Houllier on drugs?

[Mister E]

See here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/oct/15/emile-heskey-didier-drogba

Has our Gezza been on the funny fags again (and I don't mean Gitane)?

[Mister E]

Emile Heskey is as good as Didier Drogba, says Gérard Houllier (Guardian, 16-10-10)
It felt like one of the most unlikely comparisons to make, and will certainly raise a few eyebrows, but there was no hint of a smile on Gérard Houllier's face today when the Aston Villa manager likened the much-maligned Emile Heskey to Didier Drogba, one of the best centre-forwards in the world. Football fans everywhere could be forgiven for wondering whether Houllier was joking, but the Frenchman was deadly serious.

With Heskey and Drogba born two months apart and both standing 6ft 2in tall there are, in fairness, a couple of parallels that could easily be overlooked ahead of Chelsea's visit to Villa Park tomorrow. The case, however, starts to appear a little thin when their respective strike-rates come under the microscope, with the six goals Drogba has scored in eight Premier League games this season as many as Heskey has managed in the 49 appearances he has made for Villa in the top flight.

Houllier, though, sees similarities between the two 32-year-old strikers. "I watched the [Chelsea] game against Arsenal. Drogba is a hard-working centre-forward," he said. "But we have a centre-forward who can do the same. Emile is strong, quick, powerful. It's mainly a matter of faith in himself. In terms of skill, he does things in training that you would be amazed and surprised [to see]. I think Emile forgets sometimes how good he can be."

Houllier said it was fair to talk about Heskey in the same breath as Drogba, who is missing tomorrow because of a virus: "Drogba is a fantastic centre-forward, probably the best in the world. He's got everything. He can score by himself, be on the end of crosses, head the ball, take free-kicks, and he works very hard for the team. But Emile has got some attributes that look like Didier, but he doesn't seem to use them. When he uses them, he's the centre-forward you saw in the last few games."

That was evident at White Hart Lane two weeks ago, when Heskey used his powerful frame to barge Tottenham's Sébastien Bassong off the ball before setting up Villa's goal in the 2-1 defeat. It is something that Houllier, who worked with Heskey for four years at Liverpool, would like to see more often. "Emile won't [smash people out of the way like Drogba]," Houllier said. "He's strong physically but he doesn't use his strength. Sometimes he can do better with that."

The chance Heskey set up for Marc Albrighton against Tottenham was his second assist in a three-game spell that has coincided with Houllier's appointment and also included two goals. "Even in training he looks as though he is blossoming," Houllier said. "He knows what I expect from him. And he knows I trust him, and that probably helps his game, because he needs to feel that [trust].

"With strikers here, and everywhere else, we are sometimes not very patient. We expect too much from them. If a midfielder has an average game, we seem to forget it. But if a striker has an average game, and misses a couple of chances, then you can sometimes destroy his confidence." Asked whether Heskey had suffered in that respect in the past, Houllier replied: "Probably. Sometimes we put too much pressure on strikers. But Emile knows I trust him."

[Karl Bridges]

To be fair I always thought the same.

[Karl Bridges]

When I was on drugs.

Seriously though, this is the kind of man management Emile needs. GH knows exactly what he is doing and if he keeps up with the goals and assists he can compare him to whoever he wants.

[olaftab]

oh  How I wish  he was...

Edit: that is Emile as good as  Drogba not Rene on weed!

[kipeye]

oh  How I wish  he was...

Edit: that is Emile as good as  Drogba not Rene on weed!

Of course he's on drugs-look at his eyes.

[VillaAlways]

From what I read of the article he just likened him to Drogba as opposed to saying he was as good as

[darren woolley]

I just hope he can continue to get the best out of heskey i would be satisfied with that.

[eastie]

Stupid thread title- GED has given emile his confidence back and let's get behind the guy instead of silly thread titles like this- gerard houllier will do a fantastic job for this club !

[The Man With A Stick]

Houllier can say what he likes about Heskey if he can get him playing the way he has over the last month.

[pablopicasso_10]

do i not like that..

[Olneythelonely]

So he didn't say anything like "Heskey is as good as Drogba", just that he has some of the same atributes. Oh right. Surely he's on heroin.

[Chris Smith]

"With strikers here, and everywhere else, we are sometimes not very patient. We expect too much from them. If a midfielder has an average game, we seem to forget it. But if a striker has an average game, and misses a couple of chances, then you can sometimes destroy his confidence."

Aint that the truth.

[Irish villain]

Since GH arrived at the club Heskey has been one of our best players. Remember that GH also got the best out of him at 'pool. It just goes to show how clueless our old manager was in employing Heskey as some kind of defensive striker or whatever the heck it was. An Emile Heskey leading the line and having the confidence to take on defenders and go for goal is a much bigger threat than a Heskey trying to knock the ball on or down and hanging about 15 yards behind the main striker at all times.

[eastie]

Agreed- the big difference to me is that now we go out to go for a win whereas too often under mon the aim was to not get beaten- I like the positive things I've seen from houllier and heskey is like a new signing on his current form- bring on Chelsea !