Matt Godden reflects on his Non-League grounding
IN the summer of 2014, Matt Godden was offered a new contract by Scunthorpe United.
The deal in front of him represented the chance to play League One football, a sixth straight year in the EFL and the comfort of remaining a fully professional footballer. He said no.
This was to be the striker’s Sliding Doors moment.
Godden admits his decision to drop into National League South with Ebbsfleet United was a big gamble, yet it was no blind leap. He had a plan to climb back up the ladder and this was the first rung.
He said: “You won’t see many boys wanting to do that when there’s a League One club putting a contract on the table for you.
“We’d just been promoted from League Two but I took it upon myself to think regular football is far more important than the status of being a League One fringe player.
“If you get the opportunity to play twice a week, who wouldn’t want to do that? Playing football is far better than training.
“Do players just want to train every day and go nowhere in their career or do they want to go out and get some appearances under their belt?”
Experience
The philosophy was nothing new to Godden. As an 18-year-old, he’d agreed to join Brigg Town on loan, getting his first taste of senior football in the unforgiving Northern Premier League Division One South.
“I was a scrawny teenager running around, getting booted everywhere and it toughened me up massively, playing at that level,” he recalled. “Now I’m one of the strikers that doesn’t mind getting smacked around and I try to give as good as I get.
“A lot of boys at youth team level are hesitant about going out to teams that low down the pyramid because of their egos but I wasn’t one to say no. I knew I was getting men’s football.”
Each time Godden returned to Scunthorpe he was loaned out again. Ilkeston, Gainsborough, Ebbsfleet, Dartford, Tamworth. More bumps and bruises, yes, but more experience and more goals.
And when he told Iron boss Russ Wilcox he was going to forge his own path, it was the start of something special. Godden scored 30 goals for Ebbsfleet in 2015/16 and that season, still the most prolific of his career, earned him a move to Stevenage. He made the jump of two divisions look effortless, netting 35 goals in 87 appearances in League Two and stepped up again, this time with Peterborough.
He looked settled with Posh after an 18-goal campaign but signed for
Coventry City on the eve of last season and it proved to be another inspired call.
Earlier this month, Godden celebrated the first promotion of his career after the Sky Blues were crowned League One champions on points-per-game.
“I’ve loved it,” he said. “It’s the most I’ve enjoyed my football in my career. I’m very happy with the contribution I made (scoring 15 goals) and I’ve had just as big an input off the pitch as on it. I try to speak up more now, I’m classed as a senior player and that’s how the gaffer and everyone looks at me.
“It’s up to me to help the younger lads now, I’m not one of them any more. I need to make sure I’m setting the right example for them and I’m proud of what I’ve done in that respect as well.
“I came into a dressing-room where I was the third-oldest player and I realised I needed to step up and take control.”
Clarity of thought has helped Godden reflect and look forward in equal measure.
After losing the National South play-off final to Maidstone on penalties – Ebbsfleet having led in the last minute of extra-time – Godden forced himself to watch the Stones celebrate on the pitch long after his team-mates had trudged off it.
Inspiration
He said: “I was in tears but I made myself watch Maidstone lift the trophy. I’ll never forget it.
“That was my inspiration the following year. They were having the time of their lives, they took that time away from me and I wanted what they had.”
Four years on, Godden has so much more. Next season he could be facing West Ham, Aston Villa and Leeds in the Championship.
“It’s going to be a massive learning curve for me,” he said. “You see the clubs in there now and the teams that could come down from the Premier League and we’ll be going to stadiums that are proper arenas. I had a little taster (of the Championship) at Scunthorpe but now I’m a fully-established firstteam player and I’m so excited.
“Non-League football made me who I am,” Godden continued. “The best thing I ever did, when Scunny offered me that new contract, was to say ‘I just want to drop down the leagues and play football on a regular basis.’
“The journey I set out on, I did that with the goal of getting back to the highest level.
“People say I did it the hard way by dropping down, and I didn’t do it at a young age either, but that’s how I saw my career going.
“I worked really hard when I dropped down and I’ve built my way back up.”
Godden’s journey has already taken him so far, yet with focus and determination like his, the final destination may still lie ahead.