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Ben Herd on a frustrating defeat, David Beckham and Shrewsbury Town
Well, it has been another frustrating week for us at Aldershot, after taking a well deserved lead against Bradford we were then pegged back by two sucker punch goals against the run of play. In fairness, the two Bradford goals were two great goals, as much as it pains me to say it, the cross for the first goal wouldn't look out of place in the Premier League and as for the second, it was an absolute thunderbolt from Omer Daley. In truth, I think we bossed the game from then on in and had a great opportunity to draw level, but unfortunately Marlon Jackson’s header went wide - somehow! The mood in training is much the same as it has been all season to be honest with you, which is very good. I don't want to harp on about if we win this game, or do this or that, then we will make the play-offs. I am going to let the football do the talking and then we will see where that takes us, as they say, talk is cheap.
The disappointment of losing at Bradford is hard to take, but spare a thought for how David Beckham is feeling right now. In my opinion, you can only admire David Beckham’s career, countless times he has come back from adversity and went from villain after France 98 to become a national treasure when he scored that free-kick against Greece to book England’s place for the 2002 World Cup. The tear of the Achilles tendon is probably the worst injury any footballer can sustain. I remember my old team mate, Ben Davies, suffered the same fate at the end of a play-off semi final game. The worst injury I have ever had was in an away match against Barnet. At the time, the Physio thought I had broken my leg, but in actual fact my tibia bone had smashed into my talus, in lay terms: my studs got caught in the turf and my leg bone smashed into the top of my foot bone. When I went to see the specialist, he gave me the shock of my life when he said I was within millimetres of never playing again - talk about having a bit of a shock. Going back to Becks, it does seem even more unjust that he will miss out on the World Cup, because I am sure going to Milan to play games was the whole point in his preparation for the World Cup. Becks is obviously a very dedicated trainer, you often hear about him practicing free kicks for hours. On the flip side, I would have to say the laziest trainer I have ever come across is definitely my current team-mate, Marvin Morgan - I don't think I have ever seen him break sweat in training!
One player in our League this season that most definitely broken sweat is Craig Dawson, who was named FourFourTwo's player of the year for League 2 - they obviously haven't been down to "The Rec" to watch Aldershot's number two have they! In all seriousness, I have played against Dawson this season and happily enough, he didn't manage to score past us, but did look very impressive. He has had a fantastic season and considering he was playing non-league football this time last year, his achievement is even more staggering. Out of all the players that I have come across this season, I would have to say the best has been another Rochdale player, Chris Dagnall. His movement off the ball was a class apart and I don't think he will be at Rochdale for much longer.
Next up for us on Saturday is my old team, Shrewsbury. I won't lie to you, this fixture was the first one I looked at when they came out and it is unbelievable that it has come around so quickly. It is an important match for both teams, as we are both hovering outside of the play-off places. I will approach this game just as I do any other, but in my mind I have a point to prove, to show that I have become a better player.
Ask Herdy questions:
Are we (Aldershot) going to make the play-offs? Clive in Aldershot
I hope so, we have the ability in the squad to put together a decent run. I don't think that there will be a better time to get out of this division either, with all the financial problems going on, so it really is up to us.
Would you ever go back and play for Shrewsbury again? Peter in Belle Vue
I had four great years playing and living in Shrewsbury and I always look out for their results. People say that you should never go back, as it is never quite how you remembered it. The fans were always very good to me and that would be the main reason for going back, if I ever did.
Do you have any pre-match superstitions? Boots on in a certain order? Kath in Reading
Sadly, no, other than peeing in the same urinal! I believe that if you have trained hard and prepared right, then you are in the best possible shape to go into the game.
The disappointment of losing at Bradford is hard to take, but spare a thought for how David Beckham is feeling right now. In my opinion, you can only admire David Beckham’s career, countless times he has come back from adversity and went from villain after France 98 to become a national treasure when he scored that free-kick against Greece to book England’s place for the 2002 World Cup. The tear of the Achilles tendon is probably the worst injury any footballer can sustain. I remember my old team mate, Ben Davies, suffered the same fate at the end of a play-off semi final game. The worst injury I have ever had was in an away match against Barnet. At the time, the Physio thought I had broken my leg, but in actual fact my tibia bone had smashed into my talus, in lay terms: my studs got caught in the turf and my leg bone smashed into the top of my foot bone. When I went to see the specialist, he gave me the shock of my life when he said I was within millimetres of never playing again - talk about having a bit of a shock. Going back to Becks, it does seem even more unjust that he will miss out on the World Cup, because I am sure going to Milan to play games was the whole point in his preparation for the World Cup. Becks is obviously a very dedicated trainer, you often hear about him practicing free kicks for hours. On the flip side, I would have to say the laziest trainer I have ever come across is definitely my current team-mate, Marvin Morgan - I don't think I have ever seen him break sweat in training!
One player in our League this season that most definitely broken sweat is Craig Dawson, who was named FourFourTwo's player of the year for League 2 - they obviously haven't been down to "The Rec" to watch Aldershot's number two have they! In all seriousness, I have played against Dawson this season and happily enough, he didn't manage to score past us, but did look very impressive. He has had a fantastic season and considering he was playing non-league football this time last year, his achievement is even more staggering. Out of all the players that I have come across this season, I would have to say the best has been another Rochdale player, Chris Dagnall. His movement off the ball was a class apart and I don't think he will be at Rochdale for much longer.
Next up for us on Saturday is my old team, Shrewsbury. I won't lie to you, this fixture was the first one I looked at when they came out and it is unbelievable that it has come around so quickly. It is an important match for both teams, as we are both hovering outside of the play-off places. I will approach this game just as I do any other, but in my mind I have a point to prove, to show that I have become a better player.
Ask Herdy questions:
Are we (Aldershot) going to make the play-offs? Clive in Aldershot
I hope so, we have the ability in the squad to put together a decent run. I don't think that there will be a better time to get out of this division either, with all the financial problems going on, so it really is up to us.
Would you ever go back and play for Shrewsbury again? Peter in Belle Vue
I had four great years playing and living in Shrewsbury and I always look out for their results. People say that you should never go back, as it is never quite how you remembered it. The fans were always very good to me and that would be the main reason for going back, if I ever did.
Do you have any pre-match superstitions? Boots on in a certain order? Kath in Reading
Sadly, no, other than peeing in the same urinal! I believe that if you have trained hard and prepared right, then you are in the best possible shape to go into the game.
Send in your questions for Ben to askherdy@bigtips.co.uk
Posted: Thursday, March 18th, 2010 @ 11:03 am by Ben Herd
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