Emile Ivanhoe Heskey

[Webbo]

Did he not sign Adebola at Hull?

Pearson loves a plan B target man and bearing in mind Howard's departure, I think he's a typical Pearson type signing.

I don't think Pearson goes for big name/big wages type players.

[Jaspa]

I don't think Pearson goes for big name/big wages type players.

Would say Nobby Solano

But he ended up at Hartlepool !

Little bits of Nigels management philosophy seem to be ever changing, I can see Heskey playing here tbh

[MrFox781]

He's coming home, he's coming home, he's coming Heskey's coming home...

[dannythefox]

Pearson will not go for Heskey! Do people really think Pearson really cared if hes played here before and is well thought of by the fans? No and if he'd never played here before we wouldn't even be talking about him!

[RyanB89]

Pearson will not go for Heskey! Do people really think Pearson really carse if hes played here before and is well though of by the fans? No and if he'd never played here before we would even be talking about him!

Your not making any sense

[MGLCFC]

For me it's a difficult one - on the one hand some people were disappointed that Vassell wasn't retained and if that is an argument then surely Heskey would be as equally valuable at this level. On the other hand, I'd hate to see him come back and after 10 games people are getting on his case because he's not producing the goods. A pay per play option might suit all round.

[_Fatboyslow_]

Well if some one claims to have seen him in M&S .,.......

[dannythefox]

Your not making any sense

Just spotted that I was to busy having a rant!

[_Fatboyslow_]

Just spotted that I was to busy having a rant!

As long as you feel better for it

[Adster]

Just spotted Heskey running after a bus.

He missed it.

I'll get my coat.

[Out Foxed]

forget about morrisons. we need to scope out the strippers.

[HEGGSY]

http://newsthump.com/2012/05/24/emile-heskey-arrives-in-hull-to-discuss-move-to-leicester/

Thursday 24 May 2012 by Spacey

Emile Heskey arrives in Hull to discuss move to Leicester

After being released by Aston Villa, former England striker Emile Heskey is believed to have arrived in Hull to discuss a move to Leicester, missing his targeted destination by approximately 83 miles.

Heskey is believed to have veered off course after spotting some goalposts on a playing field on the A38 outside leicester.

The former Liverpool and Wigan frontman, who scored 9 goals for Aston Villa in 90 league appearances, is believed to be keen on a move back to his hometown club as soon as he’s worked out where it is.

Some Leicester City fans have expressed doubts over a possible move for Heskey, with some raising concerns that his best days are very much like the opposition goalmouth during games – behind him.

“I’ve spoken to a few Villa fans about his performances for them,” revealed Leicester fan Grant Harrison.

“They mostly seem to be of the opinion that he needs a sat-nav to find his way into the six-yard box.”

Heskey released

Leicester have not released any official statement regarding Heskey, but manager Nigel Pearson has revealed details of an exciting Brazilian talent that an unnamed agent has given the club first refusal on.

“I’ve not met the lad yet, but the agent has assured me that his first and second name end in an ‘O’ which means he’s guaranteed to be world class.”

“I think it was something like Emilio Heskinho.”

“That should get the fans excited.”

WTF

[Tielemans63]

To be fair Emile takes a lot of stick for his international strike rate but he's up there with some of the sport's greatest names:

Emile Heskey (England) 59 caps, 7 goals.

Rene Higuita (Colombia) 68 caps, 8 goals.

Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay) 74 caps, 8 goals.

[okie fox]

To be fair Emile takes a lot of stick for his international strike rate but he's up there with some of the sport's greatest names:

Emile Heskey (England) 59 caps, 7 goals.

Rene Higuita (Colombia) 68 caps, 8 goals.

Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay) 74 caps, 8 goals.

Emile got more assists than goals.

[MrSpaM]

Pearson will not go for Heskey! Do people really think Pearson really cared if hes played here before and is well thought of by the fans? No and if he'd never played here before we wouldn't even be talking about him!

Why didnt you just type 'I think Heskey is shite'. We are a target man down, and Heskey is a premiership / ex england target man looking for a new club. I think theres every chance we'd have at least considered him even if he hadnt played for us before.

[Fox92]

That article is obviously made up, and is taking the P!$$ out of him.

I know he hasn't ever scored lots of goals, but his ability to hold up the ball and bring other players into the game are is second to none. Personally, I'd like to see him come back, but we'd just have to watch out of for the small section of fans that judge players on goals (I know he is a target man, like). Nigel always likes a big man, a plan B, hence why Howard was a regular in League 1 and then in the Championship, and also Pearson brought Adebola for Hull, who is a player in the same mould to Heskey. It's just Emile's wages that might be a problem, in my opinion, but I rekon the owners might want to push the deal through; from a selling point as well remember.

