Emile Heskey, the English professional footballer, has had over 500 appearances in both the Premier League and Football League and currently plays for Bolton Wanderers as a striker. Heskey is also available as an after dinner speaker, providing great insight into the qualities that helped to shape his 18-year career (and counting). Heskey has established himself as a great talent on the pitch and successfully cemented his legacy with a pacey and powerful style of play, an upstanding work ethic and a strong team mindset.During his time at various football clubs, Heskey’s experience, persistence and expertise have often made the vital difference between winning and losing.
Heskey was born in Leicester where he developed a passion for football early on, beginning his career by advancing through their youth system. Playing for Ratby Groby Juniors (now Groby Juniors), a local youth team, Heskey’s talents were soon spotted, resulting in him being picked for Leicester City’s football academy. He would make his debut for the team in 1995 at the tender age of 17 in a Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers. A few months on, after signing his first professional contract, he progressed from a first year trainee to become a first team regular in the following season. It was during this first that he would help Leicester to reverse their relegation to the First Division and to once again enter the Premier League. Now playing within the top tier of British football, Heskey continued to prove himself, scoring multiple goals including the all-important equaliser again Middlesbrough in the 1997 League Cup Final, allowing the club to claim victory after a match replay. His performance and goal scoring abilities continued onward into the following season and saw him attract interest from other prolific clubs at the time such as Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur. During the 1998-1999 season, Heskey received criticism due to scoring less times than in the previous season, however fought back with many impressive assists, helping to forge an alliance with fellow striker Tony Cottee that was praised by manager Martin O’Neill.
Following another League Cup win in 2000, Heskey completed a record £11 million move to Liverpool. It had been long anticipated, with manager Gérard Houllier looking forward to working with Heskey and developing the young player’s skills. After a solid performance in his first season with the club, the 2000-2001 season saw Heskey able to bask in the glory of Liverpool’s ‘Treble’ win when they secured the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup and the League Cup all within the same year. In the following two seasons, Heskey would remain a consistent and integral member of the team, but again faced criticism due to a dip in goal scoring. For a second time, Heskey silenced critics with 12 goals as well as guaranteeing himself a place in the England squad for the 2004 UEFA Euro tournament.
At the end of the 2003-2004 season, Heskey signed with Birmingham city and by the end of the next year had won two of the club’s awards – Player of the Season and Fan’s Player of the Season – as well as receiving a majority of the Man of the Match awards. In 2006, Heskey made the move to Wigan Athletic and scored crucial equalisers for the club against Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as heavily contributing toward the goal difference that would prevent Wigan facing relegation. After seeing out his contract with the club, Heskey joined Aston Villa in 2009. He made a big impact in his debut performance for the club, scoring with an impressive twenty yard strike. Heskey’s time with the club was hampered by injuries, which also affected his international playing, forcing him to withdraw from Fabio Capello’s England squad during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. However, he would go on to join the squad for the main tournament and assist Gerrard’s goal in England’s opening game with the United States.
After two seasons with Australian A-League side the Newcastle Jets, Heskey returned to England to join the Bolton Wanderers in 2014, scoring an equaliser on his debut that would eventually lead to a 2-1 victory. Although often a polarising figure in football culture, there can be no doubt that Heskey continues to contend with his critics with as much zeal and skill as ever, and he does this where it truly matters- on the pitch.
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