Deak’s Football Blog

Emmanuel Adebayor, Man City’s £25M summer signing from Arsenal, had an interesting weekend. Saturday’s 4-2 defeat of his former club Arsenal saw him taunting his ex-team-mates by prancing into the Arsenal half of the field before the kick off, then there was his deliberate stamp on Robin Van Persie’s face, and finally, there was that celebration.

And, make no mistake, that celebration was golden. Even if you like Arsenal — and I love them — that image is brilliant, iconic, exhilarating.

In this age of lifeless all-seater stadiums, the interaction between fans and sports stars is not something I would like to see discouraged.  It is very unfortunate that a steward was hurt at Eastlands because of a few idiots, but I think this is the kind of moment that only augments football as a spectacle. I watched Eastbourne Borough vs. Chester City at the weekend and the ongoing banter between fans and players was an excellent addition to the game itself. (It was a 1-1 draw by the way; Boro gave away another soft penalty at home.)

The assault on Van Persie was obviously not something we want to see — I think there’s universal agreement on that — however, I wonder if we’re missing a trick here regarding Adebeyor’s gamesmanship and crowd interaction? If only people could learn than offence is taken and not given.

If Emile Heskey were quicker, had a better touch, a more varied range of passing, and could jump to take advantage of his great height, then — and really only just — should be considered for a starting place for England. By those metrics, his inability to score goals could be forgiveable.

Against Slovenia on Saturday, Heskey did not lack enthusiasm or commitment. England demands these things, which is why we love nutters like Stuart Pearce, Terry Butcher, and Wayne Rooney. However, despite Heskey’s earnest and hard-working attitude, we can’t seem to love him.

When the ball comes to Heskey, we — and I mean “we” both in the first-person plural and in the collective sense to encompass England fans — are almost expecting him to achieve nothing positive with it. I find myself hoping that he can hold it up long enough for Rooney or Lampard to link up with him. It’s not really enough is it? I think we should be expecting more of an England player.

If Capello wants a little and large pairing up front, he has the proven option of Peter Crouch and the very exciting prospect of Carlton Cole. Or maybe he can be persuaded to revise his approach and start the in-form Jermain Defoe against Croatia on Wednesday? Either approach would be fine by me.

He wouldn’t drop Rooney. Would he?