Jonathan Goodman (born 2 June 1971) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team at international level. Following retirement in 2000, Goodman pursued a career as a coach and

sports scientist Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

. He is academy manager of

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

Early life

He was born in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

Playing career

During the 1989–90 season, Goodman played non-league football at the now-defunct Leyton Wingate. At the end of the season he signed, along with the team's manager George Wakeling, for

where he was immediately put on a contract. After playing well in just a handful of pre-season friendlies, he was signed by

for a £34,500 fee in August 1990. Goodman made his Millwall debut on 26 December as a substitute at

The Old Den The Old Den (known while in use as the Den) was the fifth football stadium occupied by Millwall F.C. in Cold Blow Lane, New Cross, London since their formation in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs in 1885 before moving to the New Den (now called th ...

against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, and it wasn't long before he was a regular member of the first team. His goals helped Millwall finish third in Division One in the 1993–94 season, but defeat to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in the semi-finals of the playoffs ended their hopes of promotion to the

FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. Goodman was then sold to

in November 1994 for £1.3million, making the move to Wimbledon with Millwall full-back

Kenny Cunningham Kenneth Edward Cunningham (born 28 June 1971) is an Irish former footballer who played as a defender. He played international football for the Republic of Ireland until his retirement in 2005. He spent his professional club career, from 1989 t ...

. He spent six seasons at Wimbledon, scoring 11 goals in 60 games as a semi-regular player in the team, competing with the likes of

Efan Ekoku Efangwu Goziem Ekoku (born 8 June 1967) is a former Nigerian professional footballer, and sports commentator. As a player, he was a striker who notably played in the Premier League for Norwich City and Wimbledon and in Switzerland for Grassh ...

and

Dean Holdsworth Dean Christopher Holdsworth (born 8 November 1968) is an English former professional football player and manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22-year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majority ...

for a place in the starting line-up. He was injured in a match against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1997, and never truly recovered. After two short-lived comeback attempts, he retired through injury at the end of 1999–2000 when Wimbledon were relegated from the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

after 14 years of top flight football. Despite rarely having a long run in the first team and leaving the club at one of the lowest points in their history, he was a key squad player in some of their best seasons in the top flight, particularly their 1996–97 campaign where they finished eighth (having spent most of the season in the top five) and were semi-finalists in both of the domestic cups. He was capped four times for the Republic of Ireland at the height of his success for Wimbledon in 1997.

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player, Goodman joined

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

as a

in the summer of 2005, before later joining then

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

manager

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon a ...

' backroom team as a conditioning coach for the

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifying campaign. Goodman joined the

Nike Academy The Nike Football Academy was an English football academy funded and administered by Nike, Inc. The academy had a revolving squad of unsigned under-20 players and was run with the intention of helping them find a professional club. The academy was ...

in 2012 as a fitness coach, before joining

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

in a similar role in April 2013. He left the role in May 2014 to pursue other business interests. Following brief spells as Academy Manager for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

in 2017 and Assistant Head of Player Development for

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, Goodman announced he was joining

as the club's Academy Manager on 8 April 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodman, Jon 1971 births Footballers from Walthamstow Living people Association football forwards English footballers Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Bromley F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Sports scientists Reading F.C. non-playing staff Leeds United F.C. non-playing staff Notts County F.C. non-playing staff Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff Milton Keynes Dons F.C. non-playing staff Association football coaches

Early life

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links