? Joseph Yobo ? Yakubu ? James Vaughan (already gone) ? Diniyar Bilyaletdinov ? Johnny Heitinga It is the final player on this list that I wish to discuss. When Johnny Heitinga arrived at Everton in the 09-10 season, I was almost instantly impressed (and I'm sure a number of fellow Evertonians were too) with his defensive abilities. He could pass well from our own area, he was always in for a physical challenge, his tackling was superb, and his self-confidence and arrogance towards the opposition was quite refreshing to say the least.
When the World Cup came around, I watched all the Dutch games to see how our Johnny fared, and found him to be performing admirably for his country also. The Dutch defence was rock solid, with very few goals being scored against them for the entire tournament. The eventual winners, Spain, whilst dominating the game, just could not penetrate their defence until deep into extra time, after Johnny had been sent off by that bastard Howard Webb. In fact, after Australia got knocked out in the group stages, I got myself a Dutch jersey with Heitinga 3 on the back and openly supported The Netherlands for the remainder of the tournament.
With the Jagielka/Distin combination being favoured by David Moyes, the 10-11 season saw Heitinga sit out a number of games on the bench. When coming on as a sub, it was predominantly in the midfield, usually as a defensive midfielder. At times he did well, other times he was woeful. The midfield is not a place where many Evertonians (myself included) felt he really performed. In fact, Heitinga freely, and sometimes publicly, voiced his opinion on these matters; stating that he was not content with coming off the bench, and that he didn't want to play a game at right-back ever again. Quotes like these didn't help to endear the (at times) controversial Dutchman to the Everton faithful.
Looking back, Mr Heitinga has had a number of public outbursts that supporters have found less than endearing. Maybe most (in)famously, his talk of wanting to play for a "big" club, and how he would ride a bicycle to Spain, carrying a flag if Barcelona were to ever come calling. This kind of talk got the Toffee crowd all miffed, and rightly so, and it is because of this apparent attitude, coupled with a lacklustre season that sees Evertonians adding Johnny to their "to be sold" lists.
Having been surfing the interwebs this morning, digesting article after mind-numbing article on how we are signing Demba Ba, or how Moyes is still favourite for the Villa job, I came across a little interview with one John Heitinga. "Oh no" I thought "Johnny's up to his old tricks again."
This article was different, however, as Heitinga spoke about how Moyes is a good manager, how he hopes to see a couple additions to the squad, and how he believes we could go on to win some silverware next term. In regards to potential new signings he said ?I don?t think just anyone can play for Everton, we are a club with a lot of tradition and you have to show your spirit."
Is Johnny finally starting to show loyalty to the club? Is he starting to get what it means to play for Everton? There were no talks of joining Bayern Munich, or riding bikes to Barcelona, just an honest appraisal of the squad and manager, and a rundown of his ambitions for next season at Everton.
I, for one, hope Heitinga is not sold in the transfer window. I hope he is played in central defence where he belongs, and I hope he shines again in that position. As long as he makes the right noises to the press and the fans, I feel a player with his ability, attitude and aggression can go on to become an Everton legend.
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Heitinga is a good standby for centre back and may make his mark in defensive midfield but, apart from that, he does not excite me in any way!
He is a cracking central defender who can also provide cover in the midfield and let's face it he was generally deployed in midfield at a time when we had injuries galore and were not playing well as a team. I too hope he stays because players of his quality generally cost much more than the £6 mill we paid for him.
It'll be an interesting one to keep an eye on but I don't think he'll leave
The only other option is to play with 3 centre halves and have 2 wing backs, Coleman and Baines pushing on. You could then play Heitinga as sweeper, but in reality they would all get in each other's way and it would probably be a nightmare.
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