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Why was Rickie Lambert not selected in the current England squad?

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Ipswich Southampton 110816Well, what d’ya know, another hypocritical England manager with no bottle. Yes, I am talking about current coach Roy Hodgson and his handling of Southampton striker Rickie Lambert. Despite Lambert being the top scoring Englishman in last season’s Premier League, he is seen to be surplus to requirements for the international friendlies against Republic of Ireland and Brazil.

These were matches where we could have done with some fresh faces, particularly ones that have been propped up on the top of bodies that have been performing on the pitch as consistently as the likes of Lambert. To not even select him for the 22 man squad is an insult in itself, but to not call him up after Andy Carroll had dropped out is beyond insulting. You start to wonder whether Hodgson is as insane as he looks on the touchline.

There’s plenty of footage of the Archimedes lookalike on YouTube to support the theory that he’s demented (Archimedes is the owl from the Disney cartoon, The Sword in the Stone, in case you were wondering). In all honesty, if I had to take one player out from the forward line, it would be Wayne Rooney as his possession keeping is often poor when playing for the national side. This would have been a great time to try and blend in Lambert. You can guarantee that if he was at a bigger club he would be in the starting 11 even though the fact that he has scored and assisted so many for a side like Southampton could be considered even more impressive.

Yes, he’s 31 years of age (32 by next year’s World Cup – impressed with my Maths there?), but whatever age he is, he is doing a better job in the Premiership than many others who were lucky enough to be picked. Out of all the positions where Hodgson’s side are short on supply, the role of the forward man is surely the one in most dire need of assistance.

You could say that going by form and stats he should start let alone scrape a place in the squad. If he was on the substitutes bench, he could pop on the pitch and grab a crucial goal with the qualities that have made him such a prolific marksman in England’s top division not to mention the two divisions below in previous years.

He is ranked 18th overall in EA SPORTS Player Performance Index and that’s taking into account every player registered with a Premiership club, not just ones who are eligible to play for the England national team. It’s not just obscure and random stats that currently put him in the top bracket of players in top-flight English football, the obvious advantages are there to see – 15 goals and nine assists. That’s way ahead of any other Englishman in his position. He’s got a great record for converting penalties as well. We could have done with that in the last, what, 76 tournaments.

I can understand Hodgson thinking we need a consistent team from now until next year’s World Cup, but the ones who have tried to get us there in the qualifying matches have not exactly covered themselves in unprecedented glory. Who says we’ll definitely qualify anyway? When other players had domestically done the business in the past like say the 1990s, when we had a bundle of strikers who would get into double figures every season, some of them would be disappointed, but with not much to choose from at the present time, it’s another example of England managers being frightened to try something different.

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  • robert burrell says:

    Think World Cup, European Championship, think England missed penalties in shoot outs.
    Think Ricky Lambert’s 100% penalty record.
    Think better not take him to Brasil then.

  • Dave M says:

    Completely Agree. Not being a saints fan i cant say i have seen much of him, however, his record speaks for itself and we need to start picking some players on form. Its an absolute disgrace to think Le Tissier never got a chance……and although Lambert isn’t at his level, he offers a lot more than some of the other strikers….Goals being one of them.
    For me he could offer some hold up play if we need it, compete in the air, set plays, etc….he would be a great squad player for England and im baffled at why he isn’t even looked at. From what i have seen he actually looks very strong technically and has a lot of assists as well as goals. Crazy decision!

  • Juze says:

    It’s a case of the same old faces…the same uninterested, overpaid, over- valued players who do not wear the shirt with pride. Without their foreign team mates they are found lacking. Rickie has proved himself in a young team against the so called big teams…the FA need to review their policy of chosing the so called ‘best’ from a minority of clubs or we will never get further than the group stages in any tournament. When the larger clubs refuse to allow their players to play friendlies, the players fake injuries….there is no desire to represent their country…it’s seen as a burden. Rickie would bust a gut to score for his country, he at least deserves the chance.

  • Richard says:

    Unlike most of the others playing in the friendlies, and even those playing in the rest of the qualifiers and going to Brazil, Rickie would see playing for England as the pinnacle of his career. This is a man who has been the highest scorer in each of the Football League divisions, and was joint top English scorer in the Premier League this season.

    As has been said above, there is a lot more to Rickie Lambert than just being a target man. His best role is probably attacking midfield, the role which Rooney is supposed to play but doesn’t manage as well for England as he does for Man Utd. He will hold up the ball, create chances, beat most centre backs and full backs in the air, and score plenty of goals from open play and from free kicks and penalties. How he cannot even be considered by Hodgson beggar

  • Richard says:

    Please moderators can you finish off my sentence?

    …beggars belief.

  • Doswell says:

    It’s ironic that Hoddle didn’t pick Le Tissier because he didn’t always pull his weight – even though he was one of England’s precious-few high-skill players who could change a game in an instant; essentially, Hoddle rejected Le Tissier for showing the very same weakness that he himself exhibited his entire career.

    It’s also ironic that Hodgson hasn’t even given Lambert a chance, presumably because he views him as too old to do the job – even though he’s spent a season scoring goals and providing vital link-up; essentially, Hodgson rejected Lambert for the very same reason that others ignored when appointing Hodgson himself.

    With hypocrisy like that, no wonder England has been a pathetic under-achiever for most of the last 50 years, and is destined to remain one.

  • chris says:

    Come on! lets be honest Lambert’s no where good enough and never likely to be. can’t believe people are even saying it! we need class in the side not a donkey.

    • Ricky Murray says:

      You must’ve stopped watching football about 10 years ago.

    • martin says:

      HAH chris you call welbeck and carroll class umm the stats prove that Lamberts better proven to be 18th best player in the prem best english peformer in the prem! And you say welbeck who scores 1 in a season with like 4 assist is and carroll who scored what 8 and 3 assist or something is better haha you people make me laugh

  • Dave - Southampton says:

    Any other team might want to inspire competition…Not England

    We always play younger players from traditionally big sides and just hope they fulfill their potential…..I mean just look at Wes Brown at 33 years of age he is at his prime as a defender…first name on the England Team sheet

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