Of course the season that our young winger broke through into the first team was the legendary 1977/8 cup semi-final campaign, one that saw him make an unexpected appearance in the 4th round home tie against Blackburn rovers at Brisbane Road. Kevin has some sketchy memories of it and the run in general..

I put it to Kevin that (and Bobby Fisher agreed with this when I spoke to him a few years ago) that it was a case of the O’s just ‘freezing’ on the day of a massive occasion and he more or less agreed with that, alt hough he did point out that Arsenal at the time were a formidable outfit with a front three of Malcom MacDonald, Frank Stapleton and Alan Sunderland to contend with. I recall that one newspaper described the result as ‘a bridge too far’ for Orient and maybe that headline best sums up that encounter. Despite that bitter disappointment Kevin and the rest of the players felt at that result at least our young winger had had a taste of the big cup occasions that Orient had made a habit of being involved in during the 1970’s and the next challenge would be to cement a regular place in the starting line up in the orient first team. Not an easy task with the lies of John Chiedozie ahead of you in the packing order and I asked Kevin if it was hard to dislodge him from that number 7 shirt?

I put it to Kevin that (and Bobby Fisher agreed with this when I spoke to him a few years ago) that it was a case of the O’s just ‘freezing’ on the day of a massive occasion and he more or less agreed with that, alt hough he did point out that Arsenal at the time were a formidable outfit with a front three of Malcom MacDonald, Frank Stapleton and Alan Sunderland to contend with. I recall that one newspaper described the result as ‘a bridge too far’ for Orient and maybe that headline best sums up that encounter. Despite that bitter disappointment Kevin and the rest of the players felt at that result at least our young winger had had a taste of the big cup occasions that Orient had made a habit of being involved in during the 1970’s and the next challenge would be to cement a regular place in the starting line up in the orient first team. Not an easy task with the lies of John Chiedozie ahead of you in the packing order and I asked Kevin if it was hard to dislodge him from that number 7 shirt?

KG: “Of Course, he was a quick as lightning but he was in front of me. John did get a few injuries though and that was the only time I sort of got a start in the team. Because of his quickness he was always pulling his hamstring”.

Eventually making eleven appearances in the cup run season Kevin’s chances were severely restricted for the next three years as he started fewer than fifteen games for the club. Although he did manage to grab his first league goal in the 1-2 defeat at Luton town in 1979. Our former winger did confess that he couldn’t remember much about it and most of his memorabilia regarding his seventeen year football career is in a big bag up in his loft. Despite this Kevin has started to put one or two pictures detailing his time at the O’s out on display at his girlfriend’s suggestion.

KG: “I was taking a look at some of these pictures and such but I didn’t realise just how many goals I scored for the O’s. I think it was about Seventy for Leyton Orient (by my reckoning it was sixty-three C.S) although I worked it out as being around 90 overall in my career and I even got one for Plymouth when I went out on loan there. I’m always reminded of it because my neighbour is a season ticket holder down there”.

Things did start to turn for the O’s in early part of Knighton’s reign as first team boss as the team slowly put a few results together with Kevin helping himself to a few goals in the process. A brace against Shrewsbury in a 2-0 victory just be fore Christmas was followed up with vital goals against Grimsby, Derby County and Wrexham as the team climbed the table to the heady heights of thirteenth by the end of the icy month of January 1982. Not only had our league form improved but the O’s had found themselves pitted against Crystal Palace in the 5th round of the F.A Cup at Selhurst park. The match ended up goalless but the replay the following Tues day turned out to be the turning point of the campaign and, arguably, the decade. Although Kevin was struggling to recall a lot of what went on that season he does remember a bit about that game..

From that moment the rest of the season turned pear shaped. Palace held on comfortably for a 1-0 win and Orient only recorded two more victories until the end of the campaign which ultimately resulted in our relegation in the spring. Although Kevin did add another goal to his tally in the 3-0 win over Leicester City during the final match of that 81/82 disaster it was the precursor of some pretty lean times for the club…

By now attention was turning to the upcoming 1983/4 campaign under the stewardship of Frank Clark, who was also becoming more embroiled in the general day to day running of the football club. I asked Kevin what he could remember about the man who virtually ran Leyton Orient for a decade?

I suppose with Frank Clark running the O’s virtually single handed in those days and doing everything from coaching the Orient first team to driving the minibus to and from the raining ground dear old Frankie’s patience wore a bit thin from time to time. But during that first campaign with him at the helm Clark did have a decent strike force at his disposal in the shape of Kevin and his Royal highness, Peter Kitchen, not to mention Keith Houchen and Sean Brooks who chipped in with nine goals each that season. I asked Kev in what it was like to play alongside one of the best strikers ever to have put on Orient colours?

