John Goddard

He made 37 appearances in all competitions as Hayes & Yeading finished the season in 17th-place.

John Robert Goddard (born 2 June 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for National League South club Slough Town.

Goddard joined Reading at the age of eight in 2001.

Goddard began his career at Reading, progressing through the youth system before signing his first professional contract in 2011.

He was released a year later and spent one season at Conference South club Hayes & Yeading United.

He progressed through the youth academy at the Berkshire club before signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2011, a one-year deal.

He spent the majority of the 2011–12 season playing for Reading's development team, although ultimately did not make any first-team appearances for the club.

Reading won promotion back to the Premier League that season, and Goddard was told that he would be released upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June 2012.

Ahead of the 2012–13 campaign, Goddard joined Conference South club Hayes & Yeading United on a one-year contract.

He made his debut for the club in a 1–1 draw away at Weston-super-Mare, playing for the first 70 minutes of the match before being replaced by Tobi Joseph.

Goddard scored once during the season; his solitary goal came from close-range in a 4–1 away victory over Eastleigh in the FA Trophy on 10 November 2012.

Goddard then signed for Conference Premier club Woking in September 2013 after a successful trial period.

Goddard spent time on trial at Conference Premier club Woking in July 2013, hoping to secure a contract with the club for the 2013–14 season.

He was described as "the pick of an unfamiliar bunch" when he came on as a substitute and scored twice in a 3–2 pre-season friendly defeat to Staines Town.

Goddard signed for Woking two weeks into the new season, joining on an initial one-year agreement on 1 September 2013.

He made his competitive Woking debut in a 2–0 victory over Hyde United on 17 September 2013, replacing Gavin Williams with eight minutes remaining.

Goddard scored his first Woking goal in a 2–0 away victory over Gateshead on 15 February 2014, doubling Woking's advantage when he scored from Kevin Betsy's cross in the 70th minute.

He went to score three times in 36 appearances during his first season with the club.

Shortly after the end of the season, on 5 May 2014, Goddard signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Woking for the 2014–15 season.

He scored seven times during his second season with the club, including the first brace of his career in a 3–1 win at Dartford in March 2015, as he made 46 appearances in a campaign that saw Woking miss out on the Conference Premier play-off places after finishing in seventh-place.

The 2015–16 campaign, Goddard's third year at Woking, would ultimately prove to be his breakthrough season.

Two goals in the club's second game of the season, a 2–0 victory over Bromley at Kingfield Stadium on 11 August 2015, would serve as the catalyst for Goddard's most prolific goalscoring form of his career as he went on to score seven goals in nine games from midfield.

Included in this run of goals was another brace in a 4–4 draw away at Guiseley on 12 September 2015, as well as the winning goal in a 2–1 win against Forest Green Rovers three days later to end the league leaders' unbeaten start to the campaign.

He scored two goals within the space of six days in two narrow victories against local rivals Aldershot Town when the two teams met over the festive period.

He scored 17 goals in 46 appearances from midfield during the campaign.

He was named as Woking's Player of the Year at the end of the season.

He spent three years at Woking before returning to the Football League when he signed for Swindon Town for an undisclosed fee in May 2016.

Two weeks after the conclusion of the season, on 13 May 2016, Goddard signed for League One club Swindon Town for an undisclosed fee and on a three-year deal.

Swindon stated they had secured Goddard's signature ahead of a number of Championship and rival League One clubs.

He made his Swindon debut on the opening day of the 2016–17 season, in a 1–0 victory against Coventry City, playing the full 90 minutes.

Goddard scored his first goal for Swindon in a 1–1 draw away at Shrewsbury Town on 1 October 2016.

Goddard's third and final goal of the season came in the reverse fixture against Shrewsbury Town on 7 January 2017, who he had scored against three months earlier, in another 1–1 draw.

His goal in the match came from the penalty spot.

Goddard made the highest number of appearances for Swindon during his debut season in the Football League, scoring three times in 48 matches, as Swindon were relegated to League Two.

He subsequently signed for Stevenage in January 2018.

He was loaned out to Bromley of the National League at the start of the 2018–19 season and then joined Aldershot Town on a six-month deal in January 2019.

Goddard signed for divisional rivals Ebbsfleet United in July 2019.

He rejoined Woking in August 2020, where he spent the 2020–21 season before joining National League South club St Albans City a year later.

Goddard joined Slough Town in July 2022.

Born in Sandhurst, Berkshire, Goddard attended Sandhurst School.