Roy Hodgson on Lambert (and Holt) for England

[The9]

Roy Hodgson was on Goals on Sunday just now. Chris Kamara mentioned that they'd had Lambert and Holt on the sofa a couple of weeks back "and they said they think they're being restricted because they came through the lower leagues, and the reason why they're not favoured in terms of playing for England, is there any truth in that whatsoever ?"

 

Hodgson's reply :

 

"No, none whatsoever, they're a certain type of player and, you know, I think with the best will in the world they wouldn't compare themselves to players like Sturridge, Welbeck and Defoe, they're different types. They might compare themselves to Andy Carroll who has been with us, but we're aware of what we're trying to create as a team and much as I think they're good players and have done a fantastic job for their clubs, there's certainly no truth that they're being dismissed in any way because they've not played at top Premiership level all the time. In fact they're a good example if you ask me of us, you know, not being too hung up with "have you played in the Premiership?" - there are players out there who are capable of playing in the Premiership, all they need is the chance.

 

As Gary Neville said, "I got my chance". If you don't give players a chance, then they're never gonna play. If we don't give a chance to some of the younger players to get into the England team and show what they can do, and we just keep going with the players who've been there the last 3 World Cups for example, we'll never know. We'll never know whether they're good enough or not, and the same applies at club level."

 

So... from the horse's mouth, basically implies that Lambert and Holt don't suit England's system, doesn't think they're comparable to Sturridge, Welbeck and Defoe (why exactly isn't clear) and after a load of waffle also suggests they are too old, as there are younger players who might be good enough who'll get a chance - though none were specified. Pretty much everything we suspected, then, and not entirely logical.

[Window Cleaner]

Roy Hodgson was on Goals on Sunday just now. Chris Kamara mentioned that they'd had Lambert and Holt on the sofa a couple of weeks back "and they said they think they're being restricted because they came through the lower leagues, and the reason why they're not favoured in terms of playing for England, is there any truth in that whatsoever ?"

 

Hodgson's reply :

 

"No, none whatsoever, they're a certain type of player and, you know, I think with the best will in the world they wouldn't compare themselves to players like Sturridge, Welbeck and Defoe, they're different types. They might compare themselves to Andy Carroll who has been with us, but we're aware of what we're trying to create as a team and much as I think they're good players and have done a fantastic job for their clubs, there's certainly no truth that they're being dismissed in any way because they've not played at top Premiership level all the time. In fact they're a good example if you ask me of us, you know, not being too hung up with "have you played in the Premiership?" - there are players out there who are capable of playing in the Premiership, all they need is the chance.

 

As Gary Neville said, "I got my chance". If you don't give players a chance, then they're never gonna play. If we don't give a chance to some of the younger players to get into the England team and show what they can do, and we just keep going with the players who've been there the last 3 World Cups for example, we'll never know. We'll never know whether they're good enough or not, and the same applies at club level."

 

So... from the horse's mouth, basically implies that Lambert and Holt don't suit England's system, doesn't think they're comparable to Sturridge, Welbeck and Defoe (why exactly isn't clear) and after a load of waffle also suggests they are too old, as there are younger players who might be good enough who'll get a chance - though none were specified. Pretty much everything we suspected, then, and not entirely logical.

 

Welbeck,Sturridge and Defoe are all extremely quick and extremely adept with their feet.Lambert isn't. If he weren't a penalty king he'd be way back in the goalscorers list.

[The9]

J Rod will make it. Lambert i'm not so sure. I think they should give him a cap though. He offers something different to all of the above.

 

Would you like to specify what that is ?

[The Kraken]

Welbeck,Sturridge and Defoe are all extremely quick and extremely adept with their feet.Lambert isn't. If he weren't a penalty king he'd be way back in the goalscorers list.

3 penalties this season out of 14 league goals.

[lambertsrightleg]

Scoring goals is not the be all and end all. Unless we dominate games Lambert is pretty ineffective because he doesn't offer us an outlet in behind when we are under the cosh. Roy likes to play on the break and to do that you need pace and power. Lambert hasn't got those attributes so we move on.

[norwaysaint]

JRod will possible get a game, as have many players from outside the top teams in the past, but the problem they have is that less patience is usually shown with them. One of the players who is with United/Liverpool/Arsenal etc but doesn't always play might be seen as a future star who needs nurturing, getting chance after chance to make an impression. If a player like JRod, Clyne or Cork hasn't made a big impact after a game or two, that'll probably be it.

[tajjuk]

Welbeck,Sturridge and Defoe are all extremely quick and extremely adept with their feet.Lambert isn't. If he weren't a penalty king he'd be way back in the goalscorers list.

