The Johnny 'Colossus' Heitinga Appreciation Thread

Keep or get rid?

  • Keep

    Votes: 24 19.8%

  • Get rid

    Votes: 97 80.2%
  • Total voters
    121
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Not open for further replies.

TX Bill said:
Neiler.

He was our top player last season. Absolutely stellar. The only debate is whether or not Pienaar had a better season than he did. I don't think he did. Heitinga was great for us.
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Baines was my player of the season last year mate, to be honest i didnt think he was great last season. His distribution from the back was better then what we had become accustomed to, for me though at centre back he isnt positionaly aware enough, he was caught flat footed or ball watching to much for me. He has always lacked the discpline positionaly to mark or mark space - he wants to be involved with the ball all the time and he is drawn to it, he also lacks natural presence. Personally and i have been consistent with this - i dont think hes a great centre back. Pound for pound i dont think hes worth what we paid in a fee or wages.

I think he has all the tools to be really top defensive midfeilder, one of the best in the league, unfortunately i dont think he has the positional discpline, tactical awareness or the menatility to really succeed - a pity because he really could be top class in there, u did think he would mature into that role but it hasnt happend and listening to his comments i doubt it ever will.

His mouth is writing cheuqes his performences cant cash and if i was coming in at 50k a week plus, on his performences i would be keeping my head down rather then mouthing of.

Like i said pound for pound we havnt gotten good value with Jonny or his performences. To put it in perspective we prob could have gotten Roger Johnson, Scott Dann and Charliue Adam at the time, all for what we paid for Jonny and his wages up untill this point, he is prob the best paid utility man in the world.
 
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Dutch Toffee said:
Fair enough, he always stated he wanted to make that CB spot his own, and thast was the most important factor in his decision to sign for Everton. Prove it on the field, that you're number for that spot however, instead of blabbing to the media about how poorly you have been treated. Poor old Johnny, can't feel an ounce of sympathy for such actions.

Facts are, he couldn't make the CB spot his own at Athletico and now failed to do that exact same thing again at Everton. But hey Johnny, just go on and blame the manager.
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Fair enough. Of course, when something has gone wrong then yes, both parties have to share the blame. Heitinga as you said has failed to make the CB spot his own here like he didn't at A.M. However, we have seen that he does possess proven quality and is more composed on the ball than Jagielka and Distin. Also, how can he play at a WC final and still the managers at A.M and Moyes here not have him in their first team plans? Now this is a strange one for me.
 
faddy the blue said:
Fair enough. Of course, when something has gone wrong then yes, both parties have to share the blame. Heitinga as you said has failed to make the CB spot his own here like he didn't at A.M. However, we have seen that he does possess proven quality and is more composed on the ball than Jagielka and Distin. Also, how can he play at a WC final and still the managers at A.M and Moyes here not have him in their first team plans? Now this is a strange one for me.
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The fact that he played in a WC final means absolutely nothing. Gareth Bale will wind up playing as many WC games (let alone finals) as I will. Does that mean that he is rubbish? That Dutch team was very talented. They would have made the final with Jags or Distin in his spot, no doubt.

His comments seem silly to me more than anything else. I always wonder when a player goes on a rant in a language that is not their first (How well does Johnny speak English, anyway). Does he even realize the s--t that he is saying? Where is his agent telling him to STFU?
 

Neiler said:
Baines was my player of the season last year mate, to be honest i didnt think he was great last season. His distribution from the back was better then what we had become accustomed to, for me though at centre back he isnt positionaly aware enough, he was caught flat footed or ball watching to much for me. He has always lacked the discpline positionaly to mark or mark space - he wants to be involved with the ball all the time and he is drawn to it, he also lacks natural presence. Personally and i have been consistent with this - i dont think hes a great centre back. Pound for pound i dont think hes worth what we paid in a fee or wages.

I think he has all the tools to be really top defensive midfeilder, one of the best in the league, unfortunately i dont think he has the positional discpline, tactical awareness or the menatility to really succeed - a pity because he really could be top class in there, u did think he would mature into that role but it hasnt happend and listening to his comments i doubt it ever will.

His mouth is writing cheuqes his performences cant cash and if i was coming in at 50k a week plus, on his performences i would be keeping my head down rather then mouthing of.

Like i said pound for pound we havnt gotten good value with Jonny or his performences. To put it in perspective we prob could have gotten Roger Johnson, Scott Dann and Charliue Adam at the time, all for what we paid for Jonny and his wages up untill this point, he is prob the best paid utility man in the world.
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Just before he signed I looked at World rankings and the availability of the respective centrebacks. He stood out by a mile. He was the right age, the right price, great pedigree and an impressive goalscoring record. His versatility was another bonus. That Athletico were prepared to sell him at a loss made the deal a no-brainer.

I totally agree with you though. He seems more inclined to get to his 'rightful' position in the game as quickly as possible rather than earning it or developing as a player. I hope he's correct that clubs are circling and that they're prepared to launch a bidding war. One bonus of our current injury crisis is that he's likely to get a few games before the end of the season, which will hopefully keep his price up.
 
EFC NY said:
The fact that he played in a WC final means absolutely nothing. Gareth Bale will wind up playing as many WC games (let alone finals) as I will. Does that mean that he is rubbish? That Dutch team was very talented. They would have made the final with Jags or Distin in his spot, no doubt.

His comments seem silly to me more than anything else. I always wonder when a player goes on a rant in a language that is not their first (How well does Johnny speak English, anyway). Does he even realize the s--t that he is saying? Where is his agent telling him to STFU?
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His English is very good. He speaks so painfully slowly and softly though that it's hard not to nod off.
 
faddy the blue said:
Fair enough. Of course, when something has gone wrong then yes, both parties have to share the blame. Heitinga as you said has failed to make the CB spot his own here like he didn't at A.M. However, we have seen that he does possess proven quality and is more composed on the ball than Jagielka and Distin. Also, how can he play at a WC final and still the managers at A.M and Moyes here not have him in their first team plans? Now this is a strange one for me.
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I think that the dutch national team tend to cover for his deficiencies by having Van Bommel and De Jong in front of him. They also tend to peg teams back, so he wouldn't be that tested. You're right, he does have a lot of the attributes to be a top player but he seems to think that he can play 'total football' and run into offensive positions whenever he chooses without regard for his duties.
 

It's a shame it comes to this really. There is potentially a lot to like about Heitinga, as mentioned he would be a cult hero with his bravado but he's had his head filled with utter rubbish.

Johnny can place himself wherever he likes in the worlds best centre back competition unfortunately for him he'd struggle to be in the top 10 in the Premier league and thats what matters.

He clearly thinks he is a cut above Everton. so that would leave him with 4/5 teams in the Premier league to choose from(unless he wants an easier life in a much less competitive league).

Chelsea - he'd never get ahead of Terry, Luiz, Ivanovich or Alex.
United - same with Vidic, Ferdinand and probably Smalling.
Arsenal - more chance of fitting in here but Vermaelen will always be first choice and Koscielny has French'ness on his side.
City - Kompany has been solid this season and is still only 24, Lescott was rarely on the bench at Everton even the day he handed in the transfer request.
Spurs - probably the weakest position for them but potentially their best! I rate Woodgate and King as two of the best centre backs in the league unfortunately for them they're always broken. But Johnny would struggle to replace Dawson and Gallas at the moment.

So Johnny your place is rightly behind Jags and Distin at Everton. If you really were of value to another club we would have waved goodbye in January to replace you with a player we really needed to buy (Donovan) or keep (Pienaar). So shut up and earn your place.
 

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