Topic: Emile Heskey

[Mimi]

We have only one centre forward in the squad in Torres and he cannot play every game.  He's available for Europe and would be happy to be rotated in and out the side.

I think for Rafa the forward leading the line has to have pace. So why not Babel or N'Gog? Buying Heskey instead of giving Babel a chance in his favored position, will set those complaining of Rafa's treatment of Babel off again.

[4pool]

Bcause Rafa likes options. Heskey would give him someone who can batter his way against the likes of Arsenal who hate that type of striker. Along with someone to rest Torres. Keane could play off Emile. Torres can't play 65 matches for us a season and Ngog or Babel aren't physically strong enough like Heskey. Not to mention Heskeys touch isn't bad bringing others into play. Before anyone starts all players have off days with their touch.

The down side for Emile is he won't start very often.

[Bob Loblaw]

Put it this way, if England didn't win their next couple of games then it would be back to saying "Heskey offers very little threat" or "why does he persist in playing Heskey upfront?" etc.

Thats the whole England set-up summed up though really. Fickle.

[Terry de Niro]

Thats the whole England set-up summed up though really. Fickle.

and the Irish aren't? 

[Mimi]

Bcause Rafa likes options. Heskey would give him someone who can batter his way against the likes of Arsenal who hate that type of striker. Along with someone to rest Torres. Keane could play off Emile. Torres can't play 65 matches for us a season and Ngog or Babel aren't physically strong enough like Heskey. Not to mention Heskeys touch isn't bad bringing others into play. Before anyone starts all players have off days with their touch.

Then what is the point of Dirk Kuyt? Aren't he and Heskey relatively the same type of player? Kuyt is just a little more consistent for us, mentally stronger, and has CL experience. Plus, I think Babel has improved on his fitness quite a bit, does not get shrugged off so easily anymore. Rather have his pace and flashes of brilliance than Heskey to lead the line.

[Benimar Col]

Emile Heskey pre  Liverpool,  looked good in a shite Leicester team, scored a few decent goals and grafted.  6 out of 10

Emile Heskey at Liverpool  was useless in Houlliers team, couldnt control a ball if his life depended on it, didnt score many goals.  4 out of 10

Emile Heskey post Liverpool getting rave reviews for Wigan and Ingerland, matured, still stronger, does he go down as much as he used to ?  still not a prolific goalscorer.    5 out of 10

Emile Heskey Liverpool mark 2   no fcukin chance,  thank you very much

[4pool]

Kuyt.

The difference is Emile probably holds the line better and has a slight better touch. Dirk is not one going to batter defenders like Emile does. Or take the kicking Emile does in the middle. Dirk plays on the wing for us and Holland where he cuts inside alot. Dirk would benefit from Heskey being in the middle. Just like Keane would. And it would give Riera a target man for crosses.

But that's just my 2p worth.

[IloveGuinness17]

Heskey as a player certainly isn't the worst but to have him back here, I think, would be taking us backwards.

[Degs]

Kuyt.

The difference is Emile probably holds the line better and has a slight better touch. Dirk is not one going to batter defenders like Emile does. Or take the kicking Emile does in the middle. Dirk plays on the wing for us and Holland where he cuts inside alot. Dirk would benefit from Heskey being in the middle. Just like Keane would. And it would give Riera a target man for crosses.

But that's just my 2p worth.

Heskey doesn't batter defences in England though, he goes on his arse.
He's looked OK for England because continental refs will blow as soon as he's down.
"Heskey has won a free kick".

Kuyt does alot of work for us, Heskey just stands on the edge of the area and falls on his arse.
He occasionally drifts over to the left hand side when he isn't seeing the ball and gets in the way of other players.

He's getting rave reviews at Wigan because there you are allowed 1 good game in every 4 or 5.  Here you have to be top quality for near enough every single game.  Heskey doesn't have the level of consistancy required for a top 4 team.

[mikeb58]

Still looks cumbersome to me, I was surprised at that bit of pace and footwork to create Rooneys goal the other night.

He doesn't do that often enough though, and still never likely to get you that all important match winner when you need it most.

Our main rivals wouldn't take Heskey, why should we. Thought we'd moved on from this sort of buy ( or on a free, either way )

[fowlermagic]

Options??..Torres then Kuyt then Babel then Keane and if pushed SG...all of these proably average more goals per game than Heskey if & when leading the line.

[Chivasino]

Emile Heskey at Liverpool  was useless in Houlliers team, couldnt control a ball if his life depended on it, didnt score many goals.  4 out of 10

Did you take into account his first full season with us? And the fact he was constantly played out of position during the latter part of his time with us? Agreed he wasn't world class, but he was far from useless.

