John Goodall

Early career

Goodall played for Kilmarnock Burns, and then got into the second eleven team of Kilmarnock Athletic. He made his first team debut for Kilmarnock Athletic in September 1880 in a 3–1 victory over Mauchline, at Holm Quarry Park, Kilmarnock. He scored four goals in Kilmarnock Athletic's 7–1 win over Ayr on 17 September 1881 in a first round match of the 1881–82 Scottish Cup played at Kilmarnock. In December 1881 he scored three goals for Ayrshire against Renfrewshire at Paisley, and his performance was reviewed very positively in the Athletic News. On 28 January 1882, at Cliftonville in north Belfast, he played on the right wing for Ayrshire again, this time against a team composed of players representing the Belfast and district football association. Ayrshire won the game 12–0 and John Goodall scored a goal. On 18 February 1882, Kilmarnock Athletic played in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Queen's Park F.C. at Hampden Park. Kilmarnock Athletic lost 3–2. But John Goodall gave a very creditable performance. On 17 March 1883 his team played a replayed semi-final of the 1882–83 Scottish Cup, but lost 2–0 at home against Vale of Leven. He represented Ayrshire again on 19 November 1883 at Kilmarnock in a match against a Lancashire representative team. Ayrshire won 6–3, and after the game Goodall was described in one review as being the best forward in the county. Having played for Kilmarnock Athletic, he later joined the Scotch Professor exodus south…

John Goodall qualified to play for England even though both of his parents were born in Scotland, and he was brought up there from a young age. The reason for this was because at the time he played international football, a rule existed which stipulated that a player was only eligible to play for the country in which he was born. His brother Archie Goodall was born in Belfast, and for this reason it qualified Archie to play for Ireland. He made his debut on 4 February 1888 in a match against Wales. The match was played at the Alexandra ground in Crewe, and England won 5–1. John Goodall scored on his debut. His second international appearance was on 17 March 1888 at Hampden Park against Scotland. England won 5–0 and John Goodall scored the fourth goal. On 23 February 1889 at Victoria Ground Goodall scored in a 4–1 victory over Wales. Then on 13 April 1889 he played for England against Scotland but ended on the losing side. Scotland winning 3–2 at Kennington Oval. In all, Goodall was capped six times versus Wales, seven times against Scotland, and once against Ireland, scoring 12 goals. He saw his last international in 1898 having appeared at inside right, centre forward, and inside left during his time as an England player.

Manager

He was a son of Richard, a soldier in the Scottish Fusiliers from Fishcross, near Alloa in Clackmannanshire. His mother was Mary (maiden surname of Lees), and his parents were married on 31 December 1860 in Tarbolton, Scotland. Mary Lees was a daughter of Achibald Lees and his wife Elizabeth. She was baptised at Tarbolton on 22 April 1838. Goodall had a somewhat cosmopolitan background. He was born in London and his parents' travels were diverse enough to leave him with a younger brother, Archie, who was born in Belfast. John and Archie also had a sister named Elizabeth who was born in Edinburgh. When he was young John Goodall would play in bare feet with a rubber ball along with his other friends. He later commented that this helped to develop his ball control skills from an early age, which benefitted him when he became a footballer. John's father died when he was young, and by the time that the 1871 census was taken on 2 April, he was living in Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was in the home listed as aged 7, with his mother Mary, a widow aged 32. And siblings Archibald age 6, and Elizabeth age 4. The address was 13, Glencairn Square. When Goodall left school he became an iron turner and later worked at the Glenfield Works in Kilmarnock. His mother married Joseph Barnes in 1880 at Kilmarnock.