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Rickie Lambert - England Qualifiers


Saint-Armstrong

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Amongst much more:

 

'All of England’s pace was out wide, with the centre far too slow to support the lonely Lambert'

 

In effect praising Lambert for selfless movement, unselfishness with the ball and recognised he was isolated in the second half while also saying the extra attacking options will be welcome.

 

 

Thanks. At least they recognise that Lambert was isolated upfront with little support. It's a shame that some fans on the internet are using Lambert as a scapegoat.

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Can someone tell me what the telegraph said? I can't access the page.

 

Just the Lambert mentions:

FH

"England now host Montenegro and Poland at Wembley next month when their attacking edge should be sharper than last night for all Rickie Lambert’s selfless movement."

"The concern had always been that Rickie Lambert might become isolated but he dropped off well after two minutes to flick on to Theo Walcott. "

"This was an all-for-one performance. Lambert was helping out, heading out from one Ukraine corner."

SH

"All of England’s pace was out wide, with the centre far too slow to support the lonely Lambert.

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No service to SRL.....He worked very hard as the loan striker...Did his best in a very poor England side.

 

SRL 5 or 6 out of ten.

 

6/7 of the England side did not even warrant 3 out of ten.

 

Some so called stars in mid field...soooooo poor.

 

England struggle to get in the top 20 in the world.

 

 

Poor game all round.

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Huh, all positive so far on Rickie http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/sep/10/world-cup-football-world-cup-2014-qualifiers I don't give the press enough credit it appears.

 

Was going to say farawaysaint. The negativity you were recalling regarding Rickie beforehand.... don't remember that! It does appear that the press are happy to give him the benefit of the doubt.

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Rickie did ok. Created our best chance with a lovely pass to Walcott. Some sloppy touches in the second half but, as has been said, Lampard and Wilshere didn't help him out much. I think he desees to stay in the squad.

 

Wilshere was terrible and so was Walcott. Walcott does my head in.

 

Walker is simply not a very good player. Johnson is not good enough as an elite-level defender but is probably still a better option. If Clyne has a good season there's no reason why he can't go to Brazil (if we manage to qualify).

 

Cole was unusually sloppy.

 

Can't understand why we don't play Carrick so that Gerrard can get forward a bit more. Gerrard gives the ball away far too much when playing from deep.

 

A draw's not a bad result when half the team plays badly but on another day Ukraine would've had a penalty or two so I would say we were pretty lucky to get away with a performance like that.

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I don't post often but ....

Hart had little to do. Bit lucky in the first minute - especially away from home.

Walker was found out - not the fact that he was often beaten by a better player but that his positional play was dreadful.

Cole was adequate but posed no attacking threat

The central defenders did well - or at least all that was asked from them by a quite ordinary team.

Gerrard was excellent defensively, had a decent shot and a few Hail Mary's. Didn't get forward enough.

Lampard was solid but posed no threat until the final minute.

Wilshire provided more possession for Ukraine than their own players did. Despite all his alleged quality his decision making and inability to pass to an England player was a problem on the night.

Theo played like many Saints fan's know he is capable of. No idea unless he can run free. Passing dreadful. Decision making worse.

Milner gave his all as he always does but lacks quality going forward - or at all (?)

Rickie had a good first half but tired terribly in the second. No service. I was surprised the number of times the television showed him to be the only England player in their half. When defending he was trying to close down 3 defenders. When "attacking" (for a better word) he was expected to deal with balls aimed at his throat with no other England player within yards.

When all is said and done, with players who are unable to find a colleague with a simple 5 yard pass, a lone striker is not going to shine. You could leave Pele or Messi up front on their own but with no support or service even they would struggle. Pele had a galaxy of stars around him, Messi has Xavi and Iniesta. Lambert had .......????

Has he done enough to earn another cap? Who knows? But on that team performance I would challenge any player in the world to shine in the situation he found himself. When you have midfielders and supporting forwards unable to hit the proverbial barn door with a musical instrument let alone pass the ball to a colleague, he could have done little more.

And please can someone explain how a Man U reserve gets a game for his country when he cannot control, pass or cross a ball? I thought Theo was poor before they brought on Young.

