Emile Heskey: A Legend Returns

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Leicester City icon, Emile Heskey has today announced his intentions to enter into the world of management following a playing career, which spanned 22 years from 1994 to 2016.

“Football has been a major part of my life since the age of 16. I have tried to stay heavily connected to the game, through media punditry and coaching, but it just doesn’t have the same edge. That’s why I believe that now is the right time for me explore the possibilities of management.”​

Throughout his career, he went on to make 786 club level appearances, scoring 164 goals in the process. He made his senior debut playing for Leicester against QPR on 8th March 1995. His International debut came just four years later against Hungary in April 1999 and went on to make 62 appearances and score 7 goals for England.

Despite being ridiculed throughout his career for his poor goal return, Heskey did enjoy a long and successful playing career. He went on to win 8 major trophies, and currently sits 37th​ in the all time England appearances list.

Trophy Cabinet:

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Emile Heskey Press Conference
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Q. - "Hi Emile, Rob Dorset, Sky Sports News. You have recently expressed your intention to start your managerial career. Do you have any indication where that may be?”

A. - "At the minute my options are very much open. The most important step is getting that first job, so that I can begin to develop my experience and qualifications. England would be the most obvious starting point, but I do have a number of connections over in Australia, from my Newcastle Jet days and also across Asia, where I have frequently visited since hanging up the boots. We will have to wait and see what opportunities present themselves."

Q. – “So what would you say your main ambitions are as you enter management?”

A. - "Obviously I want to reach the highest level possible, up alongside the likes of Fergie, José and Pep. I have a long, difficult road ahead before I can get anywhere near those levels, but winning the Premier League and Champions League are right up there for me. I failed to win them as a player and am hoping I can get another opportunity to add them to my trophy cabinet. Managing England and leading them to a major trophy would also be a long awaited dream come true for me."

Q. – “Having grown up in Leicester and achieved much of your success at Liverpool, are these two clubs you will be looking to take charge of further down the road.”

A. - " I have massive connections to both clubs and follow them very closely. I’m under no illusion that I am anywhere near qualified enough to even be linked to either club. However, further down the road after I have some experience under my belt, should an opportunity arise to manage either of those fantastic football clubs, I would find it extremely difficult to turn them down."
 
Interested to see where Emile will begin his journey! Good luck mate.
 
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Manager Profile

So this is what Mr Emile Heskey's staff profile looks like in the game. I have therefore tried to copy this as closely as I can into my manager profile.

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As you can see the attributes actually came out pretty close. I wanted to keep him as a former international and therefore had to compensate by starting with no managerial qualifications.

So here is my starting managerial profile...

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Lippo255 said:
Interested to see where Emile will begin his journey! Good luck mate.
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Thanks mate. I was actually quite surprised to land a decent starting job right from the get go and shall be revealing that club very soon!
 
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Emile Heskey has been named the new manager of Rangers and the former England International has agreed a contract which runs until May 2019.

The former Scottish Champions have moved quickly to replace Pedro Caixhina, who was sacked after just 7 months in charge at the Ibrox.

Heskey said "It's a great privilege to become the new manager of Rangers - a club whose ambitions and values are closely aligned to my own".

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"The opportunity to help the club regain its stature in Scottish and European football is a truly exciting one and I'm looking forward to working with the owners, players, staff and supporters to deliver further lasting success".

And Rangers Chairman Dave King said: "When we began the process of identifying a new manager, the board quickly established the profile of candidate we needed to take the Club forward and Emile Heskey was a perfect fit."

"Upon meeting Emile, his attention to detail, knowledge of our squad, understanding of our potential and his vision to help us realise it were extremely impressive.

"He quickly emerged as the outstanding candidate and I am delighted we will have the opportunity to reinforce our long-term vision".

This is Heskey's first serious involvement back in football, since his decision to retire at the end of the 2015/16 season following relegation to League One with Bolton Wanderers.

It has been deemed as a bit of gamble by many, but we will have to wait and see if all the experience acquired through his playing career can be transferred into managerial expertise.








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Expectations

Unsurprisingly the expectations around the Ibrox Stadium are exceptionally high this season. The board have invested heavily and essentially expect me to be competing for a domestic treble in my debut season as manager! So no pressure there then…

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Prior to my arrival we managed to beat Welsh side, Bangor City (5-0) and Swiss side, Vaduz (6-0) in the Europa League Qualifying First and Second rounds. Which means my first competitive games in charge will be a two-legged Europa League Qualifying tie against Everton! Always nice to be eased into your managerial career…

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I can already feel the pressure of the board and fans alike to add to the club's illustrious trophy cabinet.

