Brumstopdogs Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Heskey is a dire player. Would much rather us give a younger player ago than watch him fail season in season out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashingqwerty Posted August 13, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted August 13, 2011 Oh dear. Oh dear. oh dear. oh dear. Our first choice left winger. Oh dear. nail... head... you hit it... We did not play with a left winger, Heskey played left side of a front 3 (or 4 at times). Semantics I know, but I thought id make the point! if he was playing left side of a front three then he's even worse than i thought he was as i dont recall him being within 40 yards of bent all day (not that gabby was any better but gabby stuck to the byline and made more of a nuisance of himself until he ran out of steam) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steaknchips Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 He played well. He worked hard, held the ball up, won freekicks and made some good runs behind their back four. But because he me missed some half-chances he gets moaned at as usual. Talk about a scapegoat. When Heskey's not playing it's someone else. When a player plays, I base their performance on that one game and not on who they are as a player in the past. Warnock is particular frustrated me last season, but he was very good today. Heskey can only do what is asked of him and he did it well. However like throughout his career due to his reputation he can't do right and I'm sure he's used to it by now. I will be pleased if Heskey performs to at least this level this season as it different from the player last season who apart from the odd game lacked aggression and physicality to be of any use. Oh come-on mate.You say he played well? Was that, played well for what we can expect of Heskey? Or played well as a key member of Aston Villa's attacking play? Im sorry mate but it just isnt good enough because for the area of the team he is playing, you kinda expect more service to the strikeforce.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaAlex Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 He played well. He worked hard, held the ball up, won freekicks and made some good runs behind their back four. But because he me missed some half-chances he gets moaned at as usual. Talk about a scapegoat. When Heskey's not playing it's someone else. When a player plays, I base their performance on that one game and not on who they are as a player in the past. Warnock is particular frustrated me last season, but he was very good today. Heskey can only do what is asked of him and he did it well. However like throughout his career due to his reputation he can't do right and I'm sure he's used to it by now. I will be pleased if Heskey performs to at least this level this season as it different from the player last season who apart from the odd game lacked aggression and physicality to be of any use. Oh come-on mate.You say he played well? Was that, played well for what we can expect of Heskey? Or played well as a key member of Aston Villa's attacking play? Im sorry mate but it just isnt good enough because for the area of the team he is playing, you kinda expect more service to the strikeforce.. I agree he is ineffective in that position. But he does a job, he's certainly not as bad as people make out. It's just the same old people bashing him because they don't like the guy. Imo he had a better game then Gabby today but Gabby doesn't get the abuse as he's not todays scapegoat. Although Gabby too worked hard and did what was required. If Heskey and Gabby put in this type of performance at home in a must win tie, fair enough it's not good enough but they had a job to do today and they both did it well. On another day or four Heskey could have scored Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacketspuds Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 The problem is we need better players than Heskey but we can't afford them because we are paying Heskey £60k/week for little contribution, which also makes it very difficult to sell him. Let's hope we can tempt Leicester into offering him £40k/week and we pay the other £20k/week just to get rid of him. Our squad is littered with high earners/low contributors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delphinho123 Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I love the way on villatalk that if you say a player played badly, they are a 'scapegoat'. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 13, 2011 VT Supporter Share Posted August 13, 2011 if he was playing left side of a front three then he's even worse than i thought he was as i dont recall him being within 40 yards of bent all day (not that gabby was any better but gabby stuck to the byline and made more of a nuisance of himself until he ran out of steam) Thats not Heskeys fault, that is Big Eck trying to keep the team solid, defending from the front. Heskey is there to do a specific role which he played well today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 i dont like him as a player, but in terms of workrate and playing with his back to goal today he was very good. he won lots of headers, he showed to recieve the ball to feet and then held it up before moving it on. he kept a lot of attacks going today. he was the only one looking to play in bent with short layoffs and little flicks. however, once he is facing goal and actually has to have a shot, well its like a different player. i couldnt believe when he passed up the opportunity to shoot in the 2nd half. 18 yards out, middle of the goal, time to line up and shoot and you pass it backwards and out to the wing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaAlex Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I love the way on villatalk that if you say a player played badly, they are a 'scapegoat'. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are shit. Well you're wrong because it's happened every time Heskey has played for us. Funnily enough every manager seems to feel differently about Emile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steaknchips Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 He played well. He worked hard, held the ball up, won freekicks and made some good runs behind their back four. But because he me missed some half-chances he gets moaned at as usual. Talk about a scapegoat. When Heskey's not playing it's someone else. When a player plays, I base their performance on that one game and not on who they are as a player in the past. Warnock is particular frustrated me last season, but he was very good today. Heskey can only do what is asked of him and he did it well. However like throughout his career due to his reputation he can't do right and I'm sure he's used to it by now. I will be pleased if Heskey performs to at least this level this season as it different from the player last season who apart from the odd game lacked aggression and physicality to be of any use. Oh come-on mate.You say he played well? Was that, played well for what we can expect of Heskey? Or played well as a key member of Aston Villa's attacking play? Im sorry mate but it just isnt good enough because for the area of the team he is playing, you kinda expect more service to the strikeforce.. I agree he is ineffective in that position. But he does a job, he's certainly not as bad as people make out. It's just the same old people bashing him because they don't like the