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I’VE been watching Josh Vela play football for a good few years, and to the best of my recollection, I’ve never seen him score.
For all his undoubted attributes as a footballer, the Wanderers midfielder has never been one I’d peg down as a goal-getter. But that, it seems, could be about to change.
Vela’s fourth-minute strike at Scunthorpe United was brilliantly crafted by Liam Feeney, Rob Hall and Dean Moxey and you could tell from the Salfordian’s reaction at the time that it was no run-of-the-mill pre-season tap-in.
After the final whistle, I caught up with the 21-year-old, still clearly buzzing from his first full 90 minutes of the season – and the first, we hope, of many.
“I’m not sure when my last goal was,” he said, “the reserves maybe?”
I thought for a moment that the reference to development squad football was a sly dig to where he was at this stage 12 months ago – but Vela is getting better at this media game, and he quickly continued.
“It’s about time I got one then, isn’t it? The problem is I always look to pass. I need to start shooting more. You shoot, you score.”
Pre-season has been a stop-start affair for Vela so far; sent home from Austria with a virus, he has been playing catch-up with the rest of the squad to this point.
“It started okay, I was running with everyone else,” he said. “But after Austria, I was sick. Then it was 15 minutes at Morecambe, 70 the other night at Oldham and then 90 here. Everything’s back in top shape now.”
Vela’s journey from outcast under Dougie Freedman to key man for Neil Lennon was one of last season’s rare success stories but the youngster has loftier plans for this year.
“I want to get a spot in the team, hopefully midfield, get in the mix with goals and set a few up maybe – I’d be happy with that.
“There’s a lot of competition in there, six or seven of us, but if the manager plays a three then I’ve got a bit more chance either in a sitting role or a bit further forward, like I played at Liverpool or Sheffield Wednesday last season.”
At that point one of Glanford Park’s sprinklers decided to interrupt the interview but there was no dampening down Vela’s enthusiasm for the new campaign, which he feels can yield some success for Wanderers.
For all the talk of off-the-field problems at the Macron, on it, the players are still confident they can do a job for Lennon.
“I don’t bother with any of it [reports on finances] and try to ignore it,” he said. “We’ve got some quality players here. Mark Davies is probably one of the best players in the Championship.
“We’ve got a good squad and if we can get the same 11 most weeks then I reckon we’ll be up there.
“Hopefully we can push on higher than we were last season. We’ve got a hard start but it has to be better than last year – we’ll see what we can do with it.”
With greater responsibility in the team comes added attention, and like team-mate Zach Clough, Vela has suddenly found himself in the limelight, in his case literally the poster boy of the new season.
Media scrutiny will follow but he insists his own press does not cause him any sleepless nights.
“I read it sometimes, the negatives and the positives,” he said. “You know that it won’t always be good. You get slated one week and then you score and everyone loves you again.”
Vela is clearly getting to grips with this senior football lark.
“There is more attention. I don’t mind it.
“It’s a big thing for me hearing fans singing my name, or seeing it on shirts, especially being a local lad from the Academy. It’s great.”
Given the financial circumstances at Wanderers, there is perhaps a greater onus on home-grown players to be an immediate success in the first team, but Vela believes it could be to the club’s benefit that he, Zach Clough, Tom Walker et al are all making the grade together.
“The more young lads through, the better,” he said. “It has to be good for the club.
“The older lads like the younger ones coming through – they’ve been great with us – and so do the fans. It gives them a big lift because we’re exactly the same as them.”
Before the end, I thought I’d ask if the return of a certain manager with Nottingham Forest on August 22 would have any added significance.
“Nah,” he grinned. “Just another game.”
Vela is indeed getting used to this media malarkey.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13500929.Goal_marks_a_coming_of_age_for_Wanderers__midfield_star_Josh_Vela/
For all his undoubted attributes as a footballer, the Wanderers midfielder has never been one I’d peg down as a goal-getter. But that, it seems, could be about to change.
Vela’s fourth-minute strike at Scunthorpe United was brilliantly crafted by Liam Feeney, Rob Hall and Dean Moxey and you could tell from the Salfordian’s reaction at the time that it was no run-of-the-mill pre-season tap-in.
After the final whistle, I caught up with the 21-year-old, still clearly buzzing from his first full 90 minutes of the season – and the first, we hope, of many.
“I’m not sure when my last goal was,” he said, “the reserves maybe?”
I thought for a moment that the reference to development squad football was a sly dig to where he was at this stage 12 months ago – but Vela is getting better at this media game, and he quickly continued.
“It’s about time I got one then, isn’t it? The problem is I always look to pass. I need to start shooting more. You shoot, you score.”
Pre-season has been a stop-start affair for Vela so far; sent home from Austria with a virus, he has been playing catch-up with the rest of the squad to this point.
“It started okay, I was running with everyone else,” he said. “But after Austria, I was sick. Then it was 15 minutes at Morecambe, 70 the other night at Oldham and then 90 here. Everything’s back in top shape now.”
Vela’s journey from outcast under Dougie Freedman to key man for Neil Lennon was one of last season’s rare success stories but the youngster has loftier plans for this year.
“I want to get a spot in the team, hopefully midfield, get in the mix with goals and set a few up maybe – I’d be happy with that.
“There’s a lot of competition in there, six or seven of us, but if the manager plays a three then I’ve got a bit more chance either in a sitting role or a bit further forward, like I played at Liverpool or Sheffield Wednesday last season.”
At that point one of Glanford Park’s sprinklers decided to interrupt the interview but there was no dampening down Vela’s enthusiasm for the new campaign, which he feels can yield some success for Wanderers.
For all the talk of off-the-field problems at the Macron, on it, the players are still confident they can do a job for Lennon.
“I don’t bother with any of it [reports on finances] and try to ignore it,” he said. “We’ve got some quality players here. Mark Davies is probably one of the best players in the Championship.
“We’ve got a good squad and if we can get the same 11 most weeks then I reckon we’ll be up there.
“Hopefully we can push on higher than we were last season. We’ve got a hard start but it has to be better than last year – we’ll see what we can do with it.”
With greater responsibility in the team comes added attention, and like team-mate Zach Clough, Vela has suddenly found himself in the limelight, in his case literally the poster boy of the new season.
Media scrutiny will follow but he insists his own press does not cause him any sleepless nights.
“I read it sometimes, the negatives and the positives,” he said. “You know that it won’t always be good. You get slated one week and then you score and everyone loves you again.”
Vela is clearly getting to grips with this senior football lark.
“There is more attention. I don’t mind it.
“It’s a big thing for me hearing fans singing my name, or seeing it on shirts, especially being a local lad from the Academy. It’s great.”
Given the financial circumstances at Wanderers, there is perhaps a greater onus on home-grown players to be an immediate success in the first team, but Vela believes it could be to the club’s benefit that he, Zach Clough, Tom Walker et al are all making the grade together.
“The more young lads through, the better,” he said. “It has to be good for the club.
“The older lads like the younger ones coming through – they’ve been great with us – and so do the fans. It gives them a big lift because we’re exactly the same as them.”
Before the end, I thought I’d ask if the return of a certain manager with Nottingham Forest on August 22 would have any added significance.
“Nah,” he grinned. “Just another game.”
Vela is indeed getting used to this media malarkey.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/13500929.Goal_marks_a_coming_of_age_for_Wanderers__midfield_star_Josh_Vela/