KG: “I think it was my only hat-trick as well, its one of the few pictures I’ve got on my wall and I’m sure Sam Allardyce was playing for Bolton at the time. I know he moved about a bit back then in his later years, but as I say seeing as I’ve hit sixty now it’s a bit difficult. I do recall playing against some tough opponents down the years, though. The old Blackburn left back, John Bailey being one of them, because in the old days you always knew who you were going to have a problem with before you played them. He was quite quick, really sharp and obviously had a bit of the ‘rabbit’ going on as well throughout the game. You wouldn’t even get half a smile from him or anything and I think he went on to sign for Everton later on and play in the cup final.”

Even though Orient had taken the drop Kevin Godfrey still led the Orient goalscoring table and hit double figures for the third season running and hopes were high that the club would make a quick return to divi sion three after starting their first campaign as a division four side. Richard Cadette had left in controver sial fashion and was replaced by the imposing figure of Paul Shinners who had joined the club via Gilling ham and made an instant impact with his physical approach and early goalscoring form. That’s not to say that Kevin was having trouble finding the net as he’s already notched Orient’s first ever fourth division goal in the season’s opening day 3-1 win over Tranmere Rovers and another in the league cup versus Aldershot. A victory that paved the way for an eagerly awaited clash with Tottenham Hotspur and an occa sion that eventually became Kevin Godfrey’s finest hour in an Orient shirt. Spurs had trounced Sheffield Wednesday 5-1 in the run up to the game while the O’s threw away a 1-0 lead to eventually end up going down 1-2 to Colchester united (a side containing Ian Allinson and Perry Groves – who both went on to join Arsenal) the previous Saturday. For some reason the game ended up being played the following Mon day night and of course its an occasion that Kevin has never forgotten... .

KG: “When you are playing upfront going through on goal it’s a thing that you always envisage what you are going to do if a chance comes your way, even before a game. You have to be sure what you are going to do. I do remember; I’m sure I slotted it to Clem’s right hand side. Mind you don’t ask me about the other goal because if you asked me if it was a volley or a header I’d of probably agreed with you ei ther way because I can’t remember it!’

Well going by my own recollections I think the second came via a short corner than got fired across the spurs eighteen yard box only for Kevin to pop up at the back post to casually hit home to seal an historic win. The picture at the top of the previous spread appears to at least back some of that up at any rate. To make matters worse there isn’t any video footage of one of the greatest cup night’s in the history of the club to look back on as Kevin went on to explain…

KG: “The thing about that night as well was that was a cameraman strike going on at the time at the tv companies and so there’s no video of it, there’s no playback of those two goals. You can’t see them any where. There was plenty of attention in the media for a few days afterwards but it wasn’t overwhelm ing it was nice. At the time my then wife said as she was going to work it was incredible being on the tube looking at the papers and seeing me looking back at her from the back pages. Usually after a mid week game I’d just get away as quickly as possible and that night people were just waiting around the back of the stadium to interview me and such and were told that I was half way home! I did manage to do a few interviews the next day with the Daily Mirror, though. It was an absolutely fantastic night. Wonderful.”

Unfortunately there was a little matter of the second leg to come (in those day), postponed for almost a month due to the fall out from the Broadwater Farm riots that took place the weekend after Godfrey’s cup heroics. The match ended up with the O’s being on the wrong end of a 0-4 score line and Orient bowed out in round two of the competition. Never the less the team hit their best form of the sea son afterwards racking up four wins and two draws in their next six leagues games with Kevin scoring twice along the way. However, it was at the end of October than our wingman picked up a bad hamstring injury and this led to a long spell out of the team and, eventually, out of favour with manager Frank Clark as he brought in a certain Alan comfort to Orient from QPR while Kevin went out on loan to Plymouth Argyle in March 1986. I asked Kevin how that move came about in the first place…

KG: “Well, I wasn’t in the team at the time and they said to me do you want to go down to Plymouth and I sad , ‘Yeah, Ok’, although I didn’t actually stay down there I travelled down there the day before games and stayed in digs. They were mid table at the time and the manager just said to me at the time that they just needed a fresh face to kick start them because they had just gone a bit stale mid season. Then they never lost a game after that and they ended up getting promoted by finishing second in the league behind Reading. It was nice down there and they did ask if I wanted to come down for longer but, me being me, I liked living in London and I didn’t want to travel. They were nice people down there, very laid back, different sense of humour and a lot calmer compered to London. I think I played seven games and got the one goal.