[davieG]

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football-sport/aston-villa-goodbye-emile-heskey-i-loved-you/

He may be the fans’ whipping boy, but I’ve loved Emile Heskey since his Leicester days, through his time at Liverpool, and now at my beloved Aston Villa. Ah, the nature of fandom.

Some people will read this looking for signs of cynicism, convinced it’s a thinly veiled lampooning of an already much maligned man. A few more will read through unstoppable scoffs of derision. Most simply won’t read at all. I care not. This is an honest account of purest fandom that is long overdue. It’s an account and justification of an affair that began many, many years ago, but reached a glittering peak when, last week, I was given the autograph of one of my idols: that of Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey.

Born in Leicester in 1978, Heskey quickly progressed through the youth ranks of his home town club to make his first team début at the age of just seventeen. After signing professional terms he went on to reach

double figures for Leicester in back-to-back seasons and scored the equaliser two minutes from time in the 1997 League Cup final at Wembley, taking the game to a replay in which Leicester City were victorious. Three years later Heskey completed his £11 million move to Liverpool, setting the transfer fee record for the Merseyside club in the process. In his first full season for the Reds he scored 22 goals, and was a key part of the side that won a FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup treble.

A hamstring injury sustained in January 2004 kept Heskey out of the Liverpool side for several weeks, and on his return he faced stiff competition for his place from

Czech striker Milan Baros. At the end of the season Heskey was sold to Birmingham City, where he failed to recapture his finest form, and they suffered relegation to the Championship. Heskey was subsequently sold to Wigan Athletic, where he enjoyed something of a renaissance, scoring his 100th Premier League goal on November 1st 2008 against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.

Then it happened. I’d experienced similar delight when my beloved Aston Villa signed David Ginola – another favourite – in the summer of 2000, but had never thought I’d see the day when my idol donned the sacred claret and blue, particularly after his time with our cross-city rivals. But Martin O’Neill, who had worked with Heskey at Leicester, wasn’t concerned by the association, and paid a fee of £3.5 million to bring the big striker to Villa Park. I was utterly delirious with excitement. A twenty yard strike on his début convinced me a beautiful relationship was about to begin, one which would see Heskey playing the greatest football of his career. My fellow fans however were far from convinced. Many were flat out despairing.

I was utterly delirious with excitement. A twenty yard strike on his début convinced me a beautiful relationship was about to begin

So what is it about this man that attracts such scorn? I have been chastised on many occasions for speaking up in Heskey’s defence. Yes his goal scoring record is far from scintillating – a club career record equating to 0.21 goals per game – but, as is often said, his game is not built just on goals.

Defining his role is a trickier issue however. For a long time, most notably for England, Heskey was forced into a wide left role, a victim of the dearth of quality in a position where he was deployed as a back post option, a target man for aimless cross field balls. Sometimes he was instructed to play as an out-and-out winger, a role that failed to utilise his best qualities whilst simultaneously exposing the weaker aspects of his game.

Such short-sightedness naturally meant Heskey’s abilities were wasted. The same would have happened to any player so improperly managed. In his younger days Heskey had the kind of power and pace that made him a natural threat through the middle. Overshadowed in this mould by contemporaries such as Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler, Heskey’s natural game has evolved over the years. Now he is thought of as a bustling, strong centre forward who gives defenders a hard time and creates space for others. But still that 0.21 goals per game ratio draws negative remarks. Yet compared with, for example,

Kevin Davies, a centre forward who shares many of the same traits but has a ratio of 0.19 goals per game, Heskey has the better record. Criticism of Davies’ goalscoring record is rare though, and few knocked his shot at playing for his country when it finally came.

Everything he had he gave, and he never once acted in a way to bring shame to the shirt.

Many will point to Heskey’s 62 international caps and Davies’ single England appearance and argue that Heskey has been overused by his country. Whilst this may be the case this is hardly his fault, and despite the barrage of criticism he attracts for his England record he has never once given anything but his best. Everything he had he gave, and he never once acted in a way to bring shame to the shirt. Two things that, to me at least, made him hugely appealing. But even then is his record for England quite as bad as many would have you believe? For a forward frequently selected to play out of position, Heskey’s international record of 0.11 goals per game is comparable with players such as, for example, Peter Beardsley, another forward deployed across a range of positions for his country. Yet Beardsley’s international record of 0.15 goals per game is never rebuked.

