Johnny Goddard came in almost at the 11th hour during the January 2018 window; arriving from fellow League Two side Swindon Town with the deadline nearing. Boro’ boss Darren Sarll secured the services of the midfielder for an undisclosed fee; snaring the talents of a midfielder appearing most for the Robins during their ill-fated 2016-7 League One campaign.
It was also an undisclosed fee that had taken Goddard to Swindon in the first place; in May 2016 if you want dates. Since our promotion from the Conference, it hasn’t been a surprise for ex-Boro’ players to wind up at Woking. In a rare flip-reverse of that situation, his arrival here at the Lamex meant it was us signing a former Card instead. Nobody’s perfect…
With Boro’ looking for fresh impetus for the second half of the 2017-8 campaign, Goddard was one of three midfielders signed towards the end of the January window. That said, he was the only one to sign on a permanent deal. Such is that very fact that boss Darren Sarll thought him worth laying out the cash for. And give a few players already at the club plenty of food for thought too…
His time at the club only lasted a year, not helped by the departure of Sarll as manager in March 2018. New boss Dino Maamria didn’t take to Goddard; the midfielder going out on loan to Bromley in the second half of the year, before leaving for good in the January 2019 transfer window.
Johnny Goddard: Before Boro’
Of course, we hope he turns out to be near-enough perfect. He must, to be fair, be worth a fee! It was at Kingfield where Goddard made a name for himself, too. In a three-year stay with the Conference side, he racked up over 100 outings and won their Player of the Season award for 2015-6. it’s about this point we’d make a joke about there not being much competition…
The midfielder had to turn out for a number of trials before signing Woking in summer 2013. It was a relatively short move (geographically) for Goddard, who had spent the previous season at Hayes & Yeading. And he’d only been at United for a year, having signed on a one-year deal after being released by Reading. He’d been with the Royals since the age of eight, but was not quite able to break through the ranks at the Madejski.
