Len Goulden	West Ham United FC 14 appearances, 4 goals (1 on debut) P 14 W 10 D 1 L 3 F 45: A 22 75% successful 1937-39 captain: none minutes played: 1260
Profile
Full name	Leonard Arthur Goulden
Born	9 July 1912 in Hackney, London [registered in Hackney, September 1912]. Raised in Plaistow. Often stated as 16 July, which the 1939 register does.
census notes	According to the 1939 register, Leonard A. is a professional footballer, married to Irene, and living at 159 Herent Drive in Ilford.
Married	to Irene D. Hamilton (b.1 May 1910) [registered in West Ham, Essex, June 1936]. Two sons, Roy L. (1937) and Paul (1944).
Died	14 February 1995 in Plaistow, aged 82 years 221 days [registered in Enfield, London, February 1995]. The death registration states that Len's date of birth was 9th July 1912.
Height/Weight	5' 8", 10st. 2lbs [1938].
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & FindMyPast.com
Club Career
Club(s)	Began as a schoolboy in West Ham and was an amateur with West Ham United FC in 1931, who sent him to Chelmsford FC and Leyton FC before he became a professional back with the Hammers in 1933. And he remained at the Boleyn Ground until the war. He guested for Chelsea FC during the war and signed for them afterwards, in December 1945, for a £5000 transfer fee. He remained at Stamford Bridge until his retirement, despite joining Chelmsford City FC to manage in June 1949, but returned to Chelsea after receiving a better offer. He retired a year later.
Club honours	None
Individual honours	Football League (two appearances)
Distinctions	None
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].
Management Career
Club(s)	On 8 June 1949, Goulden was appointed secretary-manager of Southern League side, Chelmsford City FC. But after a couple days, his present club, Chelsea, offered him lucrative terms to stay at Stamford Bridge. The Chelmsford job went to Jack Tresadern. Goulden remained at Chelsea FC and joined their training staff, until he was appointed manager of Watford FC on 3 November 1952, appointed General Manager in October 1955 until February 1956, when he dropped back down to just managing the team until July 1956. He returned to Watford FC as coach in July 1959, until October 1962. Later coached in Libya. Returned to coach Banbury United FC in 1965 until March 1965. Coached Oxford United FC from January 1969 for a period.
England Career
Player number	One of three to become the 633rd players (635) to appear for England.
Position(s)	Inside-left/right
First match	No. 209, 14 May 1937, Norway 0 England 6, an end-of-season tour match at Ullevål Stadion, Ullevål, Oslo, aged 24 years 309 days.
Last match	No. 226, 24 May 1939, Romania 0 England 2, an end-of-season tour match at Stadionul Agenţia Naţională de Educaţie Fizică, Bucureşti, aged 26 years 319 days.
Major tournaments	British Championship 1937-38, 1938-39;
Team honours	British Championship winners 1937-38, shared 1938-39;
Individual honours	England wartime (four appearances), England Schoolboy (two appearances)
Distinctions	Len's son Roy, would also be an England schoolboy international
Beyond England
Outside the game had worked as a postmaster and at a Northamptonshire US Air Force base. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.110.

Len Goulden - Match History
Club: West Ham United F.C. - 14 full appearances F.A. International Select Committee - 14 full capsx
Age 24
1	209	14 May 1937 - Norway 0 England 6, Ullevål Stadion, Oslo	tour	AW	Start 85	11
2	210	17 May 1937 - Sweden 0 England 4, Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna		AW	Start	11
-	211	20 May 1937 - Finland 0 England 8, Töölön pallokenttä, Helsinki		AW	reserve
Age 25
3	212	23 October 1937 - Ireland 1 England 5, Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	AW	Start	10
4	213	17 November 1937 - England 2 Wales 1, Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough		HW	Start	10
5	214	1 December 1937 - England 5 Czechoslovakia 4, White Hart Lane, Tottenham	Fr	HW	Start	10
6	216	14 May 1938 - Germany 3 England 6, Olympiastadion, Berlin	tour	AW	Start 85	il
7	217	21 May 1938 - Switzerland 2 England 1, Hardturm Stadion, Zürich		AL	Start	il
8	218	26 May 1938 - France 2 England 4, Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris		AW	Start	il
Age 26
9	219	22 October 1938 - Wales 4 England 2, Ninian Park, Cardiff	BC	AL	Start	10
10	220	26 October 1938 - England 3 Rest of Europe 0, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury	Fr	HW	Start 73	10
11	223	15 April 1939 - Scotland 1 England 2, Hampden Park, Glasgow	BC	AW	Start	10
12	224	13 May 1939 - Italy 2 England 2, Stadio Civico San Siro, Milano	tour	AD	Start	10
13	225	18 May 1939 - Yugoslavia 2 England 1, Stadion Beogradski SK, Beograd		AL	Start	10
14	226	24 May 1939 - Romania 0 England 2, Stadionul ANEF, Bucureşti		AW	Start 8	8

Notes

Len Goulden was a captivating footballer, a richly creative inside-forward whose flowing skills earned him a regular place in the England side for two years before the Second World War. But for the conflict, it is probable that the genial Londoner would have added considerably to his tally of 14 appearances. Indeed, a telling measure of Goulden's stature is that his international honours were won when he was a player with West Ham United, then in the middle reaches of the Second Division. He specialised in switching the point of attack, suddenly and dramatically, with raking left-foot passes that could render helpless several opponents at a stroke.

Born in Hackney and raised in Plaistow, Goulden progressed rapidly as a teenager, winning selection for England schoolboys in 1926 and joining the Hammers as an amateur five years later. As was then the custom, he was farmed out to gain experience with local non-league clubs, in his case Chelmsford and Leyton, before turning professional at Upton Park in the spring of 1933. So eyecatching was Goulden's talent that he was pitchforked immediately into senior action, emerging as his team's star performer for the remainder of the decade.

Yet despite Goulden's frequently brilliant efforts, West Ham failed to gain promotion, and his only club honour was a Football League wartime cup medal, received for his part in victory over Blackburn Rovers at Wembley in 1940. There was stirring consolation in his country's colours, beginning with a scoring debut in the 6-0 thrashing of Norway in Oslo in 1937 and ending prematurely with the outbreak of war in 1939.

After the hostilities, during which he served in the police force, Goulden realised, then 33, that if he was to sample life in the First Division he would have to forsake the Hammers. Accordingly in 1945 he joined Chelsea in a £5,000 deal.

At Stamford Bridge, Goulden spent five largely fulfilling seasons, including a two-year stint fashioning bullets for the great centre-forward Tommy Lawton to fire and a later productive spell as a wing-half. Sadly, though, his trophy cabinet remained devoid of medals, the nearest he came to glory being an FA Cup semi-final defeat by Arsenal in 1950.

That year Goulden retired as a player, joining the Chelsea coaching staff before becoming boss of Watford in 1952. Alas, despite guiding the Hornets to fourth place in the Third Division (South) in 1954, he proved too easy going for management and was dismissed in 1956. There followed three years as a sub post master before a three-season return to Watford as part-time coach, two years passing on his knowledge in Libya and a spell in charge of non-league Banbury Town. A final coaching post with Oxford Utd in 1969 signalled his farewell to the game. Thereafter he worked on a USA Air Force base in Northamptonshire before retiring to Cornwall. Goulden, whose son Roy played briefly for Arsenal and Southend Utd, will be remembered as one of England's most cultured schemers and a humourous, immensely popular man. - The Independent Obituary

____________________

CG