Sideways Sammy

The addition of two senior strikers over the summer for big money suggested that Matt Godden would remain in the ancillary role up front that he occupied last season in service to Viktor Gyokeres. Starting the campaign in good scoring form while Ellis Simms and Haji Wright got up to speed, the combination of seeing that hot streak run cold and his competition in attack proving to be more adept at providing an all-round threat has seen Godden lose his place in the team. As things stand, Godden faces an uphill battle to get back into the starting XI and will have to find ways to be effective without the benefit of regular starts to build form with.

The recent move away from playing with two up front appears to have had a direct impact on Matt Godden’s opportunities as a starting player. As a striker whose role is to do little in games other than appear in scoring positions and take chances, playing him as a lone centre-forward in the current system – especially with the wide forwards the team’s primary goal threats – forces Godden to focus on the weaker elements of his game, of challenging with defenders and linking the play, rather than on pure goalscoring. While Godden’s primary competition, Ellis Simms, isn’t scoring many goals either, Simms’ superior pace and physicality means he at least provides a presence that can get the team up the pitch, which is why he currently has the edge over Godden. It leaves one of the team’s most reliable finishers with an increasingly limited time on the pitch to demonstrate his effectiveness.

The task for Matt Godden now is to prove that he can make an impact either off the bench or from the occasional start. As someone who has tended to score in streaks, generally after having had a few games in a row to play himself into form, Godden is going to have to adapt his mind-set as much as his skill-set in order to succeed. As the only source of depth at centre-forward, Godden remains important as someone who can provide relief to his attacking colleagues and as something of a Plan B to turn games around. It is up to Godden, however, to prove that he can succeed in such a role if he is to remain at Coventry City.