I accept that these numbers and arguments are all subject to interpretation. Essentially that is the point I am trying to make. I’m used to having to argue over a barrage of facts and figures designed to belittle one of my idols. But I guess that’s part of the appeal. I support Emile despite his faults. I root for him with an underdog attraction. I’ll concede that it’s a strange twist of fandom. Please don’t misunderstand: I adore Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo because they are brilliant. But I love Aston Villa even though they so frequently disappoint, and the same logic applies to my Heskey infatuation. Perhaps the concept of supporting individual players, and not just the greats, is rare. This may because the common view of players is that they are simply cogs in a machine. It’s the Ferrari people tend to love, rather than the spark plugs.

To many he is a joke. But as I sit here staring at that little white piece of paper and the signature that adorns it I feel a genuine happiness, and a connection with a player who, for better or for worse, I hold in the highest regard. True his Villa career may not have developed quite as I had dreamt, but then very few relationships pan out quite how you imagined they would. Heskey may have his critics, but his hard working, gentle giant appeal I find wonderfully attractive. There’s no patronising air to detect there. When I think of Heskey I think of that goal against Denmark. Or thatgoal against Germany. Sometimes I think of that distinctive celebration and I raise a smile. I think of these moments and wonder how it’s possible that he can be treated so badly. But I don’t worry, because to me he’s special, and I’m thankful for that.

[Corky]

It all seemed to go wrong when he left Liverpool. Up until then he was still a quick striker who got a decent amount of goals.

We got the best from him and it's a shame to see him reduced to a joke figure in the press and with supporters.

[flowwolf]

If he comes back for Christ sake don't call him Bruno.

[fryatt 12]

today in the metro it says he wants to come here

[Burmesefox]

The thing is about Emile is that he is a very easy target. If you are an armchair fan you are governed by a few things

1. Allowing your mind to be made up for you by others rather than witnessing it first hand

2. Naturally having a bias towards the best clubs/players

3. Not seeeing the whole game.

Point 3. Heskey does so much off the ball - pulling defenders this way and that way. He does so much more than is seen by the restrictions of tv and its concentration of focus being solely on the ball.

Let the pundits ridicule, lets the plastic laugh. Let NP go about his business. Undoubtedly Nugget and Beckford need to play alongside a strong ball winning target man. I wasn't a fan of Howard but what we needed and still need is a new stronger, quicker, more hard working, less moaning version of Howard. In Emile we have that but then he also has the baggage of fitness to carry.

I believe that Emile would like to come home and there is every possibility that he would take a lower wage to come to us than he would elsewhere. Let's wait and see what happens.

[Far Post Gerry]

For starters, let me say: I love Emile. I nicked his cab once, but he was such a gentleman. "Don't worry lads, I'll get the next one", he said. But that epitomises his problem; he's too bloody nice!

We all remember big Emile as the man who ran at defences, terrorised them, then pinged the ball off his laces and into the bottom corner. But when was the last time he did that? At City? Liverpool, early days at best.

Since then, the lad has been given shit from every quarter. And when you're a sensitive lad like Emile, that can't help your confidence.

Personally I'd love him back at City. I think NP could instil some much-needed self-belief in him. He's got natural quality, and it's only himself that's holding him back.

Bring him back to Leicester, and we'll see the real Emile; running at defences and scoring for fun! Hopefuly...

[WhenYourSmilingLCFC]

For starters, let me say: I love Emile. I nicked his cab once, but he was such a gentleman. "Don't worry lads, I'll get the next one", he said. But that epitomises his problem; he's too bloody nice!

We all remember big Emile as the man who ran at defences, terrorised them, then pinged the ball off his laces and into the bottom corner. But when was the last time he did that? At City? Liverpool, early days at best.

Since then, the lad has been given shit from every quarter. And when you're a sensitive lad like Emile, that can't help your confidence.

Personally I'd love him back at City. I think NP could instil some much-needed self-belief in him. He's got natural quality, and it's only himself that's holding him back.

Bring him back to Leicester, and we'll see the real Emile; running at defences and scoring for fun! Hopefuly...

This.

Plus the fact we're in the Championship I think he'd be a decent unit up top alongside someone hard working, Nugent/Vardy.

[Criggers]

Just get him in. It can't be any worse than getting Dickov back.

[Grewks]

I dont think any defenders in our league would like playing against him.

And in all honesty - i dont see how we or him can lose.