Harding in pre-season training last week.
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Football: Harding raring to go after Achilles heals
By Charlie OliverJuly 09, 2009
WITH just 16 contracted players in the current squad, Aldershot Town need every one of them fighting fit for the start of the season.
So it’s good news that midfield maestro Ben Harding is fully recovered from an Achilles problem, which kept him out of the final third of last season.
“I feel really fit,” said Harding, speaking on Wednesday. “I’ve done every pre-season session and have had no problem at all with the injury.
“Training has been hard but enjoyable, with some really good routines introduced by the coaching team.
“That said, last week’s hot weather was awful. It was very hard to get through training and we all suffered a bit.
“Most people like the weather to be sunny in summer but this week’s rain has been a huge relief to all the players.”
Harding has been – and, hopefully, still is – a key player for Aldershot. When he plays well, the team is on song; his left foot is the conductor’s baton to the band of merry men around him.
Last season, however, was a frustrating one for the 24-year-old. He rarely had a poor game and there were moments of magic but, overall, at a higher level, he struggled to dictate play in the manner he had done so successfully in the club’s Conference triumph the season before.
Part of that was due to the slight tear in his Achilles; Harding finally gave in to the injury at the end of February but had been troubled by it for some time.
“I’m always one for playing through pain if an injury is just a niggle and won't get aggravated,” said Harding. That is borne out by his ever-present status in the first 18 months of Gary Waddock’s reign at the Rec.
"But I continued on for a good six weeks with the Achilles problem and that gradually made it worse," added Harding. "I was simply not playing to the standard that I know I can do. So it was time to take a rest and sort out the injury.”
With that mission accomplished, Harding can’t wait to get back playing, starting with the pre-season visit of Queens Park Rangers to the Rec on Saturday.
“We’ve got a nice little base after training together for a fortnight and now need to get match fit,” said Harding. “I don’t think we’ll be playing 90 minutes quite yet, I’m sure the players will share the time against QPR but it will be a very useful test to play against players of Championship standard.”
Harding has played at that level himself – and at League One, too – for Wimbledon, later becoming MK Dons.
“Having played at three different levels in the Football League, I feel that I know it pretty well,” said Harding.
“That all the squad now has experience of the League will hopefully stand us in good stead for this coming season.
“We did well up to a certain point last season but our form dipped. We must do better than that this time; we must all strive to have a good season, not just a good half of a season.”
Harding is hopeful that, despite financial restraints, Waddock will be able to add to his squad before the kick-off.
“There are only 16 of us at the moment and we would welcome new faces,” said Harding. “Let’s face it, with just a couple of injuries in the 16, we would be struggling. The Gaffer apparently has very little money to work with but I hope there will be one or two new arrivals.”
With Scott Davies no longer at the club, there will be an onus on Harding to chip in with a few more goals this season. Last season he managed three: a belter in the early victory at home to Bradford City and then two while he carried that Achilles injury, against Notts County and Exeter City.
“The Gaffer [Waddock] hasn’t really spoken about game situations too much yet,” said Harding. “But that will come now we are about to start playing. It will be interesting to see if we do change things a bit in midfield this season. Yes, with Scott Davies gone I may get to push forward more but we will have to wait and see.”
Harding is competing with Scott Donnelly and Lewis Chalmers for central midfield berths.
All at Aldershot know that Harding and Chalmers have dovetailed to great effect in the midfield in the Conference but whether they can do it in the Football League – Chalmers finished the season strongly but had only come into the team in Harding’s absence – remains to be seen.
“Lewis and I have combined well before,” said Harding. “I really enjoy playing with him but we’ll have to see if we both make the team this season. I’m just looking forward to playing again, after missing so much of last season.
“It is a very important campaign ahead for me. I am in the last year of my current contract and need to play well to earn another. That’s how it should be. In other jobs people have to work hard to gain their rewards and it’s the same for footballers.
“Now I need to go and do just that.”
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