If that is the end of Rickie's England career, at least he can claim 3 games unbeaten and he has united so many football fans from many clubs (even some of the top 4) who have enjoyed his story, his commitment, his joy of representing US and his wholehearted commitment to a dream that all us failed footy stars have had.

I have enjoyed watching the last 3 England games more than any other since - probably - 1966.

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@henrywinter: Hodgson on #eng lack of a cutting edge: "Our options attacking-wise were limited by absence of three top strikers.'

 

It's a fair statement. The missing players would have presented a different challenge to the Ukraine defence if one of them had been brought on instead of or as well as Rickie. They would still have had poor service from the midfield though.

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@henrywinter: Hodgson on #eng lack of a cutting edge: "Our options attacking-wise were limited by absence of three top strikers.'

 

All the cutting edge in the world wouldn't have scored with the **** poor service from the rest of the team. Either long punts to no-one in particular or 2 yard passes straight to a yellow shirt. Rickie worked his nuts off and did well enough in the 1st half in the second half he looked knackered and hardly got a decent ball played to him. He did well to flick on for Lampard's header given he was being wrestled by the opposition defender.

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@BBCFootball1: England player ratings v Ukraine: Do you agree with chief football writer Phil McNulty's England player rating... http://t.co/Q4bPeNVQGl

 

RICKIE LAMBERT (FORWARD) - 6

 

Hard night's work for Southampton's striker as he became acquainted with the tough realities of international football on foreign soil. Little supply or support to work with.

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Quite enjoyed 1st half but we created very little. Lambo did well I thought 1st half but service was poor.

2nd half both teams tired and was a poor scrappy game, Lambo was clearly exhausted and his touch went, however service to him was even worse.

 

Thought Cahill & Jagielka were the pick which is surprising as I was probably most worried about them but they stood up very well.

Our midfield and widemen really disappointed offensively tonight.

 

Overall pretty dire game but it was a good result. To knock the result is disrespectful imo, was not pretty but got what they needed and one step closer to topping the group.

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Okay, I've compiled a round-up...

 

 

Artur Boruc - played 90 minutes as Poland defeated San Marino 5-1

Maya Yoshida - played 90 minutes in Japan's 3-1 win against Ghana

Dejan Lovren - played 90 minutes as Croatia beat South Korea 2-1 in Jeonju

Steven Davis - played 90 minutes in Northern Ireland's 3-2 loss to Luxembourg

Dani Osvaldo - played the second half in Italy's 2-1 win over Czech Republic - sealing their World Cup place

Rickie Lambert - played 90 minutes in a goalless draw in Ukraine.

 

 

There is only one final member of the senior team squad to complete his international duties before returning, that is Gastón Ramírez.

 

 

Gastón Ramírez - Starts on the bench for Uruguay in World Cup Qualifier against Colombia, kick-off at 11pm BST.

 

 

 

 

YOUTH:

 

Luke Shaw - played 90 minutes in England U21s 1-1 draw in Finland

James Ward-Prowse - played 90 minutes in England U21s 1-1 draw in Finland

Lloyd Isgrove - played 90 minutes as Wales drew 0-0 in Moldova

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http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/ukraine-0-england-0-match-report-roy-hodgsons-labouring-men-draw-a-little-closer-to-brazil-8807584.html

 

For Rickie Lambert too, it was a sobering lesson in the quality that is required on a big night in international football when one's touch has to be perfect and time and space are at a premium. He tried to do his best with some pretty ineffective support play from those around him, Theo Walcott included, but this felt like the occasion when the man from Southampton had his limitations exposed.

 

It was telling that England looked at their best from corners, in particular a Cahill header that took a deflection and went over on five minutes. Lambert's touch was too heavy for the decisive balls in behind defenders that Walcott could run onto. With five minutes left of the first half, Milner on the left played a ball into the Southampton striker with his back to goal. Something subtle and imaginative was required. Lambert missed it altogether.

 

The problem for England was that with Wilshere off-colour in the first half and Lambert, to put it mildly, looking rather out of his depth, there were so few quality chances created in the Ukraine area.

