World-renowned goalkeeper and goalie coach Jonathan Gould’s Napier City Rovers return.
Video / Neil Reid
Hanging in pride of place in Napier City Rovers’ clubrooms are precious keepsakes from one of their most famous ex-players, who went on to grace the Premier League and also win selection for Fifa’s 1998 World Cup.
The collection of match-issued and -worn goalkeeping jerseys - including Scotland, Norway, the Netherlands, West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City and Preston North End - tells part of the story of Jonathan Gould’s playing career.
But Gould played just four games as a goalkeeper for the club - with Clive Holmes being the regular selection between the posts, the future Scotland international played most of his footy in New Zealand as a centre back.
Thirty-five years on, memorabilia from his career - which spanned more than 400 professional games in goal in the UK, including 157 for Scottish giants Celtic - adorns part of the ceiling at his former club.
And he said that given what Napier City Rovers had provided to him and the wider Hawke’s Bay to his family in later years, the clubrooms were the best place for the priceless gear to be displayed.
Jonathan Gould goes through some routines with Napier City Rovers' new Danish import William Tonning. Photo / Neil Reid
“It’s always good to be back at a place you love,” he said. “And it’s not just the club or Napier, but the whole country.
“This is where it all started [for me]. I came out here in 1989 and was part of the National League-winning team... the first provincial club to win the National League.
“That has always been one of my fondest memories in the game. I grew up here really, in the nine or 10 months I was here [initially].”
A Scotland Fifa World Cup 1998 goalkeeper's jersey worn by Jonathan Gould and gifted to his former club Napier City Rovers. Photo / Neil Reid
But his path was blocked by Holmes, a player the future Scottish international said was “better than I was” at the time.
Gould went on to be an outfield player for much of his season at the club, with a highlight being scoring a goal in a National League clash against Manurewa, whose goalkeeper was All Whites veteran Frank van Hattum.
“When you’re a part of a team that’s successful, I don’t think it matters what you do,” he said of the positional switch. “You’ve just got to make sure you’re a big part of it.”
Future Scotland international goalkeeper Jonathan Gould (top row centre) played mostly as a defender during a stint at Napier City Rovers in 1989. Photo / Neil Reid
He said the club meant “everything” to him, adding: “It’s where my dream to become a professional footballer started.”
England beckoned after his season in New Zealand, playing for Clevedon Town, Halifax Town and West Bromwich Albion before breaking into the Premier League with Coventry City in 1992.
His footballing journey took him to Celtic in 1997, where he became a Scottish international and where he stayed until 2003.
Gould won the Scottish Premier League, Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup titles with Celtic.
A match programme from 1989 and one of the few games future Scottish World Cup player Jonathan Gould actually played in goal for Napier City Rovers. Photo / Neil Reid
As a young player - even when he was an outfield player - he had wanted to work as hard as he could to become a professional.
He credits a pep talk from his father Bobby Gould - who won the FA Cup as a player with West Ham in 1975 and as a manager in 1988 with Wimbledon - that set him on a path to chasing his pro footballing dream as a goalie.
“I was an outfield player, and it wasn’t until my dad had a big, harsh talk to me at the age of about 20,” Gould recalled.
“I think he said: ‘You’ve got no chance as an outfield player, you have to be a goalkeeper’. And that was when I made the decision [to be a goalkeeper] and worked really hard from that point.”
Napier City Rovers head coach Bill Robertson (left) and goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould at Park Island. Photo / Neil Reid
The Goulds reunited as a coaching duo in 2006, when Jonathan was head coach of Hawke’s Bay United and hired his father as an assistant.
Jonathan Gould has since made a career out of football as a goalkeeping coach, with his CV including stints with the Wellington Phoenix, the All Whites and English clubs West Bromwich Albion, Middlesborough, Preston North End and most recently Stoke City.
A managerial change at Stoke in December ended his tenure there and he is currently weighing up other options.
Gould - whose son Matthew has been an All Whites reserve goalkeeper - said it was a “privilege” to still be employed in a sport he loved. It was also an “honour” to be able to give something back, including to his beloved Napier City Rovers.
Jonathan Gould takes William Tonning through his paces during Napier City Rovers' pre-season campaign. Photo / Neil Reid
When asked what Jonathan Gould the coach would think of Jonathan Gould the player, he said: “As a coach, I would have seen myself as an agile, brave, communicative goalkeeper.
“I was quite fortunate because I played outfield and when I became a goalkeeper, I was pretty good with the ball at my feet.
“In this modern era where the keepers are required to do a big part of the build-up, I think I would actually be quite good at that. I think the modern-day coach would say: ‘Yeah, he’s the sort of player that can start an attack off’.”
Former international goalie and now goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould says young hopefuls need to block out the negativity and back themselves. Photo / Neil Reid
His best piece of advice for a young Kiwi keeper trying to break through was: “Just work hard and don’t listen to the criticism because there’s too much of it about nowadays.
Among the goalkeepers Gould spent time with at Napier City Rovers in the Central League pre-season campaign is 17-year-old Ben Graney.
Last year he was on the side’s substitutes bench at times during their 2023 Central League and National League campaigns but was not needed for action.
As a young keeper with ambitions to play professionally, Graney said having the chance to learn from someone like Gould was “everything you can ask for”.
Danish import William Tonning will be Napier City Rovers' No 1 goalkeeper in the upcoming Central League campaign. Photo / Neil Reid
The pair have worked together throughout Graney’s teenage years.
“As a young Hawke’s Bay boy growing up in football, Gouldy has introduced me to things that have opened my eyes to the professional level,” he said.
As well as access to Gould’s expertise, Napier City Rovers’ goalies are also put through their paces throughout the season by club stalwart and Chatham Cup and Central League winner Kyle Baxter.
Ben Graney (right) during a coaching session taken by former Scottish international goalkeeper and prominent UK-based goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould during Napier City Rovers pre-season training.
Photo / Neil Reid
Graney, a Taradale High School student, will travel to Australia as part of the 17-strong New Zealand Secondary School Under-19 team.
He said it wasn’t only Gould’s advice that inspired him, so too did his collection of jerseys that hang in the clubrooms.
“I try and kind of imagine just seeing my shirt maybe up there one day,” Graney said.
“[Seeing Gouldy’s jerseys] gives me motivation to do well as a keeper as I can.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
