Emile Heskey has not played for his country for over three years, he has been involved in the squad once during this absence but he was not used. That last appearance was during the Euro 2004 finals in Portugal, now after being virtually ignored during the Word Cup campaign and for most of this qualification process, he has been handed the responsibility of helping England qualify for a tournament that he may not feature in.

Emile Heskey Model Professional

When called upon for his 43 caps Heskey was the model player, prepared to play and do what ever was asked of him by the management including playing out of position. This is probably the root cause of his poor statistics as a ‘striker’ in 43 appearances he only managed to score 5 goals. Even if he was the provider of every other England goal, it does not change the fact he scored 1 goal for every eight games. A ratio that does not inspire confidence in England fans when they have to win the next two games to remain in contention for qualifying for the finals next summer.

Wigan Manager Chris Hutchings ‘He has been playing out of his skin…it’s also fantastic for the whole of Wigan’

The comments from Wigan manager Chris Hutchings say everything about Englands prospects and the ambition of Wigan Athletic. Firstly on Heskey playing out of his skin, he has managed one goal in five league games for Wigan this season. That goal scored against a Sunderland defence who can hardly be compared with an International defence.

Secondly the inclusion of a Wigan player in the England squad should not really be a cause of celebration for the whole town. It’s not like winning a cap is the same as winning a cup.

Striker Wanted Apply @ TheFA.com

There have to be more potent strikers available to McClaren than Emile Heskey, even with the current injury crisis. The only English strikers in the goal scoring top 10 are Cameron Jerome and Michael Chopra, who have both scored two this season with teams that have just been promoted. Michael Owen has scored as many goals as Derbyshire and Agbonlahor who have both played in these pressure situations for the under21 team why not blood them in the last friendly and have them prepared for succession to the full squad?

England: Names And Reputations or Passion And Pride

It would appear to many that McClaren and the FA are going down the path of the devil they know, even if what they know is not what they really need. Since before the time of Ericsson England squads have been picked on the name and reputation of the players rather than their current form, which is why Lampard and Gerrard are shoe horned into the midfield. It is also the reason why Owen, Rooney and Heskey have so many caps and in the case of the latter two, so few goals. When did Rooney last score a competitive goal for his country? 21st June 2004 against Croatia at Euro 2004. Yet it is believed when fit he is one of the first names on the team sheet. It is not like England have a shortage of players, only a shortage of English players that play for fashionable teams (Wigan I know are not fashionable, but Heskey made his England reputation while playing with Liverpool). It is time that players who play for unfashionable clubs got an opportunity they have earned, rather than selecting mediocre players because of the club badge that appears on their chest. An example of this would be Kieran Richardson a regular in the squad while a Manchester United player how many call ups will he get now he is at Sunderland?

Full Squad To Play Against Israel & Russia

Goalkeepers:

Paul Robinson (Spurs), David James(Portsmouth), Scott Carson(Aston Villa)

Defenders:

Micah Richards(Man City), Wes Brown(Man Utd), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Everton), Phil Neville (Everton), Nicky Shorey (Reading)

Midfielders:

David Bentley (Blackburn), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Stuart Downing (Middlesbrough), Owen Hargreaves (Man Utd)

Strikers:

Alan Smith (Newcastle United), Michael Owen (Newcastle United), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Andy Johnson (Everton), Jermain Defoe (Spurs), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Emile Heskey (Wigan)

Wigan fans will be devastated to see last season’s player of the year leave just five days before the beginning of the new season. Baines will make the short trip across Lancashire to Goodison Park in Merseyside.

Baines made sure not to burn any bridges on his departure from the JJB Stadium, he thanked the Wigan fans for all their support, when he told them just how difficult his decision was to leave behind all his friends. The England Under 21 international has spent more than quarter of his life at the club.

The £5 million deal will see the much fancied defender become a toffee in time for the start of the new Premier League season. Much will be expected of new signings Baines and Jagielka for the new season as Everton push for Europe.

The extensive search to find the right man to replace Paul Jewell as manager of Wigan Athletic appears to be over. They searched high and low, scouring Europe to find someone with the right skills, after a whole afternoon they realised the man they were after was right under their nose!

Chris Hutchings, Jewell’s number two will be stepping up to the plate to take the reigns at the JJB Stadium. Chairman Dave Whelan has promised to back Hutchings in the transfer window with funds to buy players. Hutchings will have his work cut out trying to attract players to a struggling side with an unknown manager.

Hutchings has managed in the premiership before he won just one game from twelve when Jewell stepped down from his position at Bradford. Wigan could find themselves in a similar position to Charlton, Hutchings may not make the grade or he could follow Jewell again when he finds a new job at a bigger club like Manchester City. Then they will have to do the searching and consideration that they should have done now, probably during a busy time during the season when results are needed immediately. With a wealth of proven Premiership managers looking for employers Wigan could have done worse than stretching their recruitment drive out for a few days rather than a few hours.

Less than 24 hours after guiding his Wigan side to safety, guaranteeing them Premiership football for another season Paul Jewell has tendered his resignation to Latics Chairman Dave Whelan, owner of JJB Sports.

Having spent over six years at the helm at Wigan, Jewell’s employment with Wigan was halted with immediate effect. There are many reasons for the decision to leave, however the main ones would be the poor results this term and the failure to land the quality players needed to take the club to a new level. Wigan will look to appoint some body as soon as possible to help with the preparation for next season.

Talk of conspiracy theories during the week spoke of the variety of ways that both Sheffield United and Wigan could engineer a result that would see them both in the Premiership next season. However the key to the success of any conspiracy relied on Manchester United beating West Ham United.

