Really? I really must pay more attention. There are no tears from me, I'm afraid- not even of laughter. I find it more perplexing than amusing. I can see why it's attractive to him (though I'd have thought he'd want another year or two with more game time than we'll give him), but I can't see why we would go for it. No offence to Lambert, but at 32 he seems a long way off from our avowed policy of only signing players with sell-on potential. If we were desperate for some experience up front, like we are at the back, it would make more sense- but it's the one area that we function almost to perfection.
Who knows what and isn't bothered? You mean Lamby knows he'll have his arse parked on the bench most of the time and is ok with that?
Lambert knows he's not going to dislodge Suarez or Sturridge - but that doesn't mean he's going to just lounge around, not trying. It's his boyhood club so he will give it his all, passion, blood and thunder. He won't disrupt our style because chances he is likely to only play the last 10 mins or when we struggle to break down teams and is used as a last resort. It's a relatively cheap option, offset by the likely sale of Aspas. I think we all agree that he's a better option to take off the bench than Aspas. The Lambert signing is just a cheap solution to a small problem for us i.e. no physical presence up front. We have bigger issues like full backs, centre back and midfield - this is where we will spend the big money on the bigger players.
Perfect summary. Why spend big on an area we're already world class in. He's come in on the cheap for a different option, he'll spend most of the time on the bench. That's a certainty - he know's that and we all know that, and I'm sure he's happy with that. He's a born and bred scouser seeing out his final days at his boyhood club. A fairy tale ending for the lad. That's why it's good business, it's a cheap solution that adds a different option. Leaving us with plenty of funds (and player sales) to strengthen where we really need to. We did need another striker as back up, and we've hit the nail on the head for £4mil. If we went out and spent 10-15mil for a bench warmer, we'd have limited funds for the players we really need in. Very good piece of business the more I think about it.
Well..... It must give some indication of a level of confidence in Suarez staying I suppose. For me you can dress it up this way and that but it's still a low grade buy. Anythings better than aspas but looking at all top 4 rivals bar arsenal there are 4 strikers though the quality varies.
Injured, or not flavour of the month with Poch!! Although Lambert might be "old" he has tons of skill that might not be apparent when you may only have seen him on TV or when Southampton have played at Anfield and tried to rely on defence to get a result. Good player and won't let you down. Much more skillful than Andy Carroll.
Rickie will be so proud to be in the famous red shirt, and the Kop singing YNWA. Coming on to the pitch in the 2nd half and grabbing the winning goal against United!!! Dreams!!! Beautiful dreams!!!
He may being joining as back-up but I hope he is ambitious enough to not accept being a back-up, we don't want players that are happy to sit and collect their pay. And yes, he will be very proud should the transfer materialise
I can`t believe the lack of knowledge on this board. Do you lot only ever watch your own team/players? lambert is so much more than "a different option", "a target man", "a physical presence up front". He is a very good player with good technical ability and a more than decent strike rate, he links up very well and brings players around him into the game. At £4m he is very reasonably priced in todays market.
I think the "back-up" suggestion is because it is unlikely he will force his way in with us having SAS already established at the club, not impossible but unlikely. The physical presence is because he is a bigger physical presence than anyone else we have at the club. Most are saying £4m is a decent deal
A good manager does not play the same team in every game (Brendan was pretty much forced to last season because of squad depth). I think you may find Lambert starts quite a few games against teams like Chelsea where fast counter attacking counts for nothing because of the tight, deep defending. Edit £4 mill is a good price
Agreed. My response was what I see as a general view. Most still work on a first eleven basis but I completely agree on it being a squad game and needing options. Lambert would give us a option we don't currently have, plus a bit of experience to a very young squad too
The rate we're going, I think we may have to combine teams. At least the shirts are fairly similar.....
