Yeah, those shoulders were bad, so was the massive sponsor slab. It didn't wear well. You talking about the grey kit or the yellow/navy one?
BBC Radio 5 Live are going to be debating Rickie Lambert's call up at 18:06... or some time near after!
Very fair point about Hargreaves I agree. Lampard always seemed to lose all his technical ability and positioning as soon as he played for England. He also missed a few pens. Gerrard had to play left wing for a large chunk of of his career, but was pretty much fautless, if uninspired.
I honestly think Lambert will make a huge difference to England, simply by being that round peg in the round hole. If Hodgson plays him it has to be as he does for Saints, with Rooney behind him and Wellbeck & Walcott either side. Rooney will be a lot happier being the heart of the side not having to do as much Donkey work upfront and unlike have Carroll upfront as a human pinball the wingers can make runs beyond Lambert knowing they'll be a fair chance they will get the ball.
I think he could make a huge difference, he's the best striker we have to play in a 4-3-3, can do everything required, like you say, round peg in round hole whereas others feel more shoehorned into unnatural roles. Unfortunately to do so he'd really need to bed in and we'd need to play around him, what will likely happen is he'll feature for about 20 minutes having been asked to play in a completely different role to what feels natural, and will be on an entirely different wavelength to the other players and barely touch the ball. At least he'll have his deserved cap though! (You may be able to tell I'm trying to keep my expectations down so not to be crushed when said scenario does occur!)
Excellent full page spread praising Rickie by Jim Holden in the Express. Saying what we all know that he is more than just a goal scorer...does finish by pointing out how useful he would be as a penalty taker. Adds that we all get frustrated by spoilt stars going through the motions, but this will never happen with Lambert. Enjoyed it very much...especially when you consider the Mirror piece which said' Is this the best we've got!!
Welbeck has been dreadful today and is now hobbling. Moyes said he expects Rooney to play a small part and Defoe hasn't recovered fully as of yet. Play Rickie!
My only concern is that Hodgson may not feel he has any reason to see what Rickie can do, unless he thinks there's a good chance he'll pick him for the World Cup.
I don't think age should be a factor. Lambert doesn't rely on pace at all. So getting older shouldn't make him worse like it would with other players. If anything he should keep improving as he gets more experienced for years yet.
Like the rest of the eleven - and debut England players before - undoubtedly did in their first game. Rickie is not unique at all in that sense.
Yeah, but I think if Hodgson thought like that then he'd have picked Rickie earlier. He's already said that he's only in the squad due to injuries.
Dont know if anyone else has seen this today but Lambert's call up was discussed on the Sunday supplement this morning. http://www1.skysports.com/watch/vid...hampton/8865660/is-lambert-ready-for-england?
Typical lazy Journos..."Grant Holt, blah blah"..."second season, blah blah"..."step up in quality blah blah"....I hope Sir Rickie rams their words down their throats!.....and that fat slug, Samuel, just hates Saints anyway...
