The retired footballer Ed de Goey was a key player in the Blues’ League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup victories a year later. Following his retirement, De Goey transitioned into coaching and worked with QPR and Eredivisie side RKC Waalwijk. In 2018, he joined Dutch fifth-tier side VOC Rotterdam, where he remains today.
De Goey, a cult hero amongst the west Londoners, was unaware of his impending departure from the team in 2003. In a 2020 interview with the club’s website, he expressed his surprise, saying, “No, I didn’t know at all…The strange thing was, in a meeting with [Claudio] Ranieri he told me I was getting older and he wanted more young keepers. But then straight after my meeting he called the young goalkeeper [Rhys Evans], who played for England Under-21s too, and told him to leave as well!”
De Goey mentioned having mixed feelings about leaving the team but acknowledged that ultimately, he could not change Ranieri’s decision as the manager.