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Just a quick tip mate, look at the Portuguese leagues for players. The players are cheap and on the same level as in Scotland. My pick would be Jota who plays for Madeira in the second division as a CM.
 
Nice place to start but not exactly pressure free is it? Good luck Emile!
 
IsaacBrooks said:
Just a quick tip mate, look at the Portuguese leagues for players. The players are cheap and on the same level as in Scotland. My pick would be Jota who plays for Madeira in the second division as a CM.
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Thanks for the tip mate, will take a look at the Portuguese Leagues and Jota in particular. Still trying to get used to the new scouting format, so been struggling to identify players atm.

Lippo255 said:
Nice place to start but not exactly pressure free is it? Good luck Emile!
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I know - I was amazed Rangers even offered me the job.

Good opportunity for some early silverware though :)
 
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Squad Overview
So with just a week to go until my first ever competitive game in charge, it was time to take a closer look at the squad that I had inherited.

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It's a pretty decent squad. Certainly there are areas to be improved, but on the whole I am pretty content. I certainly have no desire to go rushing into the transfer market, without fully considering my options. My only slight concern is having no natural LW, although I do have options that can still cover the position.

Here is a closer look at 3 of our key players. All are new signings this season!


Carlos Pena

An experienced, Mexican playmaker who joined from Chivas for a bargain £2.7 Million this summer. He is a technically gifted player with great vision and I will be hoping to see plenty of assists this season.

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Eduardo Herrera

Another Mexican international who will surely be a top contender for the Scottish Premiership Golden Boot. He provides a big, powerful presence for us up front and provided he gets the service, I'm expecting big things this season.

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Bruno Alves

A Portuguese International with a wealth of experience and leadership credentials. He is by far the most influential player in the squad and have already announced him as the club's new captain. Despite being the ripe age of 35, he is still a colossus at the back and is man who is certainly capable of the leading this club to silverware.

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Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round (Leg1)


The week leading up to my opening game seemed to fly by, as I began to adjust to the responsibilities involved in management.

Fortunately I did manage to squeeze in a low key friendly against Dutch side, Go Ahead Eagles before our two-legged tie with Everton. Although I was more concerned with developing a formation and assessing the players at my disposal, we did manage to come away with a 1-0 victory.

Now for the real test...


We travelled to Goodison Park for the first leg, a ground I've been made to hate from my playing days at Liverpool. Everton are another side that have invested heavily this summer and have expectedly fielded a very strong looking side, with veteran English striker, Wayne Rooney leading the line.

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What a result! An unexperienced manager, away from home, firm underdogs, but victors non the less.

I thought we were going to be made to regret Niko Kranjcar's first half penalty miss, but Carlos Pena's long distance strike on debut proved to be the decisive moment. We looked solid at the back and Foderingham proved to be unbeatable between the sticks.

A debut win and a big step to reaching the Europa League playoff. A nice start to my managerial career.



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Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round (Leg 2)


I was given a hero's reception as I took to the dugout for my home debut in front of sell-out crowd. Standing there, I could sense the feeling of optimism and expectation around the stadium as the fans finally got an opportunity to see their team's big new additions in action for the first time at the Ibrox.

I decided to keep the faith in the side and formation that pulled of such a spectacular result in the first leg.

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We've done it. Were through to the playoffs!

Our Mexican playmaker stole the show once again, scoring another screamer from outside the area. The game was then put to bed, when his fellow countryman opened his Rangers account with a well placed header just a few minutes later. A very big result, against a strong English side.

Viktoria Plzen are now the only side standing in our way of reaching the group stages. A result that would immediately repay the board's faith in appointing me manager.


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Settling In

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We headed into the opening day of the Scottish Premier League in high spirits, following our Europa League victory over Everton. For a third game in a row I fielded an identical looking line-up, aiming to build on our recent performances.

