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When Eddie Niedzwiecki suffered the knee injury in March 1986 which
would eventually bring a premature end to his career, manager John
Hollins made a swift move to recruit West Bromwich Albion's 30-year-old
goalkeeper, Tony Godden, on loan for the remainder of the season. The
Kent-born keeper joined a team who were fourth in the League and
challenging strongly for the title before a catastrophic Easter period
during which they conceded ten goals in two matches with Niedzwiecki's
understudy, Steve Francis, between the posts.
Godden was selected for
the next game and immediately had a settling effect on the defence,
although the debut goal he conceded which earned relegation-bound
Ipswich a point, and nailed another coffin in the Blues' title
prospects, came about as a result of a free-kick which he conceded. The
confidence returned and the title dream flickered again, albeit briefly,
after a six-day period during which Chelsea secured away victories
against fellow contenders Manchester United and West Ham, with a
goalless draw at Nottingham Forest sandwiched in between. The win at
Upton Park would prove to be Chelsea's last of the season, the final
five matches of the season, four of which Tony played in, yielding just a
single point. He was made available by WBA that summer and was snapped
up by Hollins on a free transfer.
The manager further bolstered his
squad with the signing of Steve Wicks, and confidence at the club
appeared to be high going into the 1986/87 season. Unfortunately that
confidence was misplaced. A dismal three points from the first five
games set the tone for a first half-season which ended with the Blues at
the foot of the table. A 6-2 defeat by Nottingham Forest at Stamford
Bridge was perhaps the lowest point of Godden's Chelsea career but the
definite high point came just eight days later when he saved two
penalties in the space of as many minutes in front of Manchester
United's Stretford End to help Chelsea secure a 1-0 win courtesy of an
early Kerry Dixon strike.
The result had the home supporters howling for
the head of their boss, Ron Atkinson, who had previously managed Godden
at the Hawthorns but asked in a post-match TV interview if he had any
sympathy for his former boss, Tony raised a few laughs when he replied
'none whatsoever, he should have bought me when I was available on a
free in the summer'. Sadly for Godden, an unfortunate run of injuries
combined with a brief return to fitness for Niedzwiecki and the arrival
of Newport's young goalkeeper, Roger Freestone, limited him to just 12
League appearances in the final six months of the campaign.
Having
proved his ability as top-flight stopper, however, the free-transfer
signing was sold to Birmingham City in July 1987 for £35,000. (Kelvin Barker)
1987–1989 Birmingham City 29 (0)
1989 Bury (loan) 1 (0)
1989–1990 Peterborough United (loan) 24 (0)
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