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Blast from the Past – Emile Heskey

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“He`s the best striker of his type”, Steve Bruce once said. Many people saw Heskey as a ‘non-goal scoring centre forward`. Truth be told, Emile Heskey wasn`t prolific in front of goal but his contribution to the team cannot be questioned.

Heskey averaged a goal every 4.8 games during his time at St. Andrew`s – but was often used in a wide berth. The ability was clearly there, as his 62 England caps show.

Born in 1978, Emile Willian Ivanhoe Heskey began his career at his hometown club, Leicester City. After breaking into the first team in 1994, he went on to make 197 appearances for The Foxes.

In March 2000, Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier forked out £11m for his services. Then 22, Heskey`s signature was met with high hopes at Anfield. His first of 60 goals for the Reds came in a 3-0 win over Coventry City in April 2000.

After 223 appearances at Liverpool, Bruce splashed out an initial £3.5m for the striker, potentially rising to £6.25m. In Heskey`s second season at Blues, the club were relegated meaning the final £1.5m of the transfer fee did not have to be paid.

Some sections of fans heavily criticised Heskey for his inconsistent performances. In his 78 appearances for Blues, he managed 16 goals and was guilty of missing several clear cut chances.

Eventually he was sold to Wigan before taking a step down and moving to Aston Villa. Then he moved to Newcastle Jets in the MLS before signing for Bolton, where he is still currently playing.

For a player who was capped 62 times for England, scored in the 5-1 romp of Germany and cost £24.75m in combined transfer fees, there must have been something in Emile Heskey`s locker.

Whilst Heskey may not have been a great goalscorer or a skilful player, his hard worked seemed to get the best out of whoever was playing alongside him. England striker Michael Owen said Heskey was “his preferred striker partner”. Some compliment that.

Emile Heskey by numbers:
Age: 38
Appearances for Blues: 78
Goals for Blues: 16
Total career appearances: 774
Total career goals: 163

Twitter @robwildey123

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