Emile Heskey is in line for a new contract with Villa, according to some readings of comments by manager Alex McLeish. The quote in question: “Emile is in the last year of his contract but I don’t think he needs to worry about his future.”
That particular version was truncated, though, and the full quote apparently was: “I don’t think he needs to worry about his future because Emile is a player who can play anywhere and for any team and won’t let them down.” Which sounds far less definitive.
Naturally, Heskey is one of the Villa players who divides fan opinion as strongly as any. While managers from Fabio Capello to Martin O’Neill and McLeish have rated him highly, fans often wonder loudly about his value. Some clue as to what managers see in him is provided by McLeish’s revelation that during the break Heskey was training some at CB, and performed well enough to earn a comparison to Franz Beckenbauer.
“We now know what Emile can do, he can play in any position. 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.”
Make of that what you will, but try to breathe deeply in the process.
Albrighton Low on Confidence
We didn’t really need to be told, but Marc Albrighton is saying that his slow start to the season has been frustrating, and that his confidence has consequently taken a knock.
“It has been a tough season for me so far,” said Albrighton. “I have not hit the form that I’d like to and I’ve been disappointed and beaten myself up about my own performances. My confidence has been a bit low so to come and play for the reserves has been great to help build it back up.”
That’s honest enough, and Marc is a good player with a good attitude. Having a breakthrough season is one thing, following it up is another. Here’s to hoping that McLeish is managing him well. And when he does come on, a little encouragement and support from the fans won’t do him any harm.
Manchester City Update
Apparently Sergio Aguero, Aleksander Kolarov, Stefan Savic, Pablo Zabaleta, and Edin Dzeko all missed training today, and although Aguero is coming along, he probably won’t return until next Tuesday at the earliest.
That’s alright by me. City will field a very strong team regardless, so if the timing of the fixture at Eastlands, sorry, Etihad Stadium, is to our advantage, so be it.
Barry Bannan, James Collins and Gabriel Agbonlahor all still seem to be on track to be available. Delfouneso has been ruled out, but the staff are apparently telling him he will get his chances, and it seems he might’ve done against City were it not for the hamstring pull he suffered.
Speaking of Bannan
The rumors concerning Manchester United’s interest in the starlet don’t seem to be going away, some going so far as to speculate that a January bid might be on the books, with a purported £15m valuation being touted.
We all know what to make of speculation, and I can’t see Villa letting him go just as he’s finding his feet and starting to make an impact.
O’Neill Out of NI Running
Apparently Martin O’Neill has taken himself out of the running for the vacant Northern Ireland job. He seems to have taken himself out of the running in many regards following his abrupt departure from Villa Park.
*** NOTE *** – New to our site? Not got an account? Register one via two options – a) use your Facebook account to login by using the “Login with Facebook” on the right of the site, or b) get in contact with the username and password you would like via http://www.astonvillalife.com/contact and we will get you one set up.
Remember – blogs are much more fun when your opinions are heard!
The Author
