Kevin Godfrey (footballer)

Kevin Godfrey (born 24 February 1960) is an English retired football winger who made over 540 career appearances, most notably in the Football League for Leyton Orient and Brentford.[3]

Kevin Godfrey
Personal information
Full name Kevin Godfrey[1]
Date of birth (1960-02-24) 24 February 1960
Place of birth Kennington,[1] England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger, forward, central midfielder
Youth career
1976–1977 Leyton Orient
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1988 Leyton Orient 285 (62)
1986 → Plymouth Argyle (loan) 7 (1)
1988–1993 Brentford 140 (17)
1993–1994 Yeading
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Leyton Orient

A winger, Godfrey came through the youth ranks at Second Division club Leyton Orient (then named "Orient") and signed a professional contract in March 1977.[4] He made his debut during the 1977–78 season and finishing the campaign with a handful of appearances. Godfrey had to wait until the 1981–82 season to make a breakthrough, appearing in 42 league matches of a disastrous season which saw the Os relegated to the Third Division.

Godfrey found his best form between 1983 and 1985, making over 40 appearances over the course of three seasons and scoring 10 or more goals in each. Now playing in the Fourth Division after another relegation, Godfrey fell out of favour during the 1985–86 season, making just 16 appearances, but he regained his place in the following campaign and made another 70 appearances before departing at the end of the 1987–88 season. Godfrey made 343 appearances and scored 72 goals during his 11 years at Brisbane Road. In recognition of his service, Godfrey was awarded a testimonial in August 1987.

Plymouth Argyle (loan)

Godfrey joined Third Division high-flyers Plymouth Argyle on loan in March 1986.[5] His seven appearances brought about a positive reaction to the team's dip in form and he scored one goal during his spell, a late winner versus Bristol Rovers.[5]

Brentford

Godfrey joined Third Division club Brentford during the 1988 off-season, initially to get fit, but he became a regular member in the team after forwards Gary Blissett, Richard Cadette and Neil Smillie suffered injuries.[3] He again deputised for Blissett in the early part of the 1989–90 season, before moving back to the wing to cover for the injured Eddie May.[3] Godfrey's best season with Brentford came in 1990–91, when he made 46 appearances and scored six goals,[6] including one against Tranmere Rovers in the Bees' unsuccessful 1991 Third Division play-off campaign.[3]

He won the first silverware of his career in Brentford's historic 1991–92 season, in which they won the Third Division title.[6] Godfrey made many of his 31 appearances as a central midfielder, excelling.[3] Aged 32 and playing in the second-tier for the first time since 1982, Godfrey made 21 appearances during the 1992–93 season and scored a last-minute goal versus Swindon Town in the preliminary round of the Anglo-Italian Cup.[6] With the Bees relegated back to the third-tier at the first time of asking, Godfrey was released during the 1993 off-season.[4] He made 190 appearances and scored 25 goals during his five years at Griffin Park.[3]

Yeading

Godfrey ended his career with a spell at Isthmian League Premier Division club Yeading during the 1993–94 season.[3]

Personal life

After retiring from football, Godfrey became a taxi driver in West London and later worked for security delivery company.[7]

Honours

Brentford

Career statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 1985–86[5] Third Division 7 1 — — — 7 1
Brentford 1988–89[8] Third Division 29 8 7 0 0 0 5[lower-alpha 1] 1 41 9
1989–90[8] 27 2 1 0 2 1 3[lower-alpha 1] 0 33 3
1990–91[6] 32 4 3 0 4 1 5[lower-alpha 2] 0 46 6
1991–92[4] 31 3 3 0 5 3 2[lower-alpha 1] 0 41 6
1992–93[4] First Division 21 0 0 0 3 0 7[lower-alpha 3] 2 31 2
Total 140 17 14 0 14 5 22 3 190 25
Career total 147 18 14 0 14 5 22 3 197 26
  1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. 5 appearances in Football League Trophy, 2 appearances and 1 goal in Third Division play-offs
  3. Appearances in Anglo-Italian Cup

References
  1. "Kevin Godfrey". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
  3. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  4. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 384. ISBN 9781906796723.
  5. "Greens on Screen Database". greensonscreen.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  6. Croxford, Lane & Waterman 2013, p. 476–478.
  7. Ellis, Adam (2 November 2015). "Where Are They Now? Leyton Orient's 1978 braces team". The League Paper. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  8. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Eighties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. pp. 430–431. ISBN 978-1906796716.
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