Bobby Gould

Did You Know?

• Gould was born in Wyken, Coventry, Warwickshire on 12 June 1946, the son of Henry Gould and Helen McKellar Gould.
• He attended Caludon Castle School for his secondary education.
• His grandson Matt Gould is a goalkeeper who has played for Spennymoor Town and Altrincham.

Playing career

Bobby Gould was just 16 and still an apprentice when he made his first-team debut for Coventry City. He officially turned professional in June 1964. Playing as a striker, he netted 40 goals in 82 league matches for the Sky Blues and was part of the side that won the Second Division title in 1966–67. In February 1968, Arsenal paid £90,000 to bring him to London.

Gould found it hard to break into the first team regularly, though he did score a header in the 1969 League Cup Final against Swindon Town to take the game into extra time; Arsenal eventually lost 3–1. He was not involved in Arsenal’s European Fairs Cup final victory the following season, and by the end of the 1969–70 campaign he was on the fringes. He made two appearances and scored once in that cup run, against Glentoran. Wolves signed him in June 1970 for £55,000, and he debuted against Newcastle United that August.

After just 15 months, West Bromwich Albion manager Don Howe paid £66,666 for him. Gould made his Albion debut against Ipswich Town, forming a strike partnership with Jeff Astle, and scored 12 goals in his first season at the Hawthorns. In total, he scored 19 goals in 60 appearances for Albion before being sold to Bristol City for £68,888 in December 1972. West Ham United bought him for £80,000 in November 1973, and he picked up an FA Cup winners’ medal in 1975 as an unused substitute.

He returned to Wolves for £30,000 in December 1975 and helped them win the Second Division title in 1976–77. In October 1977, he moved to Bristol Rovers for £10,000 as player-coach. He coached Norwegian side Aalesunds FK from January to April 1978, then joined Hereford United as player-coach for £10,000 in September 1978.

Management and coaching career

Gould became assistant manager to Geoff Hurst at Chelsea in 1979. He began his managerial career with Bristol Rovers in October 1981 and returned to Coventry City as manager in May 1983, remaining until his sacking on 28 December 1984. A highlight was a 4–0 win over Liverpool on 10 December 1983, when Coventry defeated the eventual league, League Cup, and European Cup champions. Gould quickly returned to Bristol Rovers.

He is most famous for his achievements with Wimbledon, joining them in summer 1987 after their first First Division season. In his first season, Wimbledon beat Liverpool to win the 1988 FA Cup final at Wembley and finished seventh in the league. Gould remained with Wimbledon for two more seasons before stepping aside for assistant Ray Harford. In December 1990, he became assistant manager to Don Howe at Queen's Park Rangers, a role reversal from their Wimbledon partnership, but left after two months to manage West Bromwich Albion.

He could not prevent Albion's relegation to the Third Division at the end of 1990–91. In 1991–92, Albion narrowly missed the playoffs, and Gould left in June 1992 to join Coventry, where he and Howe were joint managers; Howe stepped down before the season, leaving Gould in sole charge.