 

Defoe has good feet, Sturridge is massively inconsistent and Wellbeck is one of the clumsiest players around. They are both just pace, without it neither would be a premier league player let alone an England one.. Take Lambert's penalties away he's still many goals ahead of a player that plays for the best club in the country and still can't score.

 

Maybe Roy should realise that playing counter attack and having players with pace is kind of pointless against teams that sit deep against you, the likes of Wellbeck and Sturridge just run into players when we play teams like Poland and the Ukraine and their lack of technical ability gets massively shown up.

 

Lambert might not be the answer but from what I've seen and the results back it up Wellbeck, Sturridge and Defoe aren't either, England aren't going to do anything with Hodgson in charge with that sort of attitude. He talked about not using the same players that have been to the last 3 world cups but that's exactly what he has done.

[VectisSaint]

3 penalties this season out of 14 league goals.

Silly really, Lambert has cored more penalties than Welbeck has scored total goals this season in 39 appearances for the top club in England. Defoe and Sturridge I can deal with but Welbeck really does not deserve an England place, even a Manure place is debatable.

[The9]

Defoe has good feet, Sturridge is massively inconsistent and Wellbeck is one of the clumsiest players around. They are both just pace, without it neither would be a premier league player let alone an England one.. Take Lambert's penalties away he's still many goals ahead of a player that plays for the best club in the country and still can't score.

 

Maybe Roy should realise that playing counter attack and having players with pace is kind of pointless against teams that sit deep against you, the likes of Wellbeck and Sturridge just run into players when we play teams like Poland and the Ukraine and their lack of technical ability gets massively shown up.

 

Lambert might not be the answer but from what I've seen and the results back it up Wellbeck, Sturridge and Defoe aren't either, England aren't going to do anything with Hodgson in charge with that sort of attitude. He talked about not using the same players that have been to the last 3 world cups but that's exactly what he has done.

 

To be fair to Sturridge I think he's looked excellent most of the time when played as a lone central striker for Chelsea and Liverpool, he just seems to keep playing for teams who have world class strikers there ahead of him and gets shunted out wide. Welbeck I would say has a lot to prove, and Defoe is fine for the kind of striker he is, but doesn't link play much.

[The Kraken]

To be fair to Sturridge I think he's looked excellent most of the time when played as a lone central striker for Chelsea and Liverpool, he just seems to keep playing for teams who have world class strikers there ahead of him and gets shunted out wide. Welbeck I would say has a lot to prove, and Defoe is fine for the kind of striker he is, but doesn't link play much.

I'm a fan of Sturridge. He showed when on loan at Bolton that he can score (10 goals in 10 games I think it was); but as you say he has barely played properly upfront and there just seems to be a little bit missing still. Welbeck, I'm not a huge fan of but he also has the same thing that he doesn't always play up front. Defoe is one of those that is decent at club level but not good enough on the international stage.

 

The days of having Shearer, Sheringham, Fowler, Owen, Cole, Ferdinand etc to call upon are fast becoming a distant memory.

[Crazy Diamond]

Silly really, Lambert has cored more penalties than Welbeck has scored total goals this season in 39 appearances for the top club in England. Defoe and Sturridge I can deal with but Welbeck really does not deserve an England place, even a Manure place is debatable.

 

Welbeck wouldn't play for United unless he was a good player. I don't personally get what's so good about him, but you don't play for them unless you're a good player. If he was as bad as people make out, he'd be on the scrapheap with the likes of Bebé and co.

 

 

I'm a fan of Sturridge. He showed when on loan at Bolton that he can score (10 goals in 10 games I think it was); but as you say he has barely played properly upfront and there just seems to be a little bit missing still. Welbeck, I'm not a huge fan of but he also has the same thing that he doesn't always play up front. Defoe is one of those that is decent at club level but not good enough on the international stage.

 

The days of having Shearer, Sheringham, Fowler, Owen, Cole, Ferdinand etc to call upon are fast becoming a distant memory.

 

A bit of maturity would do Sturridge the world of good. Maybe he'll find it at Liverpool.

 

Overall though I'm not bothered at all if Lambert gets an England cap. It'd be nice for him, true, other than that why care so much about it?

[trousers]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/130516/andy-carroll-recalled-england-squad-summer-friendlies-against-brazil-and-1977

 

England manager Roy Hodgson has selected Andy Carroll in his squad for the forthcoming friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil.

Carroll, who has been overlooked since the World Cup qualifier in Poland last October, has been recalled after impressing on loan at West Ham from Liverpool.

Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy is the only new name in the 22-man party.

England Squad:

Goalkeepers

Ben Foster, Joe Hart, Alex McCarthy

Defenders

Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, Kyle Walker

Midfielders

Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott

Forwards

Andy Carroll, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck

 

 

[Batman]

CARROLL

 

CARROLL

 

no saints players,

England are utter poo

[S-Clarke]

Andy Caroll's done enough to be selected, f'sure.

[Batman]

Andy Caroll's done enough to be selected, f'sure.

I really thought Hodgson would be different

England are just painfully average

 

some real terrible, same old tried and tested players

[Sour Mash]

Not one player from the excellent Swansea side either.

[S-Clarke]

I really thought Hodgson would be different

England are just painfully average

 

some real terrible, same old tried and tested players

 

He more or less said on Goals on Sunday, that he wouldn't consider Lambert or Holt as they don't fit the way england want to play.

 

How does Caroll? I think the bloke is turd, and I'm sure the only thing getting him a place is that he once cost £35m. If Liverpool hadn't paid that, he'd still be a Newcastle and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be playing for England. It's like the fact he cost £35m, means that every goal he scores is absolutely amazing. I remember when he equalized against us, he was in the team of the week. It was a flaming deflected scuffed shot! He did nothing else all game.......Lambert scored a 30 yarder against Chelsea, to win the match, and he didn't get a peep. It's like the entire country is still trying to justify his £35m price tag - well give up, he was never worth that and never will be. Liverpool had a mental seizure that day.

 

Same old, same old in the rest of the squad though. No real surprise.

Edited 16 May, 2013 by S-Clarke

[Batman]

Not one player from the excellent Swansea side either.

 

True, Swansea have been excellent for 2 seasons now.

Cork has been good

Lambert surely was worth a shout for the summer games

 

you have more chance in playng 15 games for man united and doing very little than you do of standing out for a mid table team

[Crazy Diamond]

Don't really understand what Tom Cleverley has done to warrant another call up.

[RedFear]

well hodgson has proved himself no different from the rest then. I dont know why I delude myself we get a new manager and think, 'maybe he will be different'

we will just produce the same results time after time

 

HOW, has carroll got anywhere near the squad??

[S-Clarke]

Don't really understand what Tom Cleverley has done to warrant another call up.

 

Warn a Manchester United training top on their substitute bench.

[Batman]

Warn a Manchester United training top on their substitute bench.

 

he and welbeck could have torn the league apart for saints and would not get in.

England are just so poor and I though better of Roy. He is again, just so bloody average

[The9]

He more or less said on Goals on Sunday, that he wouldn't consider Lambert or Holt as they don't fit the way england want to play.

 

How does Caroll? I think the bloke is turd, and I'm sure the only thing getting him a place is that he once cost £35m. If Liverpool hadn't paid that, he'd still be a Newcastle and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be playing for England. It's like the fact he cost £35m, means that every goal he scores is absolutely amazing. I remember when he equalized against us, he was in the team of the week. It was a flaming deflected scuffed shot! He did nothing else all game.......Lambert scored a 30 yarder against Chelsea, to win the match, and he didn't get a peep. It's like the entire country is still trying to justify his £35m price tag - well give up, he was never worth that and never will be. Liverpool had a mental seizure that day.

 

Same old, same old in the rest of the squad though. No real surprise.

 

Judging by what he said, which I quoted verbatim in the OP, he's taking Carroll because he's young and can develop into a useful player that can be made to suit his system, and he hasn't considered Holt or Lambert because he feels they won't or can't. It's the only logical conclusion, though why England want a striker who doesn't even look comfortable standing up with the ball at his feet, I don't know.

[S-Clarke]

he and welbeck could have torn the league apart for saints and would not get in.

England are just so poor and I though better of Roy. He is again, just so bloody average

 

They don't need to play as long as they're at Manchester United though, that will guarantee them a place whatever happens. Hasn't Welbeck scored like 2 goals all season? For me, it would have been a choice of Welbeck OR Sturridge, and clearly Sturridge would have got in ahead of him - leaving another place for a more deserving player.

[hypochondriac]

he and welbeck could have torn the league apart for saints and would not get in.

England are just so poor and I though better of Roy. He is again, just so bloody average

 

So did I. He has big a big disappointment.

[S-Clarke]

Judging by what he said, which I quoted verbatim in the OP, he's taking Carroll because he's young and can develop into a useful player that can be made to suit his system, and he hasn't considered Holt or Lambert because he feels they won't or can't. It's the only logical conclusion, though why England want a striker who doesn't even look comfortable standing up with the ball at his feet, I don't know.

