Is Rickie Lambert a Viable Striking Solution for England and Roy Hodgson?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: August 15, 2013

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England ran out 3-2 winners over Scotland in an international friendly match on Wednesday, with the players on both sides getting a good warm-up in ahead of the start of the Premier League campaign on Saturday.

While the focus for the managers will have been on assessing their options ahead of the final bouts of World Cup qualifying matches, one name will be assessed beyond all others in the aftermath of the game: Southampton striker Rickie Lambert.



As recently as the 2004-05 season, Lambert was part of the Stockport County team which finished rock bottom of League One, joining Rochdale in League Two midway through that season. Fast forward to Wednesday evening, and he was scoring the winning goal for England against Scotland, with his very first touch as a senior international.

It was fairytale stuff, no question, but does it make Lambert a real option for Roy Hodgson at the highest level as England attempt to navigate their way to Brazil 2014?

 

Making the Squad

Lambert wasn't in the England squad by mistake; after two exceptional goalscoring seasons where he managed 48 goals in back-to-back promotion campaigns, he then helped the Saints stay in the Premier League last year with 15 goals in 38 matches.



While never a threat to the Golden Boot award, Lambert was actually the joint-highest-scoring English player in the entire Premier League.

His performances and reliability in hitting the target warranted further recognition, but even then he might not have won a place in this squad were it not for certain absentees.

Jermain Defoe was in the England squad, a regular face on the bench at worst, while a clearly unfit Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck started the match up front. Andy Carroll and Daniel Sturridge, however, were both missing through injury.

That was enough for Lambert to sneak in, and he certainly took his opp...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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