The visitors were a goal up within fifteen minutes, Paul Scharner’s left foot putting Wigan on the road to safety. The blades wanted to make that road as long and hard as possible. They got back in the game just before half time when Jon Stead showed the desire needed if United were to stay up, as he put his head in to the mix to score the equaliser.

There was to a twist, a killer blow for the Blades as their captain Phil Jagielka handled the ball in the box. Up stepped former Blade David Unsworth to take the spot-kick. A sigh of relief was breathed the United faithful as they recalled his penalty miss for them earlier in the season. However he was about to send his old club back to the Coca-Cola Championship as he placed the ball just outside the reach of Paddy Kenny. In the closing stages of the game Wigan striker Lee McCullough was sent off for a second yellow card but his team held on to the win to stay in the Premiership.

Neil Warnock’s press conferences will be missed in the Premiership next season. The Tevez debate will drag on over the close season, however there will be no changing the punishment that the Premier League have handed out.

Chris Morgan now misses the next three games having been convicted of violent conduct by the FA’s video discipline commission. They felt that if the official in charge had sight of the incident he would have issued him with a red card.

Morgan punched Arsenal forward Robin Van Persie in the ribs from behind during the Blades victory over the Gunners. Now he will miss league games against Portsmouth and Reading as well as the FA Cup tie with Swansea City this weekend.

Morgan had only recently been the victim of violent conduct when Wigan’s Lee McCulloch left him with a black eye in December.

Les Reed left his post as Charlton manager by mutual agreement, giving him a place in the premiership history books as the manager with the shortest tenure so far, just 41 days and eight games.

Reed has been immediately replaced by Alan Pardew, who was a recent casualty of the Icelandic take over at West Ham United, Pardew has a mountain to climb if he is to save the club from relegtion. He is rumoured to have a bonus of a million pounds if he can save the club from the clutches of the Championship.

Pardew had expected a quiet Christmas in front of the television, but after receiving a call from the chairman. Pardew admits it was an easy decision to make as the valley is a home from home with friendly faces from his days there as a player.

He has the January transfer window to equip himself with the personnel needed to fight for survival. He also believes that former Addicks manager Alan Curbishley has what is needed to guide his old club to safety. Which must mean that two of Wigan, Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United will join bottom club in the drop to the Championship.

The draw for the Football Association Challenge Cup sponored by EON Third round proper has not disappointed on any front. The romance of the cup is alive and well, with many of the smaller, lower league clubs facing opposition from the Premiership. Chelsea play hosts to bottom of League 2 Macclesfield Town in a tie that is very much in the vain of the princes versus the paupers.

Cup holders Liverpool will entertain Arsenal in a repeat of their upcoming Carling Cup quarter final, while last years finalists West Ham United have a home tie against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Tottenham who have not managed an away victory on home soil in the league will be hoping that they can overcome a Cardiff City side who have made Ninian Park a fortress as they fight for automatic promotion to the Premiership.

FA Cup third round draw:
Blackpool v Aldershot Town or Basingstoke Town?Barnet v Colchester United?Sheffield United v Swansea City
Reading v Burnley
Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic
Mansfield Town or Doncaster Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
West Ham United v Brighton & Hove Albion
Leicester City v Fulham
Derby County v Wrexham
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Oldham Athletic
Bury or Chester City v Ipswich Town
Manchester United v Aston Villa
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Tamworth v Norwich City
Salisbury City or Nottingham Forest v Charlton Athletic
Cardiff City v Tottenham Hotspur
Preston North End v Sunderland
Liverpool v Arsenal
Bristol Rovers or Bournemouth v Hereford United
Watford v Stockport County
Crystal Palace v Swindon Town
Bristol City v Coventry City
Peterborough United v Plymouth Argyle
Queens Park Rangers v Luton Town
Southend United v Barnsley
West Bromwich Albion v Leeds United
Hull City v Middlesbrough
Birmingham City v Newcastle United
Torquay United or Leyton Orient v Southampton
Everton v Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea v Macclesfield Town
Stoke City v Bradford City or Millwall

Newly appointed Roy Keane has made his intentions felt in the North East by bringing a wealth of talent to the Stadium of Light. The former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United midfielder appeared to continue the jobs for the boys theme by bringing in players that he as worked with previously at Celtic, Manchester United or the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland players David Connolly and Graham Kavanagh both joined from Wigan. Keane signed fellow Treble winner Dwight Yorke who had been playing his football pre-World Cup in Sydney Australia. Sunderland old boy Stanislav Varga and Scotland U-21 Ross Wallace both left Scottish Champions Glasgow Celtic to head to the north east, however Neil Lennon elected to stay at Parkhead after being reassured that the arrival of Thomas Gravesen would not force him out of the club.

As promised during his press conference Keane did call upon his old manager Sir Alex Ferguson for some help which came in the form of another Irishman, Liam Miller. The deal was not the ‘loan’ that Keane had mentioned but a free transfer which must be seen as coup for Sunderland.

The influx of Irishmen to the area could almost warrant a change of name to Sundireland.

Tottenham have signed an injured Steed Malbranque from Fulham after Chris Coleman suggested that the player would never play for the Cottagers again. Malbranque is out with a groin injury for a minimum of ten weeks.

Similarly to their North London Rivals Tottenham have also had a long running saga involving a full back. Pascal Chimbonda handed Wigan boss Paul Jewell a transfer request after the final whistle of their last game of the season (ironically at Highbury). £6 million was the figure required to secure the services of the French defender.

The end of the window also allowed Tottenham to arrange the permanent signing of loan striker Mido from Roma. Both clubs had failed to reach an agreement over the Egyptians value following his eighteen-month stint at White Hart Lane. He completes an impressive set of striking options that Martin Jol has at his disposal as he seeks to improve on last years achievements.