[Garstonite]

Heskey 2000-2002 was phenomenal. But towards the end of Houllier's reign, he summed up everything that was frustrating about us then: one-dimensional, lazy, frustrating. I haven't really properly tracked his career since he's left us. He never catches my eye when I'm watching Wigan, which probably says everything there is to be said.

[xavidub]

Being linked with us but please god no, not particularly good at anything.

[redprodigal]

Kuyt.

The difference is Emile probably holds the line better and has a slight better touch. Dirk is not one going to batter defenders like Emile does. Or take the kicking Emile does in the middle. Dirk plays on the wing for us and Holland where he cuts inside alot. Dirk would benefit from Heskey being in the middle. Just like Keane would. And it would give Riera a target man for crosses.

But that's just my 2p worth.

You're right in all points. He would be a good second option in our current squad and would be a good squad player to have  but we can't afford his wages now if any of the news over the last 24 hours is true.
We should really be looking more to the future anyway.

[gamble]

slow news week for me, that's why this has all come up plus we are playing wigan this weekend. makes a nice story. heskey can do a specific job for a team. i don't know if that is what we need though now. we don't have a problem making chances it's putting them away that counts.

i do think though, had emile been here in rafa's first season, rafa could have made better use of him than houllier did, just as rafa used igor.

[wacko]

i do think though, had emile been here in rafa's first season, rafa could have made better use of him than houllier did, just as rafa used igor.

Rafa's kind of player. Works hard for the team, and Rafa preferred a bigger, stronger forward over a fox-in-the-box in Spain.

[GinKop]

It's just the latest bandwagon Fleet Street have jumped on. After some average performances, they couldn't fill there column inches with Walcott, so now Emile is the new in thing.

As someone said above, typical fickle England circus bollocks.

[MagicHat]

England are scoring goals at the moment (though with James in goal and Terry injured, we are conceding a fair bit), we are playing fairly well and we have had a fantastic start in terms of results. Lots to be pleased at and Heskey can be pleased too but why the surprise over the fuss? The press is hardly known for being objective

After the Czech game, Capello was being criticized, Gerrard on the left was a crime, England were doomed, now Capello is a genius, Gerrard (who the press only last weekend wanted dropped) is now a great option on the left and the team must be built around him in the center... Now there tend to be valid points in the mist of the hype if you look hard enough, I'm not saying parts of things said against the Czech's are not true, some said things now may also be true but we need a middle ground. We are not world class but we are not an utterly poor side either, balance is needed.

I remember when Heskey was recalled by McClaren, it was considered a last act of lunacy to reunite a old partnership. Lots of laughter and we went out and smashed two good sides 3-0 with Heskey at the heart of things. As this was only last year and we remember what happened when he got injured, it has kept in the mind. Then we struggle under Capello but score twice when Heskey is on against Andorra and we all know what happens. Heskey is being connected with the good times under Sven, under McClaren and now under Capello. It helps that against Croatia, he was praised by Rooney who has gone from overatted struggler to wonderboy.

Now Heskey is the Saviour and old fashioned target man that will tear defenses apart. When we struggle, which at some point we will do so and Heskey misses a chance or two, suddenly he will be the wasteful plodder who doesn't score enough. The truth is somewhere in between, I do think he is perhaps more consistent then he was and if anything, better suited to the team then he was under Sven, he can hold in the center or drift out wide and perhaps team now uses him better. Yet he is still the same guy he was under Sven, someone the team can play around and who defenders hate.

[Paul JH]

Emile Heskey at Liverpool  was useless in Houlliers team, couldnt control a ball if his life depended on it, didnt score many goals.  4 out of 10

Absolute rubbish. Didn't score many goals? So the 22 he banged in in his first season don't count? And his good partnership with Owen is a myth? Not only that, I seem to remember him putting in a great performance in a lot of big games.

If there's one thing I understand less than the press now saying Heskey is a world beater, (he isn't), are the Liverpool fans who claim he was ALWAYS shite for us. (He wasn't).

We should really be looking more to the future anyway.

Would have said that about England, but it hasn't stopped Heskey being part of a team that's suddenly looked like a good one and being a better partner for Rooney than anyone else on offer

[Juan Loco]

Building him up to knock him back down again. No more than that.

I quite like him as it goes, but his career has been ruined by how 'nice' he is. If he was a c*nt with an aggressive streak he would have made alot more of himself than he has. British Drogba...perhaps not. But Adebayor without the shit dance? Maybe.