guy. Imo he had a better game then Gabby today but Gabby doesn't get the abuse as he's not todays scapegoat. Although Gabby too worked hard and did what was required. If Heskey and Gabby put in this type of performance at home in a must win tie, fair enough it's not good enough but they had a job to do today and they both did it well. On another day or four Heskey could have scored And so could Fulham,who came alot closer than we did.. Im not looking to make anyone a scapegoat and certainly not looking to pick on Heskey because I dont like him.. My views are passionate and thinking of ways how we can improve as a club. I would have liked to see Bannan in that possition today, maybe we would have had alot more chances because he is a little more active than Heskey, he is also a good passer of the ball and can feed Bent a bit better than Heskey...I would also liked to have seen Albrighton in place of Gabby because he is a far better winger and again can deliver killer balls into Bent..Plus Gabby is a better striker, not a winger.. McLeish played it safe today by picking older heads with experience, rather than younger players with a bit of flair and unpredictability..I predicted a draw and I predicted a display of shutting up shop. The picking of Heskey and Gabby was to close down Fulham when they had the ball deep in their area forcing them to play longballs for Dunne and Collins to collect. During alot of the 2nd half Both Gabby and Heskey got pushed back into our midfield to help Petrov and Delph.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaAlex Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Fair enough good post I agree with you. I would rather Heskey be replaced but we're stuck with him and will judge him on each performance. I doubt we will see him starting next week, so people may be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 The problem is we have very little other options available to us. I didn't watch the game but at the moment, the way Albrighton is playing, defensively he isn't the greatest, obviously both penalty boxes set-pieces, we'd be worse and the way he's playing in open play, struggling to beat a man, being muscles off the ball or giving the ball away. We're better off keeping it reliable. I can imagine Gabby and Heskey offering little going forward today (again didn't watch it but seen enough recently to know this) but at least they do their jobs and work extremely hard. It's not as if we have other players available who have shown to be great going forward but poor defensively and he's just picking the 'safer' options, we're picking the best options we have. That's quite unfortunate on are squad and you can't blame McLeish. We haven't got money to spend. If Albrighton was in good form, this would be a case of playing it safe. At the moment though, he's just playing the best team possible. I'd be slightly surprised if one of them aren't dropped for Ireland though in the next game at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I hate to post anything too negative on here these days, but **** me Heskey must be one of the most frustrating players around. I can't help but agree with the opinion that had MON signed Bent instead of him we would've got Champions League. He (like Stan IMO) must do something in training to get continually selected (or rather, not subbed when obviously having a stinker). He has flashes of promise but time and time again he disappoints and I'm just sat wondering how the flaming **** he gets picked by so many managers, and praised by so many strike partners. But still, we're paying his ridiculous wages so we might as well put him to use making the rest of the team look less shit simply by comparison. I'm very much hoping it's early days yet and McLeish is still settling on a formation, as I would rather play just 1 striker and pack the midfield than waste any more time giving Heskey more chances to disappoint - especially when he is played on the pissing wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSufferingVilla Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 In his defence, he did a great job of marking Hangeland on Fulhams set pieces. that is most likely why he wasn't subbed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 In his defence, he did a great job of marking Hangeland on Fulhams set pieces. that is most likely why he wasn't subbed off. While not typically a quality I rate highly when judging a striker/forward, I do feel this has worked in his favor throughout his career. ...And if it did directly help us to not concede today then it is a fair point. It was very important to not lose today against a Fulham team who are generally pretty tough opposition at home. I'd still balance that against the chances of another player being a goal threat in his place, but either way it's a fair point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante_Lockhart Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Square pegs in round holes again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulver Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 works hard, does a 'job' but ultimately once again offers nothing worthy in the attacking sense, as proven by his woeful attempt on Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieB Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 In his defence, he did a great job of marking Hangeland on Fulhams set pieces. that is most likely why he wasn't subbed off. Not to mention snuffing in the main the threat of Murphy out in midfield, which is the job he was asked to do on Saturday. Worked his socks off again at Craven Cottage, but gets absolutely no credit for the hard work he puts in off some quarters. Said it before. Heskey is a handfull and while defenders deal with him, he creates space for other strikers, that's why players like Owen, Rooney et al love playing with Emile in the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barry'sboots Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 I feel really sorry for the big guy. He worked his socks off today and does bring us something defensively on set pieces BUT he is just NOT a second striker/ACM. Heskey is at his best when he is the main striker and has a second striker (e.g. owen) or an ACM playing off him as he was at the start of Ged's regime. Problem is Bent is our main striker. He can only really play as a main striker. He always has and always will. He did at Charlton at the point of a 4-5-1 with Scotty Parker running in and around him. At Spurs he really struggled when 'Arry tried to pair him up. At Sunderland he looked great at the point of a front three of Gyan, him and Wellbeck. Neither Gabby nor Heskey are able to drop in and fill the hole between him and two deep lying CM'ers. Could the Fonz?? Ireland would seem to be the only viable option. Gary Gardner is too young to play 38 games. The Zog could play in their but then we have no wide options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_007 Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 I would have liked to see Bannan in that possition today Just wondering if you watched the game mate? No point scoring involved at all just curious. As I think bannan would have been eaten alive by Etuhu. Who heskey had in his pocket all game. I thought he was great saturday. He does all the dirty work. But becasue he doesn't score 20 yrd screamers his labelled shit. Shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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