Aston Villa manager Alex Mcleish has hailed striker Emile Heskey as too important to leave out his team despite his on-going ankle injury.

The 33-year-old is playing i a deeper role for his side this season but has been putting in some of the best performances of his recent career.

McLeish admits the former England international cannot complete 90 minutes due to his injury but is full of praise for his effort and dedication.

“Emile again worked tirelessly for the team on Saturday even though he has an ongoing problem with his Achilles,” McLeish said.

“The situation is such that we can’t really play him for the full 90 minutes.

“But he is effective in the team with the contribution he makes and the appreciation of his team-mates for him and what he gives is there to see.”

McLeish is hoping Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov’s hamstring problem, which forced him to be substituted in the second half, is not a serious setback.

He added: “Stiliyan felt a little niggle in his hamstring. He thinks he caught it just in time but we’ll get him on the treatment table.

“He couldn’t go on. He would have become a liability in midfield for us.”

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ALEX McLeish reckons Emile Heskey is turning into Villa’s trump card – and even likened the versatile star to Franz Beckenbauer.

The former England striker has been impressing his boss at centre-back in training, leading to the comparison with one of Germany’s most decorated footballers.

Because of the international break McLeish had time to experiment in training and decided to plunge Heskey into the thick of the defensive action.

“We now know what Emile can do, he can play in any position,’’ said McLeish.

“I could even play him at the back without any fears.

“We played him at centre-back last week and he was spraying the ball about the whole pitch as if I was watching Franz Beckenbauer.

“Emile is a brilliant, all-round player, he understands the game and we need him in the squad.

“It’s not just about 11 players.’’

SOURCE: Birmingham Mail

Now we love Emile Heskey more than most, hence his hilarious positioning in every poll we run on site, see right of page, but surely Alex McLeish is drunk. It may well be the case that powerfully built veteran Heskey has what it takes to play at centre back but to compare him, even fleetingly, to a four time European Cup and World Cup winner is just beserk.

Someone somewhere is designing a T-Shirt as we speak which celebrates this mad mad statement…and we want one!

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Wayne Rooney – Manchester United

The Red Devil has started the season in scintillating form. Eight goals in four games is an extraordinary return, which could probably be only matched by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. But the England star does have a tendency to score lots of goals in patches which are then followed by lean spells. Injury could also hamper his chances.

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City

Some foreign stars struggle when they move to England but Kun looks as if he has played here all his life. Six goals in three games is a great start, and his partnership with David Silva and Samir Nasri could be special. But meaner defences than what he has faced so far and colder weather awaits.

25. David Beckham (Manchester United)

24. Emile Heskey (Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa)

23. Wayne Rooney (Everton, Manchester United)

22. Kevin Muscat (Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers)

21. Frank Lampard (West Ham United, Chelsea)

20. Rio Ferdinand (West Ham United, Leeds United, Manchester United)

19. Paul Ince (West Ham United, Manchester United, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Wolverhampton Wanderers)

18. Robbie Keane (Coventry City, Leeds United, Tottenham, Liverpool, West Ham United)

17. Manuel Almunia (Arsenal)

16. David Speedie (Southampton)

15. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

14. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

13. Dennis Wise (Chelsea, Leicester City)

12. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

11. John Terry (Chelsea)

10. Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)

9. Craig Bellamy (Coventry City, Newcastle United, Blackburn, Liverpool, West Ham United, Manchester City)

8. Joey Barton (Manchester City, Newcastle United)

7. Lee Bowyer (Charlton, Leeds United, West Ham United, Newcastle United, Birmingham City).

6. El-Hadji Diouf (Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland, Blackburn)

5. Robbie Savage (Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn)

4. David Bentley (Arsenal, Blackburn, Tottenham, Birmingham City)

3. Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, Manchester City)

2. Gary Neville (Manchester United)

1. Ashley Cole (Arsenal, Chelsea)

But there is still plenty of dead wood at the Midlands’ club that here at COS we feel should be moved on.

