Lambert deserves his chance

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

England manager Roy Hodgson announced his squad on Thursday for the international friendly with old enemies Scotland next week and there were few surprises.

The expected faces will all feature in a friendly that might well be part of the FA’s 150^th anniversary celebrations, but comes at a very inconvenient time for club managers, with the new Premier League season due to start just three days after the Wembley clash.

One man though who will get an opportunity to shine for the Three Lions is striker Rickie Lambert (pictured).

The 31-year-old scored 15 goals in the top flight last season, and was joint top English goalscorer in the league alongside goalscoring midfielder Frank Lampard.

Lambert outscored the likes of Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Andy Carroll and Daniel Sturridge, who are all rivals for a striking berth in a World Cup squad next summer should England even qualify for Brazil 2014.

There is no doubt that he deserves his chance too.  Lambert has had to fight his way up the divisions and has scored at all levels, before joining current club Southampton for £1m from Bristol Rovers in August 2009.  He helped the south coast club back to the big time with back-to-back promotions, and the goals he scored last season kept them comfortably afloat in the Premier League in a respectable 14^th spot.

He has his critics perhaps for not being the creative, stylish striker of the modern generation, but that’s nothing against Lambert.  He plays to his strengths and it is always handy to have a big striker as an alternative attacking option.

Hodgson has been criticised throughout his management for playing and largely sticking to the outdated 4-4-2 formation which has certainly had its day of age.  His tactics might have meant England have only lost once in his management over 90 minutes, but it leaves qualification for Brazil 2014 on the edge with Montenegro favourites at the moment to finish top of Group G.

Therefore he needs to mix his options up.  Should England be heading for a South American summer next year, you’d imagine barring injury or a dramatic loss of form that Rooney, Defoe and Danny Welbeck will have spots on the plane.  This leaves three strikers fighting for one spot and that should be between Sturridge, Carroll and Lambert, with Norwich’s new signing Gary Hooper as an outsider despite his move down south from Celtic.

Sturridge is probably the favourite for that fourth spot.  He looks to have found his club after scoring freely for Liverpool since his January switch from Chelsea, but is still injured following an ankle problem sustained in England’s disappointing friendly draw with the Republic of Ireland in late May.

Carroll has now completed a £15m move away from Anfield to West Ham.  Although he can be a nuisance in the box, his goalscoring record isn’t anything special and his injury track record is even worse.  Peter Crouch is a better option in this department, though his England days ended when he refused to be placed on the standby squad list for Euro 2012.

This gives Lambert his opportunity to shine and it would be good if he started from the outset against Scotland, considering that Rooney has not played at all in pre-season as speculation continues to persist over his future at Manchester United.

He might not be a favourite with everyone, but Rickie Lambert deserves his chance to shine in an England shirt, and what an occasion it should be for him too.  It is a real boost to both his self-esteem, and that of Southampton who could be a dark horse to do very well this season under the astute guidance of the clever, if sometimes shy Argentine Mauricio Pochettino. 

The Scotland game gives Hodgson the chance to explore some options ahead of a routine qualifier at home to Moldova in September, before another huge test against Ukraine in Kiev.  He can’t waste this chance to experiment next week, or it could be fatal to England’s qualification hopes and to his management career too.  The honeymoon period for Roy is well and truly over.

ENGLAND SQUAD TO FACE SCOTLAND AT WEMBLEY STADIUM NEXT WEDNESDAY

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Brom), John Ruddy (Norwich City)

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Phil Jagielka (Everton)

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Wilfried Zaha (Manchester United), Ashley Young (Manchester United)

Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Rickie Lambert (Southampton)