Heskey v Giroud

Heskey. Neither are out and out goal scorers. Giroud maximummin the PL in a season is 16. Heskeys maximum was 14.

BUT Heskey was loved by strikers he played with as he made it easier for them to get goals and helped them to get more. I remember once seeing a program with the England squad being interviewed and I think all of the other England strikers said he was their favourite strike partner. He was good at holding the ball up and being a general pain in the backside for defenders. So he gets my vote, even though I never liked him as a player.
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So being a better strike partner is better than Giroud's vastly superior goal record, performances at the highest level of club football, international performances and the fact that he helped deliver Montpellier to a fantastic league title? Besides, Heskey played mostly in 4-4-2s vs Giroud playing in 4-2-3-1 at club level, so the comparison is non-existent. When Giroud has played in strike partnerships, as he did with Griezmann at the Euros last year, he excelled.

Giroud

comment by renoog (U4449)
posted 12 hours, 20 minutes ago
Heskey. Neither are out and out goal scorers. Giroud maximummin the PL in a season is 16. Heskeys maximum was 14.

BUT Heskey was loved by strikers he played with as he made it easier for them to get goals and helped them to get more. I remember once seeing a program with the England squad being interviewed and I think all of the other England strikers said he was their favourite strike partner. He was good at holding the ball up and being a general pain in the backside for defenders. So he gets my vote, even though I never liked him as a player.
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So being a better strike partner is better than Giroud's vastly superior goal record, performances at the highest level of club football, international performances and the fact that he helped deliver Montpellier to a fantastic league title? Besides, Heskey played mostly in 4-4-2s vs Giroud playing in 4-2-3-1 at club level, so the comparison is non-existent. When Giroud has played in strike partnerships, as he did with Griezmann at the Euros last year, he excelled.
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The question was who is the better PLAYER and that is Heskey. The question you have answered is who is the better CF for which it is more of an argument, but the better PLAYER is Heskey.

The question was who is the better PLAYER and that is Heskey. The question you have answered is who is the better CF for which it is more of an argument, but the better PLAYER is Heskey.
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Jeezus Christ are we talking about the same Heskey here? The lumbering carthorse which played for a variety of mid-table to lower level clubs, and flopped at Liverpool, and was a thoroughly bang average international striker? Even if you ignore his glaring lack of talent on the ball and build an argument around his target play, how far did it get him in his career? Staving off relegation a few times for desperate clubs? Unfancied Montpellier successfully won a title based around Giroud's play. France got to the final of the Euros with him. He has been a regular 20+ a season goalscorer for Arsenal while Heskey floundered at his only big club and pretty much made no mark at international level aside from a few decent performances in qualification games.

Flopped at LFC by winning four trophies?

Yes he flopped. He was supposed to be an up-and-coming young striker pushing on to greater things but instead proved himself as an unreliable player at the highest level and left the club to pursue a career as a relegation battler. Ah yes the old 'but he won X trophies' fallacy which has been used to defend players like Djimi Traore and Darron Gibson in the past too.

You've decided that have you because I've not seen anyone say that tbh.

One in three strike rate minutes wise having been played wide by Houllier a lot winning four trophies in just over four years.

I'm sure you're right though.

Decided what? His strike rate was no better than it was at Leicester, despite him being given a greater platform and entering what should have been his prime years, and he left with his reputation as a promising talent in tatters with only relegation-threatened clubs willing to take a punt on him at the age of 26. Again, I don't see the relevance of the trophies unless you can somehow convince me Heskey was a major contributor to them. Any player who's ever played for a successful club will accrue trophies, it's such a nonsense argument when used in isolation.

He was indeed a big part of them.

On reflection I feel very silly having been reeled into and dedicating so much time to such a pointless comparison