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Habib Beye

A panic buy from former manager Martin O’Neil. A right-back was desperately needed and Beye was available for £500,000 after Newcastle United were relegated to the Championship. But O’Neil then continued to play Nigel Reo-Coker (out of position) as well as use Luke Young and Carlos Cuellar in that position. The Senagalese international is still at Villa Park but cannot break into the first-team.

Moustafa Salifou

Another player brought in by Martin O’Neil. There were big expectations of him but he never really came to anything and has just lost his shirt number to Jean Makoun. He was supposed to be huge star at Villa Park but a handful of first-team appearances have led to limited opportunities for the Togo international. He does not look like he will get ahead of the other central midfielders in the squad.

Isaiah Osbourne

An academy product, and local lad, who started out promisingly with good performances in the first team but another player who was the victim of James Milner’s form and Martin O’Neil’s lack of squad rotation. Currently he is out on-loan at Sheffield Wednesday and showing promise again, but he is behind Barry Banan and Cieran Clark as well as the first choice experienced centre midfielders in the pecking order.

Robert Pires

Considered past his best by Arsene Wenger in 2006, Gerard Houllier believed his fellow Frenchman will help inspire the next generation of Aston Villa players. Well that remains to be seen but he certainly is not inspiring results. Since arrivcing in Novemebr Pires has played seven games scoring once. Hardly a sign of a messiah.

Emile Heskey

The much-maligned striker has once again struggled to score goals on a consistent level and with the big-money capture of Darren Bent in January the former England striker looks to be heading for the exit. 13 goals in 73 games is hardly prolific and with Villa changing the way they play with younger players, Bruno’s days are numbered.

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Goalkeepers: Frank Fielding (Blackburn), Jason Steele (Middlesbrough)

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Martin Kelly (Liverpool), Michael Mancienne (Chelsea), Micah Richards (Man City), Chris Smalling (Man Utd), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Ben Mee (ManCity)

Midfielders: Marc Albrighton (Aston Villa), Tom Cleverley (Man Utd), Jack Cork (Chelsea), Henri Lansbury (Arsenal), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Fabrice Muamba (Bolton), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Danny Rose (Tottenham)

Forwards: Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Scott Sinclair (Swansea), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd)

There are few surprises to be found in the goalkeeper selection, but one name in particular stands out as missing from the list of defenders: Phil Jones.

Still, just 18, the Blackburn player has proved himself a capable performer in both central defence and as a holding midfielder – and has kept the likes of Didier Drogba quiet in his eighteen Premier League appearances.

Though England are currently well equipped at centre back, and Rovers boss Sam Allardyce believes that will eventually become Jones’ permanent position, there is certainly a void in defensive midfield that Jones could well fill – especially with poor Owen Hargreaves having suffered another setback.

Elsewhere in defence, there have been rumours of Newcastle United right back Danny Simpson receiving a first call up. The former Manchester United trainee has looked in fine form since returning from injury – largely on the virtue of not being James Perch – but has provided both a reliability in the tackle and an attacking outlet on the right.

He was particularly impressive against Arsenal. Newcastle played extremely narrow at the Emirates Stadium, which perfectly countered the Gunners’ penchant to play through the middle. However, Simpson was always available out wide, and stretched the play exceptionally well.

With Micah Richards in the U21 squad, Wes Brown having retired from international football, and Gary Neville having almost retired from football full stop, there is certainly a place available in the senior England squad at right back. Simpson seemingly has a better sense of position than Glen Johnson – who is still recovering from injury – and could be handed his first cap against France.

Kieran Gibbs is also omitted from the U21s, and is expected to return to the Arsenal squad this weekend, so could be included by Fabio Capello if he is deemed fit enough. He certainly impressed on his debut against Hungary, and looks set to be the long term replacement for Ashley Cole at left back so long as he can avoid injury.

In midfield, Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson and Arsenal teenager Jack Wilshere are likely to be called up. Both have enjoyed excellent starts to the season, having been given more first team action than most people expected. Though not eligible for the U21s at 24, Matt Jarvis has been mooted to be called up too – and his performances on Wolves’ left wing have been excellent this campaign – but Aston Villa’s Marc Albrighton will have to wait for his chance.