For all his willing running, it got little better for Lambert after half-time. To borrow an old joke, his second touch was too often a tackle, not least on 51 minutes when a ball cannoned so far off his chest that he was obliged to stick a boot in too far to retrieve it. He escaped the booking.

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They rated him 5/10, worse than Walcott and the second worst player on the pitch behind Walker calling him "overawed" at the big occasion.

Edited by farawaysaint
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Don't think he will be picked for the next game after RH coments .

 

He only got his chance because of injuries What he's done is proved to Woy that if needed he won't let his country down. If he's needed again he'll get called up, but if everybody is fit he may miss out.

 

He was never going to play so well that he made himself indispensable, the best he could hope was that Woy considers him an option. A freak set of circumstances opened the door for him, and he didn't let anyone down. However, he's down the pecking order. 6 months ago he wasn't even in the pecking order. He needs to really have a career season this year, he needs to be banging them in week in week out, which can only be good for us.

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I thought he did well first half but faded along with the rest of the side in the second. He plays against international class defences in the Prem every week, but never with a bunch of strangers who don't get up to support him.

 

Realistically he is behind Rooney and Sturridge (Wellbeck wide left) in Woy's plans but I think he will be involved squadwise in the next two qualifiers.

 

I actually think he is well suited as an impact sub, lucky as I can't realistically see him being used as anything more when the others are back.

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Rickie did as well as could be expected given our limited possession and style of play. I believe he has done enough to be around next month, when some of the Rooney, Sturridge, Welbeck will likely be missing again.

Agree, Wilshere was awful. Hopefully we can bring Carrick in at the back of the diamond and push StevieG forward a bit.

All to play for still.

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England’s best move from open play came early, Rickie Lambert threading the ball through to Theo Walcott, who was repelled bravely by Andriy Pyatov in Ukraine’s goal.

For Lambert it was a step up again after his wonderful exploits against Scotland and Moldova. He was not thrown by it but was undermined by a lack of support.

He may have been England’s secret weapon — when his name was read out, the stadium screen showed a picture of an England shirt, no Lambert, and his name was spelt Riclie on the team sheet — but he did not see enough of the ball to make the surprise count.

That was not his fault. Moves broke down around Jack Wilshere and Lampard on a surprising number of occasions, and the central core were too often divorced from the front line to create opportunities.

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I reckon Rooney, Sturridge, Wellbeck and Carroll will all still be ahead of Rickie in future selections, so he needs to start scoring goals for Saints and keep his fingers crossed the others get injured next summer.

 

Personally, I'd have him as 1st choice striker, but then I'm basing it purely on form, ability and desire, rather than the bizarre political obligations that hamper every England manager!

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I reckon Rooney, Sturridge, Wellbeck and Carroll will all still be ahead of Rickie in future selections, so he needs to start scoring goals for Saints and keep his fingers crossed the others get injured next summer.

 

Personally, I'd have him as 1st choice striker, but then I'm basing it purely on form, ability and desire, rather than the bizarre political obligations that hamper every England manager!

 

Not for the Poland & Montenegro games he won't.

 

Carroll is out until at least the end of this year and possibly longer. May need surgery.

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I reckon Rooney, Sturridge, Wellbeck and Carroll will all still be ahead of Rickie in future selections, so he needs to start scoring goals for Saints and keep his fingers crossed the others get injured next summer.

 

Personally, I'd have him as 1st choice striker, but then I'm basing it purely on form, ability and desire, rather than the bizarre political obligations that hamper every England manager!

 

Not for the Poland & Montenegro games he won't.

 

Carroll is out until at least the end of this year and possibly longer. May need surgery.

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....if you look for it, you'll find it, Alpine.

 

By the way, Do you want us to qualify for Rio now, then? You do seem to change your position on that quite a lot.

 

Nope. I consistently either wanted England to lose or didnt care about the result, but now a Saints player is involved, I am interested. I think that is fairly obvious, and understandable. LOL at this skoolkid concept that its a weakness to change your mind about something :lol:

 

Failing to see the point you are trying to make, to be honest, although I have noticed that your pithy attempts to destroy fellow posters with your sage opinion and/or barbed comebacks are more and more missing their mark with each passing day. Maybe you should accept that your time has been and gone, and you are getting a bit, well, boring....

