Festive party will be far better if we pocket home win
BACK OF THE NET
I’D LOVE to get to 100 goals for the Vale, but it’s not something I spend every waking hour thinking about. So, yes it was good to get to 98 with a late equaliser at Morecambe, but it was more important to me that it helped us get a point - just as the result at Cheltenham this weekend is the most important thing.
For starters, it’s the players’ Christmas do on Saturday night so we’ll enjoy that a lot more if we win, never mind who scores!
If the lads keep providing me with the service then I am confident that I’ll get there sooner rather than later. Mind you, if we play like we did for the first 80 minutes at Morecambe last week then it could take me a couple of years.
It wasn’t great last week, was it? We got a point in the end, but it wasn’t how we wanted to play having gone into the game on the back of that 3-0 win at Yeovil and the 4-0 win over Stoke.
We knew it would be tough at Morecambe because they fight for absolutely everything. They had the wind in their favour in the first half so it was difficult, but that’s not an excuse. They started brightly and won everything - and we didn’t. To be brutal, it looked like a lot of us wanted to be anywhere else but there for that first half.
So, having got out of it with a point we have to make sure we are a lot better at home to Cheltenham.
They are another side I expect to be aggressive and strong. Like Morecambe, they will have one of the lower budgets in the division so they make up for that by fighting for every point.
Our games against them epitomise our inconsistency and League Two. We played well to win 3-1 at home last season, but then got thumped 5-1 away.
Turn up to this one like we did last week and we will be lucky to get anything. Leon Legge has returned to training this week after suffering epileptic seizures.
It’s been great to have Leon Legge back at the club and in training after he was out of action last week having suffered epileptic seizures.
Leon spoke very impressively in the media about his condition this week, which doesn’t surprise me at all because he is a very open, genuinely nice guy.
Don’t tell him, but I missed him. Usually he’s one of the first in. I get there early straight from the school run so it’s me, Scott Brown, Antony Kay, Louis Dodds and Leggey - it wasn’t the same last week.
I missed our training battles too.
As much as he is a big-hearted, generous fella off the pitch, he is an old-fashioned centre-half on it. I think of myself as an old-fashioned centre forward and I do enjoy testing myself against him. Neither of us is happy at all if we lose a header in training.
More importantly, I am sure the manager is pleased to have Leon back and available because he’s been very impressive on the pitch.
Contracts have been mentioned this week, with news that the club could make offers to players pretty soon.
In my case, the chairman has spoken to me a bit and said he wants me to stay. I don’t want to go anywhere so, if the deal is right for me, and reflects my contribution over the last 18 months, then I won’t hold the club to ransom.
I am lucky to play for my local club and the club I support so I don’t really want to go.
There are the practical considerations as well. For example, because I live in the area then it’s not worth me accepting slightly more to play elsewhere and then spending it all on petrol, so that’s different for a player who lives out of the area anyway.
Let’s see what happens. But if a deal is right then yes of course I would like to get it sorted as soon as possible.