However, with Frank Lampard likely to make his return, the likeliest option is that both will merely get on the pitch in the second half.

Up front, England are in a bit of a selection crisis.

Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent and Bobby Zamora are injured. Emile Heskey has retired from international football. Kevin Davies is hardly a long term solution, while Carlton Cole has struggled for form this season. Though his international goalscoring record is undoubtedly impressive, I am not convinced that Peter Crouch should be anything other than an impact substitute for England if all players are fit.

This means Newcastle’s Andy Carroll will surely be selected, with Theo Walcott’s calm finishing this season possibly earning himself a place up front alongside him. The lack of fit English strikers means that the likes of Jay Bothroyd of Cardiff and Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome have been considered, but though Daniel Sturridge has been left out of the U21 squad, he is unlikely to be brought into the senior side due to a lack of game time at Chelsea.

Fabio Capello is gradually bringing younger players into the England team to kick start the next era, after the ‘golden generation’ did not live up to their unfortunately over-hyped moniker. The Italian has the right idea in prioritising results in competitive matches, and experimenting in friendlies.

Let’s hope some of these players take their chances on their debuts.

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Around 72 hours ago Wayne Rooney said he wanted to leave Manchester United and stated “I would not be signing a new contract.” On this Saturday morning the papers lead with stories of a “Dramatic U-Turn” as though the change of mind was cryptic, and illusive riddle which no one could quite fathom. However when you take into account the 24 year old has been offered a five year deal worth £65m it all becomes abundantly clear.

Rooney held the club to ransom, and he won.

If this whole sorry saga was about the battle to see if player power really existed and whether the game has moved towards being all about appeasing individuals with mind blowing salaries, then Wayne Rooney has won the war. Anyone who tells you different is wrong.

Sir Alex Ferguson looked lost for words, a beaten man, when he told the assembled press that his prized asset wanted to leave, that Rooney was offered a deal better than any other handed out by arguably the biggest club in the world. Yet the club folded, they caved in to the player’s demands and have handed him a deal worth £65m over five years, but how can this be the right thing to do?

Man United fans are clever enough to know who is the real winner in this whole sorry mess. It isn’t the club, it’s isn’t the supporters (who will in the end bear the brunt of the sky rocketing wage structure in the game), it is a 24 year old man who felt he was bigger than the club, and to all intents and purposes he proved that he was.

Rooney will have some believe that it was all about the club bringing in big names so that they could compete with the Chelsea’s, Real Madrid’s and Barcelona’s of this world. If this was the case Ferguson and Gill should have said “fine, we’ll take that salary increase you wanted and use it to put towards a big name signing”, you can imagine that this answer would have confused the former Evertonian and would clearly have been turned down flat.

Don’t be fooled. This was all about personal gain masquerading as a desire to do what was best for the club. You can’t blame Rooney alone for what is happening to the game but you can blame him for holding the biggest club in the country to ransom and you can blame Man United for letting him win.

Ask yourself why Ferguson was happy to allow the likes of David Beckham, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam and Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club, when seemingly their intentions to do so were not motivated by greed, yet a young upstart tells the club “I want an obscene wage like the players at Man City, if you don’t give it to me then I am off” and for some reason rather than choosing to cash in on a player who appears to not know the meaning of the word ‘loyalty’ (just ask Everton supporters), instead hands the player the biggest deal in the club’s rich history.

This is a man who questioned the loyalty of thousands of England supporters who had travelled thousands of miles at great expense to watch their country play out an appalling draw against Algeria. The gall of the man is frightening. Yet for some reason we as supporters take it. After that outburst at the World Cup supporters tried even harder to sing their hearts out. They took Rooney’s words as a sign that he was hurting and that he just wanted to vent, they should have been insulted but because we are talking about a truly great player, we let him get away with it. Imagine if the player making those comments to a handily placed cameraman was Emile Heskey. Imagine it was the Aston Villa man who had said “It’s nice to get booed by your own fans. Very loyal.”, Emile would probably never have played another minute for England.

