Heskey retires from international football - tributes here

[Working class pride]

My main memory of Heskey in an England shirt was when he ran Sensini ragged against Argentina, who was then substituted after 30 mins... this was when Sensini was one of the best defenders in the world.

Yes, he didnt score goals, and as a striker he needed to do that - but EVERY single striker who has played alongside him will say they would prefer him there than anyone else as a strike partner... he created space and goals for others...

yeah I bet Spain o Brazil would kill for a Heskey or Bas Savage

 

[Marshy]

My main memory of Heskey in an England shirt was when he ran Sensini ragged against Argentina, who was then substituted after 30 mins... this was when Sensini was one of the best defenders in the world.

Yes, he didnt score goals, and as a striker he needed to do that - but EVERY single striker who has played alongside him will say they would prefer him there than anyone else as a strike partner... he created space and goals for others...

they only said it because they had too, he was a team mate

you honestly believe Rooney wants to play with Heskey....?

 

[Reinelt12]

they only said it because they had too, he was a team mate

you honestly believe Rooney wants to play with Heskey....?

But in a squad there are usually 4-5 strikers, so will each striker say that about the other 4?

Owen was asked the question when he had several strike partners - his answer was Heskey. Considering how many goals Owen scored for England alongside him compared to alongside others, it isnt a difficult choice is it.

I'm not saying Heskey is a great player, i'm saying he did a job - a job that every single England manager has wanted him to do, and also several club managers.

 

[Working class pride]

they only said it because they had too, he was a team mate

you honestly believe Rooney wants to play with Heskey....?

Rooney is one thing but do you think Messi (5ft6) wakes up in the morning and goes, "I wish I had Bas Savage or Emile Heskey to knock the ball onto me so that I can spend my career running after 50/50 balls". Only in England and the evening Argus is height an issue, now remind me ow tall was Maradona, or Gaza or Pele? Have to laugh that this is even an argument given England latest world cup humiliation was a matter of weeks away.

 

[Reinelt12]

Rooney is one thing but do you think Messi (5ft6) wakes up in the morning and goes, "I wish I had Bas Savage or Emile Heskey to knock the ball onto me so that I can spend my career running after 50/50 balls". Only in England and the evening Argus is height an issue, now remind me ow tall was Maradona, or Gaza or Pele? Have to laugh that this is even an argument given England latest world cup humiliation was a matter of weeks away.

And therin you explain the actual problem - the England team don't have a Messi, Villa, Maradona, or Gascoigne, they don't have the skill in the team at all (Rooney excepted, but he didnt turn up) - so what do we do? We try to play to what we perceive to be our strengths, which to be fair worked in qualification...

The point is who else would have made a difference in Heskey's position who is English at this point in time?

 

[Working class pride]

And therin you explain the actual problem - the England team don't have a Messi, Villa, Maradona, or Gascoigne, they don't have the skill in the team at all (Rooney excepted, but he didnt turn up) - so what do we do? We try to play to what we perceive to be our strengths, which to be fair worked in qualification...

The point is who else would have made a difference in Heskey's position who is English at this point in time?

No mate the point is that English coaches like the big fella up front. How did Spain win the world cup with half the side under 5ft7? Because the kids play five a side football in spain until they are 14 or so. In england e have blokes in white socks shouting at kids to whack it up to the big lad up front, and heskey / Bas Savage are the result.

 

[Working class pride]

oh and who else, well firstly Rooney should have been played through, playing him deep in midfield, with 2 wingers as an outlet and Crouch or Defoe up front. Yes Crouch can play football despite being a big fella.. just to show I'm not heightest.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Thanks for holding the ball up for all these years. See ya

 

[Marshy]

And therin you explain the actual problem - the England team don't have a Messi, Villa, Maradona, or Gascoigne, they don't have the skill in the team at all (Rooney excepted, but he didnt turn up) - so what do we do? We try to play to what we perceive to be our strengths, which to be fair worked in qualification...

The point is who else would have made a difference in Heskey's position who is English at this point in time?

We have always had players over the years that have " the Skill " as you call it, and our mentality of managers dont pick them.