[Matt S]

I like him. Always liked him when he was here, but a return? I don't think so. Better than Voronin, but if crouch couldn't get a game how is heskey going to?

[Joe Rogans Chin]

As soon as Capello got the job i said to me mates that he would get back in the england sqaud.

Facts are, Heskey is / was highly rated in Italy circa our 2001 Uefa cup win  in 2001.

Benitz would have liked him for a seaon in 2004 prior to his sale to Birmingham

He's played in all Engerland's most impresive and important victories since 2001.

Wouldn't be at all suprised if he ends up back with us, I'd be made up,

[Adeemo]

I like him. Always liked him when he was here, but a return? I don't think so. Better than Voronin, but if crouch couldn't get a game how is heskey going to?

I'm sure he'd get a lot more playing time than Crouch did because he's a lot more mobile and can run the channels well, something Crouch is simply not capable of due to his lack of pace.

[bigbear]

As soon as Capello got the job i said to me mates that he would get back in the england sqaud.

Facts are, Heskey is / was highly rated in Italy circa our 2001 Uefa cup win  in 2001.

Benitz would have liked him for a seaon in 2004 prior to his sale to Birmingham

He's played in all Engerland's most impresive and important victories since 2001.

Wouldn't be at all suprised if he ends up back with us, I'd be made up,

At the right price (2m) I'd take him.

We don't have a target man bar Torres (and he's more an in behind player anyway) unless we're going back down the Kuyt at centre forward route.

Gerrard and keane is not a pair.

[gritsvanilla]

Just as bringing God back was a mistake imho so any thoughts of resigning Emile would be too. I like the guy a lot, think he's a genuinely nice fella and there aren't many of those around in the Premiership these days, however i also think he's inconsistent and for a Centre Forward does not score nearly enough goals, can't believe Rafa would even consider this.

[Garstonite]

How was bringing Fowler back a mistake? He scored some vital winners in tough games (Bolton, Blackburn), got the crowd going in some games from coming off the bench (his presence at Man City at home when Gerrard scored, he livened the atmosphere/game up) and got the proper send-off he was never allowed first time around.

[Phil M]

How was bringing Fowler back a mistake? He scored some vital winners in tough games (Bolton, Blackburn), got the crowd going in some games from coming off the bench (his presence at Man City at home when Gerrard scored, he livened the atmosphere/game up) and got the proper send-off he was never allowed first time around.

Bang on.

Back on topic I can't see any reason for bringing Heskey back, if we were linked
with FS Pongolle or Luis Garcia etc again I might understand but for one we don't play a 4-4-2, Heskey is not good enough to play upfront on his own and secondly he's not a prolific goalscorer so no thank you.

[oojason]

If the rumours are true that we may have to sell to balance the books then a cheap England international with Prem/Euro experience who brings something that we don't have in the attacking lineup (physique and hold-up play) wouldn't be a bad buy.

It could be a very interesting (worryingly) January transfer window - with perhaps the likes of Kuyt, Pennant and Alonso on the way out, squad fillers or back-ups like Heskey coming in?

[John C]

The Heskey / Fowler debate needs to be kept separate but its a ridiculous Houlier fact that he subbed Fowler whenever need be - sending off, change of tactics, change of socks.
But theredworm is absolutely spot on to raise this. Where the fuck has it come from.

Its media shite which we should know better for. We've experienced it with rotation and zonal marking. We've even had commentators in-game questioning Reina's capability at the beginning of last season just because he made the odd mistake.
Now some pundit goes over the top about Heskey (sorry Neil D but he's not that good) and the sheep commentators rave about him.

Its a bag of hype and don't get drawn in to it.

[John C]

If the rumours are true that we may have to sell to balance the books then a cheap England international with Prem/Euro experience who brings something that we don't have in the attacking lineup (physique and hold-up play) wouldn't be a bad buy.

It could be a very interesting (worryingly) January transfer window - with perhaps the likes of Kuyt, Pennant and Alonso on the way out, squad fillers or back-ups like Heskey coming in?

There's many on here have questioned the sanity of football in recent months - if we buy Heskey I'm taking up baking, because this club will be poached while the fans are left steaming.

[gritsvanilla]

How was bringing Fowler back a mistake? He scored some vital winners in tough games (Bolton, Blackburn), got the crowd going in some games from coming off the bench (his presence at Man City at home when Gerrard scored, he livened the atmosphere/game up) and got the proper send-off he was never allowed first time around.