 

It's one way of twisting it, a good get out argument by Hodgson though. How is a player as bad as Andy Carroll ever going to be made to suit any system other than hoof ball? He even does a bad job of that. At least Lambert and even Holt have football brains, and they know when to pull wide and can put in decent deliveries themselves. Even though they're old, I'm pretty sure they'd contribute more in the match than Andy Carroll would. Although every header he wins would be looked on in amazement I imagine.

 

As you can probably tell, I cannot stand Andy Caroll. He demonstrates all that is wrong with English football.

[Mallagroth]

To me Hodgsons face now resembles a punch bag. I think my rage stems from his utter boloks about there not being enough young English talent or players in the prem. He means in the London or Manchester clubs he is seemingly only allowed to pick from, what a massive cock. These are friendlies, give some unexpected faces a go, this team list is built of players who were on form last season or many before. If donkey has earned a trial so have others. Fookin shambles. Rant over.

[Barry Sanchez]

Defoe has good feet, Sturridge is massively inconsistent and Wellbeck is one of the clumsiest players around. They are both just pace, without it neither would be a premier league player let alone an England one.. Take Lambert's penalties away he's still many goals ahead of a player that plays for the best club in the country and still can't score.

 

Maybe Roy should realise that playing counter attack and having players with pace is kind of pointless against teams that sit deep against you, the likes of Wellbeck and Sturridge just run into players when we play teams like Poland and the Ukraine and their lack of technical ability gets massively shown up.

 

Lambert might not be the answer but from what I've seen and the results back it up Wellbeck, Sturridge and Defoe aren't either, England aren't going to do anything with Hodgson in charge with that sort of attitude. He talked about not using the same players that have been to the last 3 world cups but that's exactly what he has done.

 

We breed workhorses and athletes not footballers in this Country.

[Chez]

Cleverely and Milner are exactly why England will do nothing. They are both decent enough players at club level, but they are no where near good enough at International level.

 

Milner at his best, playing for Villa in the centre I could live with, but Milner tracking up and down the line played wide right just does not do anything for me.

 

I don;t see a left sided player there either.

 

Happy Ricky is not selected. He'll just get injured and we'll all be gutted.

[The9]

It's one way of twisting it, a good get out argument by Hodgson though. How is a player as bad as Andy Carroll ever going to be made to suit any system other than hoof ball? He even does a bad job of that. At least Lambert and even Holt have football brains, and they know when to pull wide and can put in decent deliveries themselves. Even though they're old, I'm pretty sure they'd contribute more in the match than Andy Carroll would. Although every header he wins would be looked on in amazement I imagine.

 

As you can probably tell, I cannot stand Andy Caroll. He demonstrates all that is wrong with English football.

 

Nothing twisted about it, it's the only way to interpret what he said about Lambert and Holt being a particular sort of player more like Carroll than Sturridge/Welbeck/Defoe, and then him picking Carroll after blathering on about giving younger players a chance.

[stevegrant]

Not one player from the excellent Swansea side either.

Who would qualify, though?

 

Looking at their squad list, there's only 7 who would be eligible. Two of those are Garry Monk and Alan Tate, who are very much reserve centre-backs (10 and 2 starts this season respectively), Kyle Bartley has been injured for most of the season but is supposed to be quite a prospect, Luke Moore has only 3 starts up front which then leaves three midfielders, Leon Britton, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge.

 

Britton has featured in most of their games this season, but I think most would accept that he's a lightweight and not-quite-as-good version of Michael Carrick. Dyer hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was last season (cup final performance aside), and I don't think Routledge has done enough to deserve a call-up. That said, Chamberlain's barely featured for Arsenal this season...

 

For those rubbishing the Carroll selection: people want an alternative to the short, nippy "finisher" type attacker, with a view to shoehorning Lambert in there somewhere, while Carroll - who already has international experience and a goal in a major tournament - has been in good form in the last couple of months. That selection makes total sense to me.

[The9]

Who would qualify, though?

 

Looking at their squad list, there's only 7 who would be eligible. Two of those are Garry Monk and Alan Tate, who are very much reserve centre-backs (10 and 2 starts this season respectively), Kyle Bartley has been injured for most of the season but is supposed to be quite a prospect, Luke Moore has only 3 starts up front which then leaves three midfielders, Leon Britton, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge.

 

Britton has featured in most of their games this season, but I think most would accept that he's a lightweight and not-quite-as-good version of Michael Carrick. Dyer hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was last season (cup final performance aside), and I don't think Routledge has done enough to deserve a call-up. That said, Chamberlain's barely featured for Arsenal this season...

