There is often debate when England play as to why Emile Heskey continues to make the international squads and then start for Fabio Capello’s side despite barely playing for Villa and having never been a deadly goalscorer. There are critics and defenders for the striker but the most important view of all is that of his international manager who persists in starting Heskey and it is a decision that looks to have paid off in England’s qualifying campaign for the World Cup. But why would a team choose to play a striker who’s unlikely to score? Here’s why:

The role of the big striker up front is usually to score goals. But whilst that is the main objective of most strikers it is one of many for the big frontman; holding up the ball, laying it off for advancing team mates and unsettling defenders are all part of the big man’s game and essential to how the team plays. Having the big guy up there means the team can lump the ball through the air to him and his team mates can charge forward whilst he either keeps hold of the ball until they’ve joined him or he can simply nod it on to them to run onto. It’s a tried and tested method and used to be a cornerstone of the English game. Many teams these days opt not to use a big, strong forward but the capabilities of the big man up front are still admired by some, including Capello, who are able to exploit their uses.

Look at some of the big men playing up front in the Premiership: Carlton Cole at West Ham, Kevin Davies of Bolton, Didier Drogba at Chelsea (he’s a slightly different case as there’s a lot to Drogba’s game), John Carew at Aston Villa and Kenwyne Jones at Sunderland. None of these aside from Drogba even challenge the top scorers in the Premiership standings but all of them are admired and seen as important players for their respective teams. They bring another option to their team and offer an aerial threat for crosses that means that the aerial route is a possibility for the team rather than just playing through balls for fast players to run onto as many teams do.

To prove their importance further look at the teams that do not use a big man and their success up front. Fulham use two smallish forwards and were one of the lower scoring teams last season despite their high finish (which was due to their miserly defence), Tottenham are an attacking threat but have to rely a lot on midfielders and defenders scoring as Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane are too familiar to each other and don’t complement each others’ style of play, Manchester United put their emphasis on the strength of Wayne Rooney and do not have a particularly potent attacking force these days and Arsenal pass the ball around so much and so fluently that they can find space for their fast players instead to a sufficient rate. All of these clubs could do with a big striker to improve their options – and I’m not counting Tottenham’s Peter Crouch in that assessment as his aerial threat is used in a different way to the other target men – and their failure to carve open good opportunities could be aided by the implementation of the big man, proven technique that it is.

There was a time when every English club relied on a big man up front who won headers, hassled and annoyed defenders and barged his way to getting the ball. These men tend to be loved by their club’s fans and, though not regular goalscorers, tend to be the perfect foil for the smaller, faster striker put next to them on the pitch. It’s this reason which makes Capello shove Heskey up there next to Wayne Rooney and England have impressed with the big man there so far and Heskey’s not even viewed as one of the top big men. Imagine how England could do if they had a better quality big man up top!

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