Despite Herrera grabbing us the win, it was a pretty poor performance in truth. Jack’s early red card left us in the lurch and we really struggled to create chances in front of goal. Having said that, it was another solid defensive performance and we held out to kick the domestic season of on a win.
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I identified the Betfred Cup as being the lowest priority competition that we're involved in and subsequently made 8 changes to starting line-up. As anticipated, we lacked a bit of cohesion with so many changes. However, veteran striker, Kenny Miller used all his experience to score a poachers effort inside the opposition area to win us the game.

The victory sets up an enthralling Old Firm fixture in the Quarterfinals. This will be my first experience of this historic rivalry and I simply cannot wait!

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I went back to our familiar starting line-up, which yielded a very similar result. A third consecutive 1-0 victory. Although we are getting the results, I want us to be playing with a bit more flamboyancy and creativity. We have a really talented squad and should be looking to score more than just a goal a game.

Unfortunately, Graham Dorrans picked up a twisted ankle during the victory and will be out for the best part of a month.

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It’s never easy travelling across Europe for a Thursday night fixture in the Europa League. The home fans always create a intense, hostile environment and many a side in the past have been made to pay for any complacency and lack of focus.

Fortunately I’d managed to get the lads in the right frame of mind and we quickly pulled away into a 3-goal lead. The intensity dropped off a little in the second half as the result was seemingly in the bag, allowing Plzen to grab a goal to bring to the Ibrox next week.

Even so it was one of our better performances of the season and a 3-1 away victory should all but put us through to the Europa League group stages.


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The danger of the Europa League is usually the impact it has on the next domestic match. Fortunately, we managed to overcome this issue thumping victory over Hearts.

The fatigue and concentration was evident in the opening quarter, as we quickly found ourselves 2-0 down after just 22 minutes. However, some frantic yelling and screaming on the touchline, soon saw a response, as we went on to smash 5 unanswered goals past a shaky Hearts defence.

I played 2 strikers up front together for the first time in my career and was eventually rewarded with a great result.



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With the result all but in the bag from our trip to Plzen, I decided to rest a few first team players. We’ve had a lot of matches in a short space of time and am keen to avoid burning out my players early on in the season and potentially suffering long term injuries.

Fortunately the squad managed to repay my faith, as Kenny Miller’s first half brace put the game beyond doubt.


The result put us into the Europa League as a 4th Round team and have subsequently been drawn a tough group. Although Sevilla are the obvious top side, having won the competition 3 times in the past 4 years, Hoffenheim will certainly be no pushovers.

We are going to need some very big results if we are to progress to the knockout stages!

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The first team were back in action and the weeklong break didn’t exactly pan out how I had hoped. We controlled the match, had plenty of shots but ultimately couldn’t convert our chances. A little more composure in front of goal and it would have been a simple 3 points.

We had to finish the match with 10 players, when substitute striker, Kenny Miller was taken off with a twisted ankle in the 82nd​ minute, having already used all my substitutions.

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After the opening month of the season, we are sitting top of the Ladbrokes Premiership, ahead of Celtic on goal difference. It's been a good, steady start to the season but there are still a number of areas that I need to improve. Hopefully with the right adjustments I can get our attacking players firing on all cylinders.

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Some big fixtures to look forward to in September, including back to back matches against local rivals Celtic at the Ibrox. I've previously been involved in Mersyside derbies as a player but this will be a different experience all together. Hopefully we will hold the Glasgow bragging rights come the 23rd!

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Decent start Emile! Those back to back derbies will be interesting!
 
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It was a very quiet transfer window across Scotland, with very few big name signings. The headline deal was Scottish International, Kieran Tierney's £16.75 Million move to Arsenal. Other than that it was a pretty quite window.

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I struggled to find any available players that were within my budget that I would deem as first team players. However, the squad did need some depth, so I did sign a couple of youngsters late on in the transfer window...

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Lyes Houri (Free) - A young French, central midfielder who is adept at playing a variety of roles. He is far from a headline signing, but joins on a free transfer and could prove to be a very valuable signing should we pick up a few injuries.

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Joao Vigario (£200k) - A young Portuguese winger with a lot of potential. I desperately needed another LW and Vigario was the best I could find within budget. I'm sure he will get quite a bit of game time this season, so will be interested to see how he develops here at Rangers.


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September
Rangers 1 - 0 Dundee

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Our blushes were spared by a missed penalty with the final kick of the match. We deserved the three points, as we completely dominated the game, but ultimately couldn't convert our chances into goals. Plenty of positives on show but we need to be scoring more goals.