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I reckon Rooney, Sturridge, Wellbeck and Carroll will all still be ahead of Rickie in future selections, so he needs to start scoring goals for Saints and keep his fingers crossed the others get injured next summer.

 

Personally, I'd have him as 1st choice striker, but then I'm basing it purely on form, ability and desire, rather than the bizarre political obligations that hamper every England manager!

Why would Carroll get in ahead of him?

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Gerrard: "we'll hopefully have more players fit for the last two games which will give us a better cutting edge up front"

 

Please try to bear in mind that this is not a personal attack on Rickie. Imagine if Welbeck had been available to play alongside Rickie. We would have had a better chance of him running onto a through ball than we had of Milner doing it. This is the sort of thing Gerrard is trying to say. He definitely doesn't mean: "We lost because Rickie played badly."

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Rickie has limitations in the same way every player has them - in that he plays best when used a certain way. England did not play to Rickie's strengths at all last night and whilst I (and I'm sure he) would be the first to admit he could've done better, England were poor overall and such scapegoating is unfair on SRL. Had they built on the way they were playing off him in the first half, Ukraine were there for the taking, but most of our play disintegrated long before it reached Rickie.

 

The likes of Rooney and Sturridge would obviously give England more variety and greater skill set to choose from, no one can deny that, but when you know you only have Rickie Lambert to play upfront, and then play so utterly poorly and against his strengths, it is rather crass to then focus on what other players could bring to the party.

 

Having said all that, the veiled criticisms are perhaps aimed more at the likes of Walcott and Milner... had we had Rooney and Sturridge instead of those two, playing off Lambert, that might've been interesting.

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Okay, I've compiled a round-up...

 

 

Artur Boruc - played 90 minutes as Poland defeated San Marino 5-1

Maya Yoshida - played 90 minutes in Japan's 3-1 win against Ghana

Dejan Lovren - played 90 minutes as Croatia beat South Korea 2-1 in Jeonju

Steven Davis - played 90 minutes in Northern Ireland's 3-2 loss to Luxembourg

Dani Osvaldo - played the second half in Italy's 2-1 win over Czech Republic - sealing their World Cup place

Rickie Lambert - played 90 minutes in a goalless draw in Ukraine.

 

 

There is only one final member of the senior team squad to complete his international duties before returning, that is Gastón Ramírez.

 

 

Gastón Ramírez - Starts on the bench for Uruguay in World Cup Qualifier against Colombia, kick-off at 11pm BST.

 

 

 

 

YOUTH:

 

Luke Shaw - played 90 minutes in England U21s 1-1 draw in Finland

James Ward-Prowse - played 90 minutes in England U21s 1-1 draw in Finland

Lloyd Isgrove - played 90 minutes as Wales drew 0-0 in Moldova

 

@SouthamptonFC: Gaston Ramirez came on as a 71st-minute substitute as two late goals saw Uruguay beat Colombia 2-0 in a #WCQ overnight. #saintsfc

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It's a fair comment from Gerrard. I think Lambert did ok but I still want Rooney, Welbeck and Sturridge back for the last two games.
That may well be the case but a team mate shouldn't single out a particular player as not providing what they want. And how much creativity and support was provided from midfield?
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Rickie has limitations in the same way every player has them - in that he plays best when used a certain way. England did not play to Rickie's strengths at all last night and whilst I (and I'm sure he) would be the first to admit he could've done better, England were poor overall and such scapegoating is unfair on SRL. Had they built on the way they were playing off him in the first half, Ukraine were there for the taking, but most of our play disintegrated long before it reached Rickie.

 

The likes of Rooney and Sturridge would obviously give England more variety and greater skill set to choose from, no one can deny that, but when you know you only have Rickie Lambert to play upfront, and then play so utterly poorly and against his strengths, it is rather crass to then focus on what other players could bring to the party.

 

Having said all that, the veiled criticisms are perhaps aimed more at the likes of Walcott and Milner... had we had Rooney and Sturridge instead of those two, playing off Lambert, that might've been interesting.

 

Indeed. Gerrard may have had something else in mind but the natural first reaction was bound to be "eyes front" at the new boy after that comment. Thoughtless tw*t.

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