Kevin did manage to get back into the Orient side before the end of the season and even scored the win ner against Halifax Town in front of a sparce home attendance of 1,443 as the disappointing 1985/6 cam paign fizzled out with Orient finishing in 5th place but a long way behind the last promotion spot. It was the start of an up and down two years spell for both Leyton Orient and Kevin himself, though. The club was still in the grip of a financial crisis and no players were recruited throughout the summer of 1986, alt hough Tony Wood did ride to the rescue by taking over as Chairman of the club and putting and putting any rumours of the O’s folding firmly to bed. After a dreadful start to the 86/7 season Orient began to turn things around in January following to encounter v West Ham in the FA cup and Kevin notched a vital goal with a headed winner at Peterborough on a pitch that would have been better suited to ice hockey rather than football. From then on the O’s produced a good run of form that almost ended up with the side clinching a newly introduced play off spot by winning the last match of the season at Burnley. It is an encounter that is remembered to this day as the clarets had to win to have any hope of retaining their league place of ninety nine years after being one of the original founding members of the football leaguein 1888. The O’s lost 1-2 but with a pumped up home crowd Kevin recalled having to make a mad dash for safety to wards the players tunnel at the finish as the home support swarmed on to the pitch to celebrate safety after Lincoln City lost by the same score line to eventually take the drop.

The following season proved to be Kevin’s swansong and he started the campaign well enough with a brace of goals in a 4-1 over Burnley in September. Despite making the early running up to Christmas and going toe to toe with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the promotion race Orient again bombed out in the second half of the season and finished out side the play off zone by losing their last match at home to run away champions Wolves 0-2. It was a hammer blow for the club and, as far as Kevin was concerned, there was worse to come as he was given a free transfer along with a testimonial in the summer of 1988 after twelve years at the club. I asked Kevin what was it like to have reached the end of the road with the O’s?

KG: “Well at the end of the season it always horrible when you have people going and trying to sort out contract and stuff, people coming out of Frank’s office saying; ‘I’m on me way and I’m going sort of stuff’ and that because that’s how it always happens. My contract was up and I wasn’t getting a new one and I was out the door. I think Frank was looking to bring Lee Harvey on more and by all accounts he came a bit more to prominence the following season and did really well. He was lightening quick remembering him from my time there, anyway. So there I was on my way and out of work. I did get a couple of calls to play abroad and they were always willing to take English players to see what they were like, then somebody said ‘look if you want to go along and train for a few weeks I know Steve Perryman at Brentford’ . So I thought that I’d just go along and train there for a few weeks until I get a chance to play in Germany, but I ended up staying and signing a contract. I ended up there for 5 years which all came out of the blue really”.

Of course by then the bitter rivalry between Orient and Brentford was just about to get going in earnest and I asked Kevin whether there was any big difference in regards to working at the two clubs?

KG: “The wasn’t any really, I mean people were nice there, I was beginning to think that my career was over and it went on for another five years. I even managed to score the winner against Orient once, but isn’t that always the way in football? After I left Brentford there was no way that I was going to be playing again with all the aches and pains I was getting and taking tablets for constant back pain. I had a very brief spell at Yeading after leaving Brentford but I couldn’t train and travelling to Heathrow, especially for midweek games, got too much so I decided to call it a day and get myself a proper job. So I got myself into the courier game, which I’m still doing after twenty odd years”.

As we wound down the interview I asked Kevin to reflect on his career as I put it to him that after having a seventeen year career as a professional footballer he’d done quite well for himself when all was said and done...

The following season proved to be Kevin’s swansong and he started the campaign well enough with a brace of goals in a 4-1 over Burnley in September. Despite making the early running up to Christmas and going toe to toe with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the promotion race Orient again bombed out in the second half of the season and finished out side the play off zone by losing their last match at home to run away champions Wolves 0-2. It was a hammer blow for the club and, as far as Kevin was concerned, there was worse to come as he was given a free transfer along with a testimonial in the summer of 1988 after twelve years at the club. I asked Kevin what was it like to have reached the end of the road with the O’s?