Hoffenheim 2 - 2 Rangers

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We managed to produce a stunning 2 goal comeback against a strong Hoffenheim side, away in Germany. We made a horrendous start to the match, conceding twice in the space of just 14 minutes, but the lads showed me a huge amount of character to fight back and earn a well earned point.

Patrick Thistle 4 - 1 Rangers

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This is a game I quickly want to forget. I took a bit of a risk and decided to rest a few first team players for our upcoming games against Celtic and was ultimately made to pay. Despite the changes and the scoreline, we still managed to outshoot our opponents, but poor finishing yet again accompanied by woeful defending, equaled a very bad day at the office. My worst day in management to date.

Rangers 2 - 1 Celtic

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So my first experience of the Old Firm derby ended in jubilation. Although it was only the BetFred Cup, it was still a match against Celtic and i'm just delighted to give the City's bragging rights to Rangers.

So we progress to the Semi-Finals where we will meet Championship side, Falkirk for a place in the Cup final. A much easier looking fixture than Celtic thats for sure.

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Rangers 1 -2 Celtic

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Unfortunately the bragging rights only lasted a matter of 3 days, as Celtic fought back to beat us in another thrilling encounter. Statistically it was a much closer game but Celtic managed to produce that more clinical edge in front of goal. I never like to lose, but there is no worse feeling that losing a derby game. hopefully we can put the record straight in our next encounter.

Rangers 2 - 0 Young Boys

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This was arguably our easiest game of the Europa League, so am delighted to pick up the crucial 3 points. Again there were a few question marks over our finishing, but the result never really looked in doubt and it was a pretty routine victory in the end.


There have been a few poor results this month in the League, and we drop down to 4th. Still plenty of time to turn things around, but Celtic have already opened up a 5 point gap at the top, which is never a good sign.

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The Europa Group makes a better reading. Although there are still 4 games to play, we have had some very encouraging results so far and a qualification spot isn't looking too far fetched.​


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October is set to be another busy month, as we look to recover some ground on Celtic in the League, reach a Cup final and work towards the Europa League knockout stages.

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October

Hamilton 0 - 2 Rangers



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A brace from star striker, Herrera was enough to earn us 3 points at Hamilton. It was another commanding display from the lads and was a nice straight forward victory.

Unfortunately one of key defenders, Cardoso, twisted his ankle midway through the second half and is expected to be sidelined for the next month or so. He is going to be a big loss, but is a great opportunity for someone else to step up.

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St. Johnstone 0 - 2 Rangers

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Yet another comfortable victory on the road, as we breeze past the challenge of St Johnstone. My playmakers stole the headlines tonight, as both midfielders got their names on the scoresheet. Another good all round performance.


Sevilla 1 - 1 Rangers

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A stoppage time own goal, earned us a memorable point away to Sevilla. We had to withstand heavy pressure right the way through the match, but a late, deflected corner, rewarded a very spirited performance. Its another big step towards the playoffs.

Rangers 0 - 1 Falkirk

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A very disappointing result and a missed shot at silverware, as we bomb out of the Betfred Cup to championship side, Falkirk. Although I made 10 changes to the starting line-up, I had still expected a comfortable result. Again we missed clear cut chances in front of goal and have paid the ultimate price of missing out on a cup final.

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Rangers 2 - 2 Kilmarnock

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We managed to recover from an abysmal start and salvage a point. It was a poor performance in front of our home supporters and widely viewed as 2 points dropped rather than a point gained. Hopes of a realistic title challenge are already starting to fade.


Hearts 2 - 3 Rangers


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Bruno Alves powered in a corner to ensure we came away with the victory. A nightmare 6 minutes saw us quickly squander our 2 goal advantage, and we needed our captain to stand up and make the difference. Not the most comfotable viewing from the sidelines, but was an entertaining game for the neutrals.

James Tavernier's concussion means he will miss the next 2-3 weeks in the wake of some important European matches.

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We have started to open up a healthy gap over Patrick Thistle in 3rd, but unfortunately Celtic are starting to race away with the title for yet another year. A victory in our game in hand will close the gap to 6 points, but thats still a big gap, as Celtic simply don't drop points in this League.

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We're still in a good position in the Europa League but will need 3 more big performances to reach the knockout stages.

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We have almost an entire month of home fixtures, including a couple of huge European fixtures against Sevilla and Hoffenheim.
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