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All hail King Heskey! Praise to Prince Michael! O magnificent leader Steve, we bow down to you!

Easy there, there is still a home banker against Estonia to mess up yet. But even so, the two 3-0 wins over Israel and Russia over the past few days have put England firmly in the box seat to qualify for Euro 2008, albeit in second place, and the aforementioned three heroes have had a great deal to do with it.

He may not have added to his five international goals since his recall to the side five days ago, but Heskey has certainly proved two things; firstly, that he can do a job at the highest level; and secondly, that football fans are incredibly fickle.

Heskey's physical style caused all sorts of problems for both the Israeli and Russian defences and he acted as the perfect foil for old pal Owen, who clearly revelled in his role alongside the Wigan striker. Three goals in two games from little Michael and he is once again looking like a world class goal machine.

But the irony was not lost when the biggest cheer of the evening at Wembley roared out as Heskey departed the pitch to be replaced by Peter Crouch. Was it not the same fans (and perhaps even the same daily column?) who were mocking the hulking forward's inclusion only last week?

Why exactly, we cannot quite remember. All we see now is a strike partnership that can fire England all the way to Austria and Switzerland.

McClaren must be enjoying his cornflakes this morning; without actually having made a bold decision, he can take credit for Heskey's - and subsequently Owen's - return to international prominence. We will just forget that he did not really have any other reasonable option.

What will be interesting to see now is whether our Leader is brave enough to stick with his winning side for the remaining qualifiers once Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, David Beckham and Gary Neville return from injury.

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Bad news for music fans; Didier Drogba is reportedly about to turn his hand to singing and perform on stage at a special concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Chelsea goal ace will get up (and no doubt go down soon after) to entertain the crowd alongside other stars such as Boney M at the charity event in London.

But given his friendship with the infamous Doc Gyneco, let's hope his lyrics are not quite as controversial as the French rapper's own; it is a concert to help raise money and awareness of the effect AIDS and HIV have had in Africa, after all.

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FOREIGN VIEW: Sacre bleu! After Scotland's incredible 1-0 win over France in Paris, L'Equipe neatly sums up how disastrous last night's events at the Parc des Princes was with the headline "Bludgeon blow" on its front page.

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QUOTES OF THE DAY: Cristiano Ronaldo was on fire when he gave an interview for Hello! magazine. Here are a few gems the Manchester United winger came out with days after hitting the headlines for some alleged extra-curricular activity:

"For me, it is what is inside a beautiful woman that is important, although she must also be beautiful, like Angelina Jolie."

"I'm a quiet person. I rarely go out."

"For me, a girl does not need to be famous for me to like her. I do have my romantic moments but I am sensible. It is company that is important for me."

"I'm not a big spender. I have one car, a Bentley GT convertible, and I like designer clothes, but I do not have wardrobes-full. I have a good watch, a diamond bracelet and some rings but a lot of my money is invested for the future, in property."

Priceless.

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