I'm made up Robbie got the send off he deserved but imo any suggestions that he was a total success in his second spell here is pushing it a bit, sure he scored some vital goals (as i fully expected him too) but more often than not he was fairly poor as i recall. At the time i felt that the move had more to do with squad morale than anything else, of course he was by no means a complete failure and i'd still take him over Voronin any day of the week. Still seemed like something of a backward step when you're trying to build a squad capable of challenging.

[oojason]

There's many on here have questioned the sanity of football in recent years - if we buy Heskey I'm taking up baking, because this club will be poached while the fans are left steaming.

corrected the mistake for you

[gritsvanilla]

The Heskey / Fowler debate needs to be kept separate but its a ridiculous Houlier fact that he subbed Fowler whenever need be - sending off, change of tactics, change of socks.
But theredworm is absolutely spot on to raise this. Where the fuck has it come from.

Its media shite which we should know better for. We've experienced it with rotation and zonal marking. We've even had commentators in-game questioning Reina's capability at the beginning of last season just because he made the odd mistake.
Now some pundit goes over the top about Heskey (sorry Neil D but he's not that good) and the sheep commentators rave about him.

Its a bag of hype and don't get drawn in to it.

Spot on on both counts John C, don't want anyone here thinking i'm dissing Robbie, i fuckin love the guy and was gutted when he left the first time although reading his biog it seems he had little choice after the way Ged had treated him. I just never felt it was the right move for the club second time around, we'd moved on an all that, he did moderately well though and he'll always have a special place in my heart.

Really don't get the fuss over Heskey, he had 1 great season for us after looking the business at Leicester but then became synonymous of all that was wrong with the last few years of Ged's reign although Ged's decision to play him wide left can't have helped. Since then he's been pretty much the way he was in those last few seasons at Anfield, 1 good game out of 5, spend way too much time on the floor (shocking for such a big man) and doesn't score enough goals, if Rafa was bringing him in ala Fowler as 4th choice i'd still think it was a waste as he'd be taking up a slot in the squad that could go to one of the young lads (N'gog, Pacheco, Nemeth), if he was coming as 3rd choice i'd be more than a little alarmed.

[Wilbur]

On the topic of Heskey, I think that the media are a little over the top on him right now.

And it is because they are ashamed, and making up for how they treated him when he went out of favor.

Heskey has always been a terror to the defenses of Europe.  Remember his performances in Red on Tuesday and Wednesday nights?  International defenses don't care for a giantific guy in white any more than they care for him in Red.  They don't like his physical play, they don't like that he falls down when fouled, they don't like the fact that he can score goals on occasion.

Heskey was dropped because he didn't score goals, or didn't live the high life, or wasn't playing for a fashionable club anymore.  Pick your poison, but the Fleet Street piled on and abused him shamefully at the time.

Now they are going the other way, perhaps out of the few shreds of decency they have left.

[John C]

I'm made up Robbie got the send off he deserved but imo any suggestions that he was a total success in his second spell here is pushing it a bit, sure he scored some vital goals (as i fully expected him too) but more often than not he was fairly poor as i recall. At the time i felt that the move had more to do with squad morale than anything else, of course he was by no means a complete failure and i'd still take him over Voronin any day of the week. Still seemed like something of a backward step when you're trying to build a squad capable of challenging.

I'm not gonna check facts but Robbie scored in two 1-0 wins twice (not scored twice....you know what I mean). That's sufficient for me. Loads of people slagged his home coming but he made a difference when given a rare chance under Rafa.

[stoa]

Thats the whole England set-up summed up though really. Fickle.

I'd rather say this is modern football summed up. Just look at this place here. We win against the Mancs and it's all about how we're going to win the title. We draw against Stoke and we'll be lucky not to end up in the Intertoto-Cup. Football in today's world is about recent weeks and days and people will only remember the last game. England and Heskey aren't any different...

[Scarlet`]

Always thought he was good riddance here.  Big, cumbersome, not much footballing skills.  C'mon, we've moved on.  There's lots of physical strikers better than him.

[Suspect Package.]

Hell, I didn't want Owen (because of injury proneness), but I'd far rather have him than Heskey back.

Has never been a prolific goalscorer. We already have Kuyt for that job.

[red annie]

I always thought he was decent for us. As it has been said in this thread Houllier played him all over the place.

His first season was superb & after that I seem to remember him creating a lot for others, just not scoring much himself. He came in for a lot of unwarranted flack from the usual quarters about not scoring.

Steve Bruce was saying somewhere yesterday that he has got himself much much fitter than he has ever been before, maybe that is part of the difference.

I would be very happy to see him back at Anfield.