Except for Rooney, Lambert is the best English forward IMO and if I were Stuart Pearce, would choose him for the England squad at the Euros. His touch is fantastic, his layoffs are brilliant, and the way he takes he goals a la Watford are out of this world. He can do the business at any level. Have no fear about Rickie in the PL. He will be immense.
England are not ready for someone who is passionate & professional, & can also score from the spot. It just wouldn't work. Guess we'll have to just keep him warm, for the start of the prem campaign.
Apart from the obvious skill and football brain his greatest asset is a temperament second to none he is always calm pretty much takes any hits like a man is cool under pressure and values his team mates contribution on a level to his own. He has brought so much more to this club than his obvious talent
Actually Rickie's temperament appears to be a bit of a conundrum. On one side he is the most humble and modest footballer I have ever heard interviewed. He has always praised his teammates before himself; in fact he never blows his own trumpet, but let's his playing do the talking. Another is that, for years his talent was largely ignored. A good coach would have seen that if he got himself into the correct condition, he could possibly have made a great impact sooner in his career. And yet, Rickie doesn't seem bitter in the slightest that he has been overlooked. Recent Interviewers have even asked questions to see if they can find that other side to Rickie, but there isn't any. There is no false and ugly arrogance, now that he has burst through to show what he really can do. He remains honest, modest, humble and respectful, but so supremely confident in his own ability, that he remains totally cool under pressure. An example to any other professional, whatever their trade, and any ordinary person, for that matter.
The thing about Rickie is very rarely do you see a finisher type player, someone lethal in front of goal who can also play a target man role, hold up the ball and keep position or a creator type role at the same time. In Rickie you have all 3 at once! Amazing. And it's why he's our most valuable player. Yes Adam's a good player but I'm sorry Rickie is more important by a way
Second Stain makes some interesting observations regarding his personality. He seems so modest that I wonder if he really is naturally confident - it seems he has grown confident through other people showing faith in him and subsequently realising he has the ability but I get the impression he maybe lacked a bit of self-belief until quite recently. He seems to have the air of someone who is finally comfortable in his own skin and he seems genuinely thrilled with life and not at all bothered by what he might have missed out on. I wouldn't want him any other way that's for sure, much better to be modest and self-effacing than the arrogance of most players!
Great piece on Rickie Lambert's time at Bristol Rovers, his uprising, and his move to Saints. Really interesting blog by this Rovers fan: http://markmcburney.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/strike-it-lucky/
Ricky doesn't blame others for his slow development, he admits he didn't look after himself. Sometimes when you are naturally good, you drift along without any effort and do not realise your full potential. He is now in the right place with the right people. After the match on Saturday, an interviewer remarked about the 'attention' he was getting from defenders and Ricky mumbled under his breath, 'Yes, I was getting a bit angry.' Obviously a slow burner, luckily for us as we don't want him getting another red card.
He's quality, I'm enjoying all this gushing over him, he really does deserve it. It seemed like he was at Rovers banging in goals for ages, even got one against us didn't he. So I found it really surprising when he surpassed his Rovers total with us so quickly. He'll be shooting up our scoring charts rapidly!
He is unquestionably our best player since Matt Le Tiss. On the subject of his confidence, self-belief, whatever, I think you have to look no further than his body-shape and how it has changed since he came from Bristol Rovers. Finally he was put in the care of a team of people who got him, over the last two, nearly three seasons, to the physical peak he is now in. After years of carrying too much weight he must feel amazing about himself as a player and as a man. And as well as that, of course, he now plays with a team who give him probably the best service he's ever had as a striker, and who collectively have a huge belief in themselves, inspired by Nigel Adkins.
I'll echo everything that my fellow Rovers' fan said, as well as the other positive comments here. I consider it a privilege to have seen Lambert play, and I think he would do us proud if selected for England.
Can only have a certain number of over 21s, so doubt Ricky would be picked. Gather Beckham wants to take one of those spots.
One of the only other players I've seen who handles himself in the same humble way off the pitch is Lionel Messi!
If I were England manager Rickie would be in my starting XI. But as a Saints fan I don't want to see him anywhere near the England squad or GB Team lol. Would be a disaster if Rickie ever got injured