 

For those rubbishing the Carroll selection: people want an alternative to the short, nippy "finisher" type attacker, with a view to shoehorning Lambert in there somewhere, while Carroll - who already has international experience and a goal in a major tournament - has been in good form in the last couple of months. That selection makes total sense to me.

 

I couldn't work out the Swansea argument either... I can see why he's picked Carroll too, smacks of desperation though.

[Andre]

So Welbeck hasn't already wasted his chance? Think it's time for Rodriguez tbh.

[Batman]

welbeck, jesus christ

[stevegrant]

As much as I think Welbeck's been utter garbage this season, his record for England is annoyingly impressive.

[Sour Mash]

Who would qualify, though?

 

Looking at their squad list, there's only 7 who would be eligible. Two of those are Garry Monk and Alan Tate, who are very much reserve centre-backs (10 and 2 starts this season respectively), Kyle Bartley has been injured for most of the season but is supposed to be quite a prospect, Luke Moore has only 3 starts up front which then leaves three midfielders, Leon Britton, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge.

 

Britton has featured in most of their games this season, but I think most would accept that he's a lightweight and not-quite-as-good version of Michael Carrick. Dyer hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was last season (cup final performance aside), and I don't think Routledge has done enough to deserve a call-up. That said, Chamberlain's barely featured for Arsenal this season...

 

For those rubbishing the Carroll selection: people want an alternative to the short, nippy "finisher" type attacker, with a view to shoehorning Lambert in there somewhere, while Carroll - who already has international experience and a goal in a major tournament - has been in good form in the last couple of months. That selection makes total sense to me.

Take out Cleverley and Chamberlain, add in Britton and Dyer and you've improved that squad in my opinion.

[trousers]

The FA ‏@FA

Hodgson on Carroll: "He gives us possibilities. There is always room for a centre-forward of his class." http://the-fa.com/kBufJI #England

[saints-cris]

If Welbeck and Cleverley didnt play for Man U, they wouldnt be playing for England imo. Very average.

 

Another very uninspiring squad.

[Bearsy]

If Welbeck and Cleverley didnt play for Man U, they wouldnt be playing for England imo. Very average.

 

Another very uninspiring squad.

 

what would ur team be yo?

[St_Tel49]

Welbeck,Sturridge and Defoe are all extremely quick and extremely adept with their feet.Lambert isn't. If he weren't a penalty king he'd be way back in the goalscorers list.

 

Indeed. England have never demonstrated any need for a penalty king.

[Tokyo-Saint]

The FA ‏@FA

Hodgson on Carroll: "He gives us possibilities. There is always room for a centre-forward of his class." http://the-fa.com/kBufJI #England

 

The possibility to hoof the ball up to his big horse's heeed and hope for a knock down?

[alpine_saint]

I really thought Hodgson would be different

England are just painfully average

 

some real terrible, same old tried and tested players

 

This.

[Batman]

I would argue that Michael Dawson has been far more deserving than say, Lescott, who cant get into the city team

dear oh dear

[Leslie Charteris]

It would make a cynic wonder if our spineless FA is just pandering to the "glamour" clubs so they can justify their sometimes ridiculous spending on players and help keep the player values up.

[Tokyo-Saint]

Exactly, big club bias. Jos has been scoring for fun this season but he is over looked by Hodgson every single time.

[anothersaintinsouthsea]

JRod will possible get a game, as have many players from outside the top teams in the past, but the problem they have is that less patience is usually shown with them. One of the players who is with United/Liverpool/Arsenal etc but doesn't always play might be seen as a future star who needs nurturing, getting chance after chance to make an impression. If a player like JRod, Clyne or Cork hasn't made a big impact after a game or two, that'll probably be it.

 

Totally. Compare the number of caps earned by Downing to Le Tiss.

[JackFrost]

I think the fact that MLT got 8 England caps and Emile Heskey got 62 England caps tells you all you need to know about England's selection policy.

[simo]

If you don't bring media coverage for the sponsers you dont get in the squad !

[Smirking_Saint]

Lambert hasnt done anything for a few games, Carroll isnt the most technically gifted but will certainly allow us to play our get out clause, he causes havoc in defenses and is basically a battering ram, boring but effective.

 

Welbeck and Sturridge lacking technical qualities ? Yeah ok then, for me atleast both are very exciting.

 

The one that really surprises me is Cork

[sotonist]

Exactly, big club bias. Jos has been scoring for fun this season but he is over looked by Hodgson every single time.

 

He's not finnish, he's only 28.