Here is the latest entry from Dean Ashton's online diary. I've reprinted it here to save people having to register for the site.
England rumours make me laugh!
By Dean Ashton
It was such a special feeling to finally score again. It had been a long time. It's great to finally get a reward and see some return for all the hard work I have done over the past year. I know strikers are always classed on their goals and I am no different, it's just nice to get off the mark.
For some strikers getting that first goal of the season can hang over you. But it's not like that for me – just to be back playing is good. I knew the goals would come. But in other peoples' eyes I think it shows that I still know where the goal is.
Not only is it a welcome return to the scoresheet, it's the whole package - the fans singing, celebrating with your team-mates, all of that - I've Missed it. My team-mates were all there for me when I was injured and they've seen what it's been like for me, so I am glad that they were there to see me score. There's been no mention of a biscuit bonus yet, but I'm still eating them the night before a game. I'll always stick to that – it's just one of those things that has stuck. Maybe I'll get one at the end of the season!
As for my targets, they haven’t changed since before I got injured. I always want to better the season before, in terms of goals, games and performances and of course getting myself back into the England squad.
In the ankle itself, there's not really been any feeling since I've been playing again. It's all to do with my joint, so I still have to manage it a little bit. I went to see the specialist and he was really pleased with my progress, but it's not one of those things that goes away. I'll have to deal with it for a little longer, carry on doing special exercises and training extra hard for example. People won't notice that though, it will be me behind the scenes doing the work.
We're in sixth place going into the weekend and the mood is a lot lighter around the place, especially looking back at last season. When you are winning games things are very rosy and we have made a good start. But we don’t want it to be just that, we want it to continue. Hopefully by Christmas we will be in the same position.
We've still got quite a few players out injured as well. It shows that throughout the side we've got quality players, and youngsters. There are plenty of players to come back and credit must go to those who have come in. It shows that we can take a few injuries and still be good for it.
We've got Newcastle on Sunday, up at St James' Park and now that I've had a taste of getting back into the goals, I want more. It was really nice to get that goal against Boro, but I feel so good now that I want to play every match, improve, and score as many goals as I can. It's an addictive feeling.
It looks like Michael Owen might be out for this one. If that’s true, then it's good news for West Ham. Michael's a world class player. Then again, they do have fantastic forwards in their team, so we're going to have to be on top of our game no matter what.
One final thing – I had to laugh this week when I saw all the stories in the papers about me being on standby for England because of the suit I was sent. That suit was from when I was in the squad before I got injured. At that time they were sorting official suits out for whoever was in the squad. They happened to put me and my measurements down to get my suit done before the ankle break, and it has taken a year to get to me! But the coincidence is that it got sent through at the same time as Emile Heskey got injured.
People have put two and two together and got five. I haven’t got a clue how the papers knew I'd got it either. I just laughed, I can't stop it happening. I know the truth behind it though, and that's that the people who made the suit just had the kindness to send it on…
Taken from Icons.com
England rumours make me laugh!
By Dean Ashton
It was such a special feeling to finally score again. It had been a long time. It's great to finally get a reward and see some return for all the hard work I have done over the past year. I know strikers are always classed on their goals and I am no different, it's just nice to get off the mark.
For some strikers getting that first goal of the season can hang over you. But it's not like that for me – just to be back playing is good. I knew the goals would come. But in other peoples' eyes I think it shows that I still know where the goal is.
Not only is it a welcome return to the scoresheet, it's the whole package - the fans singing, celebrating with your team-mates, all of that - I've Missed it. My team-mates were all there for me when I was injured and they've seen what it's been like for me, so I am glad that they were there to see me score. There's been no mention of a biscuit bonus yet, but I'm still eating them the night before a game. I'll always stick to that – it's just one of those things that has stuck. Maybe I'll get one at the end of the season!
As for my targets, they haven’t changed since before I got injured. I always want to better the season before, in terms of goals, games and performances and of course getting myself back into the England squad.
In the ankle itself, there's not really been any feeling since I've been playing again. It's all to do with my joint, so I still have to manage it a little bit. I went to see the specialist and he was really pleased with my progress, but it's not one of those things that goes away. I'll have to deal with it for a little longer, carry on doing special exercises and training extra hard for example. People won't notice that though, it will be me behind the scenes doing the work.
We're in sixth place going into the weekend and the mood is a lot lighter around the place, especially looking back at last season. When you are winning games things are very rosy and we have made a good start. But we don’t want it to be just that, we want it to continue. Hopefully by Christmas we will be in the same position.
We've still got quite a few players out injured as well. It shows that throughout the side we've got quality players, and youngsters. There are plenty of players to come back and credit must go to those who have come in. It shows that we can take a few injuries and still be good for it.
We've got Newcastle on Sunday, up at St James' Park and now that I've had a taste of getting back into the goals, I want more. It was really nice to get that goal against Boro, but I feel so good now that I want to play every match, improve, and score as many goals as I can. It's an addictive feeling.
It looks like Michael Owen might be out for this one. If that’s true, then it's good news for West Ham. Michael's a world class player. Then again, they do have fantastic forwards in their team, so we're going to have to be on top of our game no matter what.
One final thing – I had to laugh this week when I saw all the stories in the papers about me being on standby for England because of the suit I was sent. That suit was from when I was in the squad before I got injured. At that time they were sorting official suits out for whoever was in the squad. They happened to put me and my measurements down to get my suit done before the ankle break, and it has taken a year to get to me! But the coincidence is that it got sent through at the same time as Emile Heskey got injured.
People have put two and two together and got five. I haven’t got a clue how the papers knew I'd got it either. I just laughed, I can't stop it happening. I know the truth behind it though, and that's that the people who made the suit just had the kindness to send it on…
Taken from Icons.com
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