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)