Lovely piece Dave. As reflected by my username Brian Godfrey was my first Villa hero. He was in the first Villa team I saw as they slid down the divisions. They were all superstars to me as a kid though- I didn't know just how poor a side they really were. But amongst them Godfrey stood out, totally committed, bawling out instructions and scowling constantly - he was terrifying. He'd sometimes run over to collect the ball from just before us at the front of the terrace , then you could see the thick smear of vaseline he rubbed across his eyebrows to keep the sweat from his eyes. I thought it was the coolest thing ever until I tried it myself! I was very sad when he left for Bristol Rovers but Ray Grayson quickly became another hero and Godfrey will always hold a place in our history as a driving force in the side that started to turn the club around.