Of course the club’s loyal support will be glad they have not lost arguably their most prized possession but they will know that to keep him has come at a cost, and not just a financial one. Whichever way you paint it, the facts are clear. Wayne Rooney informed the club he wanted to leave, that he was not going to sign the contract they offered him. The club in the end upped their offer, albeit including a huge extra payment in image rights, to convince Rooney to stay. So essentially the England man held the club over a barrel and the club buckled.

Quite how Rooney can pull on the shirt again and kiss the badge and celebrate his next goal, whenever it arrives, by saluting the massed ranks of Old Trafford supporters, is beyond me. He must know in his heart of hearts that he has done wrong.

Some will look to move the blame towards his advisors, to the snake like figure of Paul Stretford, who has somehow managed to be even slimier than the king of slime, Mr Max Clifford. However if anyone attempts to attribute Rooney’s greed to his representative then you are in essence insulting the player by making out he doesn’t have the ability to think for himself.

What of the knock on effects of this tawdry soap opera? Well Rooney’s team-mates can’t be too pleased about what has gone on. Surely now they will all want a big wage increase? Yes clearly Wayne is the most important player at the club but he has hardly been pulling his weight has he? What about those who have actually performed this term, do they not deserve more money? Where will this end?

We could play this story of immense greed off against the potential sinking through debt of Fratton Park outfit Portsmouth. We could play these two stories off each other to show the gulf that exists in the game, but to do so would alter the weight and gravity of what Mr. Rooney has pulled off. If we made such comparisons we would be entering the whole debate on the manner in which the game has changed and how obscene it all is, blah, blah, blah. By doing this we move away from the matter at hand.

Forget for a second that Manchester City can offer their players a kings ransom, forget the fact that even the most average Premier League footballer earns a wage that is wholly unacceptable. Let’s stick to the facts.

Wayne Rooney held Manchester United to ransom, and he won. He chose to treat the club that made him who he is today in a way that is sickening on every level and a great club like Manchester United took it. They stood for it when they should have shown him the door and that is the undeniable truth that Wayne, Sir Alex, Mr.Gill and the Glazers can not escape

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18. Damien Duff (Fulham) £13m
18. Emile Heskey (Aston Villa) £13m
18. Michael Essien (Chelsea) £13m
14. Gary Neville (Man United) £14m
14. Joe Cole (Liverpool) £14m
14. Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea) £14m
14. Petr Cech (Chelsea) £14m
13. Fernando Torres (Liverpool) £15m
12. Paul Scholes (Man United) £16m
10. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) £18m
10. Patrick Vieira (Man City) £18m
9. John Terry (Chelsea) £19m
7. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) £17m
7. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) £17m
6. Wayne Rooney (Man United) £25m
5. Ryan Giggs (Man United) £27m
4. Sol Campbell (Newcastle United) £31m
3. Rio Ferdinand (Man United) £34m
2. Michael Owen.(Man United) £40m
1. David Beckham (LA Galaxy) £100m

Interesting list. Thoughts?

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Gerrard Houllier’s Liverpool had been a team in decline for quite some time when, on a dismal December 2003 afternoon I took my seat in the upper Centenary stand at Anfield and had barely settled into it before Brett Ormerod put the visitors ahead, the lead was doubled shortly after half time when Anders Svensson struck and a late Emile Heskey effort was not enough to prevent the Saints taking all three points back to the south coast with them. The ease with which Southampton won the game that afternoon was truly shocking and a woefully average Liverpool side were at times outplayed and deservedly beaten.

Despite what at the time had been considered a considerable sum of money ventured in the transfer market, around £20 million on El Hadj Diouf, Bruno Cheyrou and Salif Diao alone (that was just a fraction of what Houllier spent altogether), Liverpool were going backwards and the pressure was beginning to mount on an increasingly delusional Gerrad Houllier.

