for Southampton.
Wesley James Maughan (born 17 February 1939) is an English retired footballer who played as an inside-forward for Southampton and Reading in The Football League in the 1950s and 1960s, before a long career in non-league football. He is currently the secretary of a charity which helps disabled and deprived children in Kenya and a lifelong Salvationist.
The 1926–27 season was the 32nd season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's fifth in the Second Division of the Football League. After having their worst year in the division the previous season, Southampton began the 1926–27 league campaign in strong fashion and found themselves in amongst the promotion hopefuls by the end of the year, just two points off front-runners Middlesbrough. However, following a lengthy run in the FA Cup the club's form began to deteriorate, ending with a series of 13 games which included just one win. The Saints dropped from as high as the top six of the Second Division table to a mid-table position, ending the season in 13th place with 15 wins, 12 draws and 15 losses – just one position and four points higher than their 14th-place finish the previous season.
The 1929–30 season was the 35th season of competitive football by Southampton, and the club's eighth in the Second Division of the Football League. After finishing fourth in the Second Division the previous season – their highest position in the league to date – Southampton continued their efforts towards achieving promotion to the First Division, but finished three places lower in seventh. The club struggled at the beginning of the league campaign, remaining in the bottom half of the table due to a run of poor results. A period of form including six wins in eight games followed between September and November, enabling the Saints to move up as high as third place. The team remained in the top half of the Second Division table for most of the rest of the season, finishing in seventh place with 17 wins, 11 draws and 14 losses.
The 1935–36 season was the 41st season of competitive football by Southampton, the club's 14th in the Second Division of the Football League, and the 50th season overall since the club's formation. Despite a strong start, the season was another lacklustre performance by the side, as they finished 17th in the league table just five points above the first relegation spot. After signing West Ham United centre-forward Vic Watson in the summer of 1935, the team won four of their first six games and briefly occupied the top spot in the league; however, a poor run of form running from October to December saw them drop back to the bottom half of the table, where they stayed for the rest of the campaign. Southampton finished the season with 14 wins, nine draws and 19 losses, equal on points with the clubs in 15th, 16th and 18th places.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
