With the addition of Mayuka and possibly Ramirez we might be able to place enough crosses on Rickie's head to see us safe and sound. Though I can see us using Rickie a lot less this season and maybe that could be a good thing. We all saw the lift that the team got when he came on against City and that could well be the way we will begin to use him, starting sometimes and other times on the bench.
i would be sad to see Lambert leave but if he wants to go there is little we can do, he has done everything and more that the club and fans could of asked of him, and if he sees Villa as a chance for his last big pay day then he should go with our blessing.
Lambert is our talisman and is one of the major factors in our double promotion. He has earnt his chance in the PL and deserves it. He is very valued by NA and his goal against the Champions shows he can score in the top flight. He is also a great impact player to have on the bench. The fact he didn't start in the first game is what has got other teams interested, but that was purely a tactical decision. He will get this season to prove himself. The person I am less certain of is Rodriguez. I know he is young, has been played out of position and we paid big money for him, but I would rather keep Lambert and Sharp.
Agreed, I know its hard to fit them all in, but I really want Billy to get more than 20 minutes, he is showing a hunger that is hard to find, I really do think he'll do well given the chance. I don't envy Nigel making these tough decisions.
That's not a bad post IN Matt. It's hard to think about this without the heart saying "No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", but give the head a little time and you do wonder if NA has plans to use Rickie more sparingly. He did a lot of chasing the ball in that 15 minute spell in the second half on Saturday when Wigan cheated by not letting us touch the ball and for a man of his build, that must make it more difficult for him.
It just simply does not compute. Unless Rickie wants to leave, he stays. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...ague-after-rollercoaster-ride-to-the-top.html Legend. Hero. Talisman. £5Million really is such a insignificant amount. And what really gets me is, people are happy to blow £12M on this Gaston character, then utter that selling RL at the age of 30 for a profit is good business. Players like him don't come round that often, you've got to treat them well, how he treats us in fact. Its not just a business, its a history making machine sport.
Nothing to do with his footballing ability, but, whenever I see Rickie, I always think what a great mate he would make (in a nonsexual sense of course). He just looks a super bloke.
I can see the argument for selling when talking about how he fits in to the 433 system which it seems is the future for Saints and also his age, but £5 mil is just simply not enough. I think it would take an offer of closer to £10 mil before NA and NC would have a decision to make
Ironic that this is meant to be a really sensible thread. It's immediately devalued by the infantile title and pops at others.
Yes, we've covered that, but now it's been 90% sensible discussion, so let's not go back there! I think it would be crazy to sell Rickie, even persisting with 4-3-3 - one of the beauties of that system is using someone who can create through knockdowns and holding the ball up at the spearhead of the formation, particularly to the 2 others in the front three - which with a fair wind will be Mayuka and Ramirez. There's few better than Rickie at that, and for my money J-Rod will learn a great deal from him. Keep hold for at least another season.
Agree with this and was about to post something similar. Lorente at Bilbao and going back in time a bit Carew at Valencia would hold the line. The system can be used in different ways and Chelsea is the best example of the change from Drogba as a target man with Anelka & Lampard supporting quickly to now Torres playing on the shoulder of the last defender to make runs for talented play makers in Mata and Hazard. The trouble at Wigan was that we didn't have the necessary pace to join and assist Lambert so he ended up looking a bit isolated. With Mayuka and the return of Chung that option is available to us. Rodriguez is here to replace Lambert but not for a while yet.
Oh I completely agree Fran, but in a 4-3-3 I just don't think his all round game is as strong as the others we have. I hope he doesn't leave, but if we are too "top heavy", he'd be the one the eyes fall on I'd guess.
Surely it's about having more than one system .. so Lambert and Sharp for different reasons look like good options..
Ideally, but then it depends if Billy is going to be happy waiting for the times in games or actual games where we play that system. I suspect Tadanari will be ahead in the queue even in those instances.
