I'm fed up of people criticising this guy and Steve McLaren for his inclusion in the squad when it was the right decision.

Don't get me wrong, I don't rate Heskey to be a world beater or anything but he's something different, he will give 100% effort and his form has warranted a call up. He has many limitations but at times he can be a big threat and has a decent enough understanding with Owen. If anyone has seen much of Wigan you would have seen the Heskey of old, with confidence.

If you look at who he is competing with, the likes of Defoe, Johnson, Bent and Smith haven't done anything for England and they don't get slated!

I'm not saying Heskey is the answer or even good enough in the long term but whilst Russia and Israel are good sides, we should beat them at home even with a severely weakened squad.

I just hope if we fail to beat either of these sides Heskey is not used as a scapegoat.

i expect heskey will save macca his job over these 2 games then get dropped again

Well I dont think he is. The fact that he is called up and will play apparently means that we will be pinging long balls to him. Its not what I expect of an England team and is going in the wrong direction. Thats before we even get onto his scoring record and the fact that a player like Heskey is going to be more effective in the premiership where you can be more physical.

Yes I am aware that he could well score a hat trick and shut me up. I like living on the edge...

He's a bit 1 dimensional really

quote:

Originally posted by purechillout:
i expect heskey will save macca his job over these 2 games then get dropped again

Of course he will. Expect tomorrow to be his last game for England, unless the injury prone Owen or Rooney pick up more knocks.
Heskey may never have had a great scoring record for England, but remember for some odd reason, Sven insisted on playing him down the left wing, rather than as an out-and-out srtiker

Crouch is back from his ban, is he in the squad for 2moro's game because if he is then Heskey wont play

Oddly enough, Crouch is one of the few who does seem to do more in an England shirt than he's expected to! Having the best goals to games ratio of current England front players shouldn't harm his chances. However, I do feel he is a better option to have on the bench for when you need to change it around a bit late in the match...

I did laugh when i read Heskey would be in the line up.. but to give him his due, he did ok. Deserves another run out against Russia.

Trouble is i am pretty sure Crouch has not scored coming off the bench for England. Though admittedly they have been generally against tougher teams. I would prefer Crouch to start.

To be fair as Fan says Heskey did a good job, it is not going to be so easy against the Russians.

Not sure if he scored when we dragged it back against Italy in that friendly...
But he certainly was a major factor in us getting the two late goals. Even tonight with 10 mins left he still livened it up. So I'll stand by my statement!

Heskey definitely did his job last night.. was a good ally for his beloved chum Owen.. As for Owen.. well.. was like watching England a few years ago.. especially with Heskey there too..

And even Rio wasn't as awful as some imagined he would be.. nice goal..

I'm sorry but the goal apart Rio was awful, his positioning stank, the commentators picked up on it time and again, good goal though it was, thats not what he's in the team for and doesnt make up for defensive deficiencies

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
I'm sorry but the goal apart Rio was awful, his positioning stank, the commentators picked up on it time and again, good goal though it was, thats not what he's in the team for and doesnt make up for defensive deficiencies

We must have been watching a different game. A poor start maybe but I saw him make a couple of decent moves and tackles in the second half. If anyone had a poor game then it was a toss up between the two Coles and Gerard.
However it seems uncharitable to criticise after the team scored three goals and kept a clean sheet.

Different game indeed, its not just me, Lawro said half a dozen times about him, i was just responding to The Fans comment.

Fair enough, like you say two 3-0 wins, i should leave well alone

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
Different game indeed, its not just me, Lawro said half a dozen times about him, i was just responding to The Fans comment.

Fair enough, like you say two 3-0 wins, i should leave well alone

Well if you think Lawro knows more about football than me, you listen to him then

quote:

Originally posted by CROSSTOWN TRAFIC:

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
Different game indeed, its not just me, Lawro said half a dozen times about him, i was just responding to The Fans comment.

Fair enough, like you say two 3-0 wins, i should leave well alone

Well if you think Lawro knows more about football than me, you listen to him then

Show us yer medals

quote:

Originally posted by CaptVimes:
Trouble is i am pretty sure Crouch has not scored coming off the bench for England. Though admittedly they have been generally against tougher teams. I would prefer Crouch to start.

To be fair as Fan says Heskey did a good job, it is not going to be so easy against the Russians.

crouchie scored against argentina coming off the bench, but that penalty against jamaica was crouchie all over ....heskey and owen should be the first choice

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:

quote:

Originally posted by CROSSTOWN TRAFIC:

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
Different game indeed, its not just me, Lawro said half a dozen times about him, i was just responding to The Fans comment.

Fair enough, like you say two 3-0 wins, i should leave well alone

Well if you think Lawro knows more about football than me, you listen to him then

Show us yer medals

They're in the sideboard just behind me.
They are very nice

quote:

Originally posted by CROSSTOWN TRAFIC:

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:

quote:

Originally posted by CROSSTOWN TRAFIC:

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
Different game indeed, its not just me, Lawro said half a dozen times about him, i was just responding to The Fans comment.

Fair enough, like you say two 3-0 wins, i should leave well alone

Well if you think Lawro knows more about football than me, you listen to him then

Show us yer medals

They're in the sideboard just behind me.
They are very nice

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
I'm sorry but the goal apart Rio was awful, his positioning stank, the commentators picked up on it time and again, good goal though it was, thats not what he's in the team for and doesnt make up for defensive deficiencies

Bit harsh ST! I think Rio did great...not many players get to score with their first touch of the ball...
At least, it seemed that way!

quote:

Originally posted by CupraR04:

quote:

Originally posted by ScouseTiger:
I'm sorry but the goal apart Rio was awful, his positioning stank, the commentators picked up on it time and again, good goal though it was, thats not what he's in the team for and doesnt make up for defensive deficiencies

Bit harsh ST! I think Rio did great...not many players get to score with their first touch of the ball...
At least, it seemed that way!

touche

Looks like Heskey has become the latest player to suffer from THAT injury (clue: Broken foot...)

So Owen and Rooney it is then!

Dean Ashton..fit and scoring goals again

Rooney and Owen it is then!