Le Tissier is a prime example, ignored just because he didnt play for a top side. Would have got 70 caps had he been playing for a top 4 side.
Hoddle...under used, only 50 caps for England...shocking

Even Gazza was left out of games for Gordon Cowans ?.....

Waddle....totally under used also.

There are so many examples of this.

 

[Paynaldinho]

what a wizard

 

[Bry Nylon]

Ballboys across the globe rejoice.

 

[tottenhamseagull]

 

[Return of the Rev]

No mate the point is that English coaches like the big fella up front. How did Spain win the world cup with half the side under 5ft7? Because the kids play five a side football in spain until they are 14 or so. In england e have blokes in white socks shouting at kids to whack it up to the big lad up front, and heskey / Bas Savage are the result.

Thats pretty much the problem,another is 80% of coaches are one of the teams dads who sat through the bleeding obvious on a level 1 badge and stumble through the seasons, by the time he has learnt to coach well his boy has stopped playing and another dad enters the cycle with his seven year old!
school coaches are also hit and miss,small school you get stuffed no coach,big school you get nowhere near the team!!!!!!

 

[Trigger]

Well I appreciate all the effort BIG EMILE has put in over the years, whilst he may not be the most gifted or talented he knows how to create chances for others and also he's put a hell of a lot more effort in than some of the higher earners that are so overrated... Some of the current crop should take a good hard long look at Emile and learn about what effort is, then maybe they might actually try!!!

Thank you Emile.

And thank you for playing a part in this...
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[Braders]

thanks Emile

you've done your country PROUD

 

[Mellotron]

Yeah he didn't score, therefore is shit.

Y'know, i wonder why we don't just cull or at least neuter a large part of the idiots that form England fans!

He did a blinding job, big huge target man, defenders couldn't cope with him physically and never took much limelight, rather set others up to take it. Thanks Heskey

Spot on.

One of the most under-rated and misunderstood England players I've ever seen.

Thanks Emile.

 

[Mellotron]

The fact is that England AS A TEAM played some of their best football with Heskey in the line-up.

He's clearly now over the hill and past it, but we could really do with a Heskey of 10 years ago. Some pundits like Darren Bent but he's a Premier League "flat track bully" the same as Lampard and Gerrard.

This.

I like Emile. I hate all the abuse he gets. He plays his game and he deos what he does. Sometimes it's just what England need, but then again, he's hardly world class. He'd probably admit that himself.

I salute him!

Heskey's scored in the world cup finals which is more than Rooney's managed. I though he was also our best player in the USA game, which I thought was our best performance

So we've scored goals in qualification with him in the side but because he doesn't score we should have dropped him in the finals?

Against USA Heskey was the best player on the park for the first half by a country mile. Granted he didn't do allot after that but who did? To be fair to Capello though the previous 3 or 4 managers have also stuck with Heskey. Were they also wrong?

My main memory of Heskey in an England shirt was when he ran Sensini ragged against Argentina, who was then substituted after 30 mins... this was when Sensini was one of the best defenders in the world.

Yes, he didnt score goals, and as a striker he needed to do that - but EVERY single striker who has played alongside him will say they would prefer him there than anyone else as a strike partner... he created space and goals for others...

Blimey, impressed by the amount of people who do actually understand the basics of football!

 

[jcdenton08]

This is another peeve; England fans going on about 'effort'. Maybe we're just shit? You know that adage about the better players seeming to have more time on the ball? Well it's true.

Charging about like a headless chicken may seem impressive, but why bother if you don't have to? We need a fundamental change of our whole coaching system, essentially.

 

[Pavilionaire]

The bottom line is he was an OK striker who only got to play as many times as he did because there's been a complete DEARTH of international class English strikers since Shearer retired.

If he hadn't been injured so much we might be looking at a player with as many as 100 caps and - count them - 11 / maybe 12 goals (!)...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

He did a blinding job, big huge target man, defenders couldn't cope with him physically and never took much limelight, rather set others up to take it. Thanks Heskey

But world football moved on from this years and years ago.