Liverpool ultimately finished that season, Houlliers last, in what was then considered a disappointing fourth place and without any silverware since a league cup triumph in 2003. Prior to Liverpool’s dip in form and Houliers demise he had enjoyed some success, Liverpool claimed an unprecedented 5 cups in the calendar year 2001 including a hugely memorable and enjoyable Uefa cup triumph over CD Alavez played in Borrusia Dortmunds Westfalonstadion, this particular occasion was indeed one of my greatest adventures as a Liverpool fan, travelling to Germany in a rickety old coach and watching an incredible 5-4 victory is a memory which will stay with me for the rest of my life. By the way if anyone found a camera behind the goal where the Liverpool fans were situated that night, I would love to get the film back, my breath however is not being held.

But that was as good as it got for Houllier at Liverpool and from the beginning of the 2002-2003 season his regime began, slowly, to unravel. The reasons for this were many, most obviously, he wasted millions in the transfer market, while it is true to say that when Liverpool won those 5 cups in 2001 the squad was strong, there were for example  4 top class strikers at the club in Michael Owen, Emile Heskey, Robbie Fowler and Jari Litmanen and Houllier had the luxury of being able to call on at least 2 players for every single position on the pitch, probably the last time in the history of the club that this could truly be said. Subsequent dealings in the transfer market however, on the whole, weakened the Liverpool squad.

The list of sub-standard players signed by Houllier is a great deal longer than the list of good players he signed, both lists have been well documented however and as such I will refrain from drawing them up again in this article (feel free to do so yourselves below). I will point out however that he was operating at a time when the club did not have the financial problems and constraints which characterise it today, problems which have severely hampered both Rafael Benitez and now Roy Hodgson in the transfer market. It is fair to say that both Benitez and Hodgson (and any other manager come to that) would have loved the no questions asked ‘blank chequebook’ policy that was afforded to Gerrard Houllier.

Unfortunately though, Houllier was not wise with his cash, or his existing personnel. Top class talent such as Robbie Fowler and Jari Litmanen were players with huge footballing ability clever football brains and were both very popular with the Anfield faithful but lacked the physical presence, pace  and brute strength that Houllier prized above all else in his players, particularly his strikers. They were replaced with the likes of El Hadji Diouf and although eventually arriving at the club after Houllier had already gone, club record signing Djibril Cisse. Both players came with big reputations, Diouf having twice scooped the African footballer of the year award (makes you wonder who else was nominated) and Cisse had scored about a million goals in the French top flight prior to his arrival. Both players also possessed all the qualities that Houllier liked, hard working, athletic, pacey and physical, but crucially, they both lacked the guile and ability needed to unlock defences in the Premiership (and in Cisse’s case a failure to ever learn the offside rule did not help), this in the end, was the depressingly predictable hallmark of Gerrard Houlliers Liverpool.

This brings me on to the way he set up his teams, the initial surge of fast, bruising, almost brutal football which culminated in that remarkable treble winning season was soon identified and counter acted by rival managers in the Premiership, Liverpool became predictable, easy to set up against and lacked any form of plan B other than endless diagonal hoofs aimed in the general direction of Emile Heskey’s head from the solid, no nonsense but entirely unskilled on the ball central defensive pairing of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz. Teams could come to Anfield, get everyone behind the ball, sit back safe in the knowledge that Liverpools defenders would do nothing more than launch aerial bombs from the back and did not need to be pressed high up the field. Nor did opposition need to worry about the threat posed by Liverpool’s wide players as from what I can remember, there weren’t any (Harry Kewell and Vladimir Smicer don’t really count do they?). To compound the problems, Liverpool were playing with Jamie Carragher, a world class centre half in his prime, as a full time full back. To say it was a functional, workman like back four is understating the negativity somewhat.

As time went by, the team became more and more narrow and the calls of ’10 yards back lads’ from Phil Thompson began to grind more and more at the fans who were paying to watch what had in truth become a one dimensional long ball outfit who completely lacked creativity and were neither good to watch, nor in the end getting results either. Shamefully, the players were paid like it was Barcelona but played like it was Wimbledon.

