Matty Godden has lifted the lid on his relationship with Viktor Gyokeres and revealed Coventry City’s play-off partying that lasted for 36 hours at a fan’s house.
The former Sky Blues striker has also pinpointed the moment that haunts him most in his career and explained how his move to the Midlands club came completely out of the blue when he turned up to play for Peterborough on the opening day of the season.
Godden, aged 33, brought an end to five happy years under Mark Robins this summer when he signed for League One Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed fee. Interviewed as part of The Sun’s What the EFL?! video series, the goal scorer also describes the best and most annoying EFL fans, dodgiest facilities and maddest dressing room tale that involved one young player being reduced to tears because it was so cold.
“Viktor Gyokeres, who I was with at Coventry, for whatever reason, people thought that me and Viktor had a problem with each other but we never did. It was just a myth. He was completely different to anyone else in the division.”
“Other than Charlton, Coventry were really good at a massive, massive football club. They are very passionate, the fans, in the Midlands.”
Dodgiest EFL facilities?
“When I was a youth team player at Scunthorpe, eating beans on toast underneath the stadium. We had to make do with one toaster between 20 YTs and a can of Tesco’s own baked beans.”
Most annoying EFL fans?
“I don’t know where I don’t like going. Leeds was really good. They’re not rent free but it’s probably the loudest because they are really close because it’s such an old school ground.”
Moment that haunts you?
“At Coventry in the play-off final two years ago. We’d done so well to get there, for one, and to come back in the game and all the drama that happened with their (Luton’s) disallowed goal and then to get to penalties. And the first ten penalties were incredible, eleven actually, and then Fanky’s (Dabo). And it was just unlucky that it was him.”
Maddest dressing room tale?
“I have been involved in a game where it was that cold in the dressing room that one of the lads actually cried. I won’t name him but it was a lad who was playing men’s football that was crying because it was that cold at Accrington Stanley away in that tiny dressing room.”
Craziest transfer story?
“I remember being at Peterborough on the opening day of the season and rocking up, thinking that I was involved and being pulled and told that Barry Fry wants a word with you. I went into his office and was told that they had accepted a bid from Coventry, and asked, do I want to go? It was the first I’d heard of it. I went from rocking up thinking I was playing for Peterborough to being a Coventry player on Monday afternoon. It was quite a mental 48 hours for me.”
Wildest owner antics?
“From hearing about it, the Wrexham owners who took the player to the TaylorMade centre. For me that would be perfect. Everyone knows I love my golf, so.”
“I’m sure it was in the EFL at the time, was it Ross McCormack at Villa, when he couldn’t get into training because his electric gates were broken. I heard that story on a podcast the other day and cracked up laughing.”
Wildest night out?
“We did quite a lot, to be fair, at Coventry. After the Middlesbrough game, when we beat them away before the play-off final, I didn’t go home for 36 hours or whatever it was. It was mental. We ended up going round a fan’s house, who’s actually a close friend of all us lads, and his wife got up the next morning to take their little’un to school. And I asked her why she was up so late and she was like, ‘Up late? It’s half-past seven in the morning and I’m off to yoga!’ I was like, ‘ah, Jesus!”
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