In this week’s Coke Column, Giles discusses the January Transfer Window and how he spent his festive period.

Hi everyone, firstly I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope you had a very enjoyable Christmas.

I was training on Christmas Day, in fact we played a small game which was good fun. After training I drove back to London to have Christmas Lunch with my partner’s family before visiting my own family in the evening. My baby daughter got lots of presents and was really spoilt! She’s probably a bit young to know exactly what is going on at Christmas but it’s going to be fun spending this time of year with her over the next few years. I got some nice presents, one of which being the new Pro Evolution football game for the Playstation 3. I’m sure some of the players will be dropping in to have a game over the coming weeks. Due to the fixture pile up over the holiday season, New Year is quite a quiet affair for a footballer. Myself and my partner spent New Year’s Eve out for dinner with Ian Henderson and his girlfriend.

Over Christmas, football clubs often put on pantomines or comedy shows for the players. This year our youth team put on a nativity type pantomine where they had a bit of a joke at the other players expense! I escaped pretty much unscathed but some of the other players had a bit of mickey taking including the Manager!

We got a very good result at Huddersfield at the weekend but unfortunately couldn’t hold on for a win against Millwall yesterday. I’m back on track fitness wise and am hoping to be available for selection next week, possibly after featuring in a reserve match on Monday.

The January Transfer Window opened yesterday and there has been speculation over whether Bradley Johnson will stay or go, with a bid being put in for him from a Championship Club. Brad is one of my close mates and although it would be nice to play alongside him, if he does move on I’m sure he’ll do really well and I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on his progress.

I don’t actually agree with the concept of having Transfer Windows. I don’t know of any other industry where people are only allowed to move jobs at given times of year. It must really frustrate Managers. I’m sure this is why we see inflated prices, because numerous clubs end up scrapping for the same players. People say January is not always the best time to buy as the player needs to adjust to his new surroundings mid season. Some of the big clubs don’t seem to buy in January but it seems that Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United may all look to strengthen their ranks. The only possible argument I can see for having Transfer Windows is that clubs know exactly when they can and cannot buy players, and it means there is not disruption to squads throughout the year. To be honest though, I don’t know if that argument really stands up.

Hope you all have a great 2008 and I’ll see you again in 2 weeks!