Why Heskey was always going to the World Cup

Written by James Beckett Thursday, 03 June 2010 12:42

England World Cup Blog

When Fabio Capello axed Theo Walcott from his World Cup, he sent out a huge message saying that nobody should take their place in the squad for granted. But while the Arsenal winger got caught by the Italian's axe, Emile Heskey managed to escape on the plane to South Africa.

On the face of things, Heskey was in a very similar position to Walcott, and in truth like Walcott, Heskey hasn't done much since that night in Zagreb. Despite hardly playing for Aston Villa and scoring only five goals this season, Heskey has managed to get to his second World Cup.


But Heskey's game is like marmite, you either love it or you hate it, and many England fans can't see the point of Heskey playing in the World Cup, when we already have the big man in the shape of Peter Crouch.


However personally I don't see the logic behind that argument. To say that Crouch is in the Heskey mould would be absurd, because while they are both big strikers, Heskey is your old fashioned target man who can bully defenders, Crouch simply isn't this.


In truth, despite his goals at club level, Darren Bent faced an impossible task to force his way in to the international set up. Both Jermain Defoe, Crouch has proved that they can score goals at international level So both earned there place on the plane to South Africa, while Heskey was chosen because England need an old fashioned target man.


So while Capello proved that nobody's place in the squad was guaranteed, in reality Heskey was always going to make the final 23, and while you won't see many England shirts with his name on the back, he could be the unsung hero of South Africa.


There is no doubting in my mind that Rooney plays better along side Heskey, just look at the statistics. Rooney scored nine times in qualifying, and seven of these were scored when he was partnered by Heskey, and the other two came against the minnows of Andorra. In all probability the only way England will achieve success this summer is if we can get the best out of Rooney, so for that reason 'Marmite Man' could of packed his bags for South Africa a long time ago.

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