KG: “Well at the end of the season it always horrible when you have people going and trying to sort out contract and stuff, people coming out of Frank’s office saying; ‘I’m on me way and I’m going sort of stuff’ and that because that’s how it always happens. My contract was up and I wasn’t getting a new one and I was out the door. I think Frank was looking to bring Lee Harvey on more and by all accounts he came a bit more to prominence the following season and did really well. He was lightening quick remembering him from my time there, anyway. So there I was on my way and out of work. I did get a couple of calls to play abroad and they were always willing to take English players to see what they were like, then somebody said ‘look if you want to go along and train for a few weeks I know Steve Perryman at Brentford’ . So I thought that I’d just go along and train there for a few weeks until I get a chance to play in Germany, but I ended up staying and signing a contract. I ended up there for 5 years which all came out of the blue really”.

Of course by then the bitter rivalry between Orient and Brentford was just about to get going in earnest and I asked Kevin whether there was any big difference in regards to working at the two clubs?

KG: “The wasn’t any really, I mean people were nice there, I was beginning to think that my career was over and it went on for another five years. I even managed to score the winner against Orient once, but isn’t that always the way in football? After I left Brentford there was no way that I was going to be playing again with all the aches and pains I was getting and taking tablets for constant back pain. I had a very brief spell at Yeading after leaving Brentford but I couldn’t train and travelling to Heathrow, especially for midweek games, got too much so I decided to call it a day and get myself a proper job. So I got myself into the courier game, which I’m still doing after twenty odd years”.

As we wound down the interview I asked Kevin to reflect on his career as I put it to him that after having a seventeen year career as a professional footballer he’d done quite well for himself when all was said and done...

KG: “Yes, exactly. I wasn’t the best footballer in the world but I look back and think ‘I played pro foot ball for seventeen years, no left foot, dodgy crosser of a ball –and I’ll accept that– and I look back now and think that I could have been a lot better and trained a lot harder to improve myself , especially my quality of crossing and my ability with my left foot which despite playing up front I only ever scored two goals with. Anything that came on that side I usually had to swivel round and try to get it on to my right side. But it was good times and its nice to look back on it. I scored a few goals and have some nice memories to look back on. Everyone at the Orient was brilliant and one of the funniest people from back then was Bill Songhurst, some of the things he used to say just tickled me. A real character. I haven’t got a bad word to say about anyone from my time there, it was just brilliant.”

And with that we brought the curtain down on an interview that I’d been waiting thirty years to conduct. Before I hung up the phone I just had to remind Kevin of the affection that he’s still held in here at the O’s and it would be great to see his face at the ground more often, alongside some long standing supporters that loved seeing him strut his stuff here over thirty years ago. I think he was also genuinely touched when I suggested that to him and surprised that he’s so well remembered here to this day, which probably makes him more endearing to me than he was before we had our chat.

Of course nostalgia does have a habit of clouding the memory and maybe looking back through rose tinted spectacles distorts a players achievements at a club over time. There’s no doubt that Kevin Godfrey O’s career didn’t result in any silverware or, indeed, a promotion during his twelve years at Leyton Orient. But he was the clubs’ top goal scorer during the 1980’s and at a time when Orient was at its lowest ebb as a football club Kevin was one of the few players here that excited the crowd when he got the ball in a dangerous area of the pitch. Ok, the chants of ‘lino, lino’ that used to come up from time to time in relation to him often ending up on the deck were probably rooted in Kevin being on the rough end of some traditional lower league defending and gave us a laugh from time to time. But considering he spent much of his career here playing in Orient teams that were struggling I don’t think his contribution at Orient can go un-appreciated or undervalued. He played in some of the biggest cup matches and crunch league games in our history, scored two of the most famous goals ever seen at our ground and carried our attack during some of the darkest days in the 1980’s.

To be honest I think in some ways Kevin was too amiable for his own good in relation to his career and maybe he should have looked to move away from Orient a lot earlier than he did rather than being com fortable in his London surroundings. If he was playing now Its certain that being the club’s best attacker in a relegated Division Two/Championship team would have led to an immediate transfer away from Bris bane road as soon as the season had finished. Maybe we didn’t appreciate him as much as we should of at the time and looking further on in his career the fact that Kevin played almost 200 games for Brentford at a higher level and found success underlines that. I’m glad that he finished his league career at the level he started, even allowing for the fact that he managed to achieve that with our arch enemies of the time. I don’t think you could begrudge him a few fleeting moments of glory and I’ll even forgive him for scoring the winner against the O’s one freezing Sunday morning in West London 31 years ago.

In closing I’ll just say that it was a privilege to spend an hour chatting to one of my first Orient heroes (along with Bill Roffey and Steve Parsons) and to me he’ll always be Orient’s wing man, twisting, turn ing ,occasionally falling over and scoring memorable goals against Spurs. And if he does manage to get down the Supporters club I can guarantee he won’t have to buy a drink all evening.