Stevenage have been busy in manager Alan Revell’s first transfer window since his return to the club and may have just pulled off one of the most impressive signings of the summer by securing defender Charlie Goode on a free transfer after the player was released by Brentford.Â
The 29-year-old made six Premier League appearances for Brentford in 2021, four of which were starts, but has been sent out on loan on numerous occasions since joining the Bees from Northampton in 2020. His most recent spell was with Wigan Athletic, where he played 13 times in the second half of 2023/24.
Promising Defender Struggles for Regular First Team Action
The central defender made his breakthrough with Scunthorpe United and played 85 times for the club in five years but failed to become a regular starter. A move to Northampton is where Charlie Goode highlighted his immense talent. He was initially deployed as a right-back but became a regular in the middle in the 2019/20 season.
Goode started all but one of Northampton’s League Two regular season matches in the Covid disrupted campaign and was one of the standout players in the division as the Cobblers secured a play-off place. The defender captained the side on a couple of occasions in their run to the FA Cup fourth round.
There was no team of the season announced due to the pandemic delaying the end of the season but there is little doubt that Goode would have been a fixture in the line-up as he led Northampton to a 4-0 victory over Exeter City in the play-off final. He ranked first in League Two of all players for clearances per game and ranked second in the division for blocks per game.
Then-Championship side Brentford signed Goode at the end of that season but he would feature in just eight league games in that promotion-winning campaign. Subsequent loan spells with Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United failed to produce consistent game time and he will now be looking to reignite a career that had promised so much more.
Stevenage Sign Replacement After Losing Key Defender
It has all changed at Stevenage in 2024 with manager Alex Revell taking charge after the departure of Steve Evans, who joined Rotherham United in April. Evans had led Boro to promotion to League Two in 2022/23 and they impressed in the third tier with a ninth-place finish last season.
They have lost Terence Vancooten to Burton Albion, who was a key component of the defence that had the fourth-best record in League One. Carl Piergianni and Dan Sweeney have stayed put and with Stevenage effective with a back three in 2023/24, they moved to secure a deal for Charlie Goode.
The defender is an excellent addition and will arguably strengthen an already rock-solid defence if he can return to the form that he displayed while at Northampton. It will be difficult for Boro to replicate their exploits from last season but they have secured a coup by bringing in the defender and should avoid any possible second-season syndrome.
League One appears to have several teams that are capable and expecting to compete or finish in a play-off position and from the outset it would appear Stevenage lack enough firepower to move further up the table. They rely on Jamie Reid for goals but have signed forward Louis Appéré from Northampton to boost their options.
Appéré scored six goals for the Cobblers in 2023/24 but they may look to Tyreece Simpson who has arrived from Huddersfield Town. The 22-year-old is a promising talent and will be looking to recapture the form he had during a loan spell with Swindon Town in the first half of the 2021/22 campaign, where he scored nine goals.