Houllier in fairness did have some strengths as a manager and it is important that those are recognised, Steven Gerrard for example has gone on record as saying he appreciated the warm, persona and closel relationship he enjoyed with Houllier, he saw him as a Father figure and was perhaps the ideal manager at that time in his career to help develop him into being one of the worlds greatest players for club and country. This warmth and approachability was in stark contrast to the cold, distant style that Rafa Benitez employed and for which he was often criticised.

So how will Houllier do at Aston Villa? Admittedly the early signs are good having already put 3 points on the board as manager with a 2-1 victory in a tricky local derby against Wolves. Personally though I feel the story may well prove be a very similar one to that which unfolded at Liverpool, the team that he has inherited a Villa Park already contains some of those athletic industrious players that he favours, indeed in Emile Heskey he has re united with one of his old favourites. The pace and endeavour of players such as Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor will slot nicely into the quick counter attacking football that the early years of Houlliers reign at Anfield enjoyed, Villa fans though will be hoping that his judgement in the transfer market will be a little more astute and that perhaps this time he can formulate some form of backup plan for when his initial blueprint for victory comes up short.

Perhaps the addition of Gary McAllister as his assistant will provide ying to Houlliers yang and the pair can find the right balance of defence and attack, artistry and hard work that is required for success in what we all know is a very tough league. If not, it could well be a short lived appointment.

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The dust has almost settled on it, newspapers have stopped dedicating back pages to it and Gary Lineker has stopped giving us his opinions on it. Ok, perhaps that last bit isn’t strictly true but it does seem that the ghosts of the World Cup are finally being put to rest.

We’ve got the international retirements out of the way. However some of the retirees seemed to be so distant from selection anyway that it had many of us questioning our own international availability. Strangely, Emile Heskey seemingly retired from international football several years ago but for some reason waited until after the tournament to announce it.

Unfortunately it seems to have slipped Matthew Upson’s mind to do so. That shouldn’t be a great surprise though as during the World Cup, and for a lot of last season, he forgot he was a defender.

The goalkeeping situation, with 27 different keepers being involved with the England squad since South Africa, had Sunday League shot stoppers checking their holidays didn’t clash with any upcoming qualifiers.

Jack Wilshere wasn’t picked for the senior squad this time, which is a shame as he seems like he’d fit right in.

Clubbing until all hours? Check. Group of unsavoury hangers on? Check. PR department to get you out of trouble? Check. Dodgy tattoo which looks like it was done in prison? Check.

At least Wayne Rooney has got the monkey off his back having scored a penalty at the weekend and we have more balance up front now. Darren Bent and Carton Cole could provide an alternative and have a lot in common. Indeed they are both 26, both have around half a dozen caps and both are yet to score a goal.
Given the lack of talent around then perhaps we should take a look at importing some players. Owen Hargreaves was a great example of this, he’d never even lived in England before playing for the country. If you discount the fact he has breadsticks where the rest of us have bones, then this should be a pointer for us to a more successful future.

Klose, Podolski, Camoranesi and Patrice Evra were all born in different countries to those they went on to represent. Deco, born in Brazil, only moved to Portugal for football and once he’d lived there for six years he was able to play for the national team. Germany did exactly the same with Cacau.

Surely we should be searching the world for any football prospects, with even the weakest link to England, and persuading them there is no greater honour than wearing the Three Lions. We’ve had foreign managers, foreign coaches and an FA which seems to be from another planet, so why should we be so insistent that our players are English through and through?

When building the British Empire, if only they had taken more thought to colonise countries that would later be proficient at football!

What we do know, due to the Unwritten England Manager Rules, is that Fabio Capello just won’t be able to win.

Anything less than six points and he’ll be ripped to pieces for not beating ‘international minnows’. Yet if his teams hammer the opposition he’ll be panned for not getting similar performances when it really mattered.

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