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IS there a man in English football who divides opinion more than Emile Heskey?

The expected inclusion of the Aston Villa striker in Fabio Capello's 23-man squad for the World Cup re-opened a debate that has raged for the last ten years.

'What is the point of that lump Heskey?" roars the average pint-swilling punter.

"England have no other striker like him," insists countless players and managers past and present.

It's remarkable just how drastically opinion on the merits of Heskey differ when you compare a conversation with somebody involved in the game to a chat with the fan on the street.

Having been fortunate enough to speak to players and managers who have worked with Heskey, I am yet to come across one that casts doubt over the 32-year-old's continued involvement at the top level.

Mutual respect between peers, you may think.

Maybe, but these are people who must know a thing or two about football having forged a decent living out of the beautiful game.

And each one shakes their head in sheer disbelief at the flak the big man gets.

Nowadays everybody's an expert, rolling sports news and the internet message boards have made sure of that.

As most people will be aware, Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner held his annual end-of-season press briefing at the Holte Pub last week.

And, as ever, with my West Midlands hat on, I was eager to hear whether the American had taken much interest in the mini-revolution that had taken place at neighbouring Birmingham City this season under the club's new Chinese owners.

Lerner answered: "It's not that it hasn't interested me, but I haven't had a chance to meet the new leadership there. Of course, we know them, we deal with them.
"I thought that they did really well this year, they're a good rival."

Then when asked whether he feared that the shift of Second City power could soon swing Blues' way, Lerner said: "That's kind of what it's all about really."

Before quickly highlighting: "Well we won both games this year, so...."

Spoken like a true Holte Ender.

Which one of the West Midlands' big four (Villa, Blues, Wolves, Albion) looks set to have the most players at next month's World Cup?

Answer: The lowest ranked of those four - Premier League-bound Albion, who will have five players off to South Africa, all being well.
They are: Marek Cech (Slovakia), Robert Koren (Slovenia), Abdoulaye Meite (Ivory Coast), Chris Wood (New Zealand), Gonzala Jara (Chilie).

And at the preliminary squad stage, Villa have four poised to go - England trio James Milner, Emile Heskey and Stephen Warnock as well as USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan.

As well as having their boss in the commentary booth, Wolves look set to have three representatives at the World Cup - Marcus Hahnemann (USA), Nenad Milijas (Serbia) and Adlene Guedioura (Algeria).

And, seeing as they helped propel the individual in question to new heights, Blues squeak in with one, Joe Hart who will head back to his parent club Manchester City following the tournament.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill briefly turned the attention away from this weekend's season finale against Blackburn Rovers during his press briefing on Friday.

Like most Villa fans, O'Neill was probably feeling a little bit glum following the 3-1 defeat at Manchester City that ended his side's Champions League dream.

But he revealed that he found the perfect pick-me-up on Thursday evening - in the form of American actress and singer Debbie Reynolds.

O'Neill's two daughters treated him and his wife to the latest London show of the 78-year-old's tour.

"She's 78 years of age and if you ever feel like committing suicide then go and see Debbie Reynolds - she was fantastic," enthused O'Neill, to a slightly taken aback group of journalists.

"She was sensational. I'm serious, if you ever thought: 'life's dull', then go and see her and 'boom' you're in business. But anybody under 50 won't know who Debbie Reynolds is.

"She does a one woman show where she can mimmick so many people, men as well. Her Barbra Streisand is fantastic, she's so witty. It was fantastic, I had to tell you."

So there you go, an insight into just one way of how O'Neill deals with the stresses of football management.

At the start of the season, my Aston Villa-following colleague Mat Kendrick compared third goalkeepers to a third nipple.

It was a bizarre and controversial opinion, but one that I agreed with then and even more so now.

Seriously, what is the point of a third goalkeeper? Of course, I understand that they are there in case goalie number one and two get injured. Clubs sometimes go through a rotten spell of luck so it's perfectly plausible that number threes will get called into action every now and then.

But if Premier League clubs only belittle, disrespect and undermine their third-choice keeper when he is called upon, what is the point?

Building up to this weekend's Villa-Blues battle and seeing Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli's childish tantrum during the Champions League semi-final with Barcelona on Tuesday night, it got me thinking of a Second City derby memory.

Does anybody remember Blues striker Mauro Zarate's reaction to be substituted for Mikael Forssell in the 58th minute of the 5-1 thumping at Villa Park in April 2008? There was the Temuri Ketsbaia-style kick of the advertising hoardings, the cursing and the refusal to shake hands.

The Argentinian is now playing in Serie A with Lazio and still carries that chip on his shoulder. Having been something of a sensation in his first season in Italy with 16 goals and a Coppa Italia winners medal, Zarate has struggled to get anywhere near that form this campaign.

Add to that the fact that he's been involved in a slanging match with Roma's Francesco Totti, a bust-up with his agent and had his attitude questioned by Lazio boss Edy Reja, all is not well for Zarate.

