There was a split-second when Everton were coasting to a fourth consecutive win and it looked like their run might come under threat. As the cameras picked up the ball heading across the face of ’s goal at Burnley the only possible outcome appeared to be that Zeki Amdouni would tap it at the back post. That did not happen.
was not even in shot as what should have been an assist was laid across the box. Yet somehow he still cut out that ball, forcing it behind for a corner and leaving his rival attacker, Turf Moor and the watching world stunned. It was a miraculous intervention made all the more remarkable because, as Christmas loomed, Godfrey had barely featured over the previous months.
To produce such big moments without a consistent run of games is no mean feat, . The centre-back, a mainstay of one of the best defences in the league this season, has often sought to place the success of himself and those around him, including , down to the strength of the unit at . Supporters might only see what happens on a matchday, Tarkowski said earlier this season, but all of that is the culmination of what happens at the training ground, where the likes of and Godfrey play a crucial role in maintaining standards.
Godfrey, recently speaking to the ECHO, agreed. He said: “It is so important as players that, when you go through a period of not playing, that you train hard. Just because it is so hard to emulate that game fitness when you are not playing so the work that you do on the .
