The thing is, even though Rickie doesn't play for an attractive top '4' club, I still think he is the best English striker in the PL. Yea Sturridge looks good so far this season, but Rickie is a proper striker.
Should go the whole nine yards and hand him the number 7. I know #7 is Matty's number, but I think it has officially changed hands now. Just like Keegan passed it on, Paine passed it on, etc...
Apart from Lambert is the best option for England at striker full stop. Even with all the injuries Milner is not the best option at left wing. There are plenty of better options.
People forget that his best form was under Adkins when we scored more goals. Rodriguez has stepped up to the plate more under MP, which I guess could be linked to Lambert not being his usual self. Even though he's not on form, I think he's no worse an option than Rooney and Defoe, who haven't been playing much and Welbeck who, despite his good start to the season, hasn't been doing that consistently (until maybe this season). He is clearly better than Carroll.
Err, no... A lot of people, including myself, have been saying the same things for years now. It's nothing to do with what's happened in his first two England games. I find it extremely funny that some Saints fans, like yourself, don't appreciate how good Lambert is after all this time and have the cheek to make a patronising comment like that.
Seriously though...come on..... If you genuinely believe Lambo is on the same Level as Rooney, Sturidge and Welbeck then you're pretty deluded.
Yeah, I totally don't appreciate Lambert. I like patronising him and having "the cheek" to make those sort of comments. It's actually quite irritated me that you've gone for that. Anyone who reads this forum will know the type of person I am. I am not one to patronise and "do down" on our own players. If there is any patronising comment in the thread, it's probably the one I just quoted.
Sam Wallace of The Independent: "Kiev Olympic stadium don't have a picture of Rickie Lambert. When his name was read out they just flashed up an empty shirt on the screen."
As I alluded to earlier, we look very lopsided in terms of defensive strength. The left with Milner, Cole and Wilshere looks a lot more solid then Walcott, Walker and Lampard. It's an obvious weak point to exploit from the Ukrainian point of view.
To be fair, he did outscore them all last season. I don't think he's better than these players, but i genuinely think he's not that far behind. His bigest problem is his lack of pace. If he had the pace of Welbeck, he would be twice the player Welbeck is.
At the moment and for the last year at least, yes I genuinely believe that. Rooney hasn't been great for England for years. Sturridge has had a good start to the season and nothing more. Welbeck is decent, but Rickie and him play well together.
Hope Rickie doesn't get affected by the occasion. He's never played abroad and may have lost the confidence engendered by excitement. Just be yourself, Rickie, because that is good enough.