To make matters worse, he recently decided to celebrate his 23rd birthday by sitting in the stands with Lazio's hardcore fans while serving a two-game ban for being sent-off against Sampdoria.

It appears that the Second City derby sulk was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Zarate's fiery personality.

But judging by the feedback on our liveblogs, webchats and forums, many Bluenoses would still gladly welcome Zarate back to St Andrew's with open arms.

Ahead of this Sunday's Second City Derby at Villa Park, here's a video profile on the Villa-Blues battle starring myself.

It was put together by Danish TV journalist, Jonas Schwartz, working on behalf of the Carlsberg-backed website http://www.partofthegame.tv.

Jonas had profiled several of the world's biggest footballing derbies and this was the moment he turned the spotlight on the Battle of Brum.

Enjoy.....

IT'S been almost 12 years since Dwight Yorke broke claret and blue hearts by defecting to the Red Devils, but I'm convinced fans have no reason to fear the same grief with their Villa Park darling on this occasion.

The hint that Manchester United are sniffing around James Milner comes as no surprise.

The only surprise is that some people think he'll actually be wearing the famous red shirt this time next season.

The reports that Sir Alex Ferguson was planning a move for the Yorkshireman almost coincided with the same chewing gum-chomping man saying that he will resist the temptation to spend big this summer.

Putting it bluntly, Manchester United couldn't afford James Milner.

To wrench a player with the energy, strength, determination, versatility, creativity, pace, eye for goal and potential that Milner possesses from the heart of Martin O'Neill's team would take mega bucks.

In my opinion, Milner has a price tag of at least £30 million on his back.

Extortionate it may, be but in this over-inflated market you wouldn't expect to pay anything less for English football's fastest rising star.

So for a club saddled with a debt of over £700 million, United have no chance.

It's not as if Villa wouldn't be a willing seller. It's already known that O'Neill has no chance of being handed an empty chequebook by Randy Lerner this summer and that Villa will have to sell if they want to make significant signings.

O'Neill even admitted this week that Lerner would be able to double his money on several of the club's top players, if the American chose to sell.

But no Villa Park departure would leave a bigger hole in the team than the sale of Milner.

Gareth Barry's exit to Manchester City was always expected to be a tough blow to take, given the ex-captain's influence on the side, but the loss of Milner would come as an even bigger knockout punch.

Hence, why it would take a record-breaking sum to nab the 24-year-old from Villa Park.
Of course, there's always player power. What if Milner forced his way out? No chance.

The Barry to Liverpool (and eventually Manchester City) saga proved that O'Neill or Lerner won't be bullied into letting go of their prized assets, while Milner is too level-headed and too much of a consummate pro to rock the boat in order to get his own way.

Fear not Villa fans, unless Manchester United are willing to break the bank, Milner won't be on his way to Old Trafford.

Much was made of the state of the Wembley pitch last weekend and not for the first time.

But surely the FA Cup semi-finalists' finest impressions of Dancing on Ice contestants had as much to do with poor pre-match preparation as it did the terrible turf at the national stadium.

David James revealed that he'd received a tip off from Aston Villa defender and his ex-Manchester City team-mate Richard Dunne before Portsmouth's Sunday semi about the need to wear long studs. Both James and fellow Pompey man Aaron Mokoena admitted that they had no problems with the pitch because they'd done the sensible thing and wore boots with longer studs.

While it shouldn't have to be the case in England's top stadium, surely players from all four sides should have realised, at least during their pre-match warm-ups, that a change of footwear was needed. James Milner realised 12 minutes into Villa's match with Chelsea - the choice of boots should have been sorted long before a competitive ball was kicked.

Meanwhile, the over-the-top manner in which Portsmouth's victory over Tottenham was reported made it look as though a non-league side had just toppled a Premier League giant.

Hold on a minute. Yes, Pompey are cash-strapped and yes, Pompey had already had their relegation confirmed but they still had a Premier League squad of players at their disposal. Internationals, vastly-experienced professionals and footballers who will no doubt be plying their trade back in the top flight next season when the expected mass exodus at Fratton Park takes place this summer.

It certainly wasn't a pub team full of overweight amateurs that overcame Tottenham on Sunday.

It looks as though Aston Villa are struggling to sell their ticket allocation for tomorrow evening's FA Cup semi-final showdown with Chelsea at Wembley.

While Carling Cup final tickets were snapped up like hot cakes,the same can't be said for Villa's latest trip to the national stadium.

Rather than sticking to the usual restrictions of season ticket holders and hardcore away fans for such an occasion, the club opened up their ticket hotlines to everyone.

And a claret and blue-loving friend of mine, who'd given up hope and was preparing to watch the game on the box, was stunned to be told that the club had sent back 1,800 unsold tickets.

In my opinion, there's two reasons behind this slow uptake:

A) The vast majority of Villa fans agree that the Wembley experience shouldn't be wasted on semi-finals.

B) After the last time they crossed paths with Chelsea to the sound of eight goals, Villa fans are clearly fearing the worst!