Brendan Rodgers deserves a collective pat on the back from every single Liverpool supporter on the planet for ‘stealing’ Rickie Lambert from Southampton for what will turn out to be one of the best bargains of the modern era. If one were to be pedantic the only downside would be the player’s age but then again if he were 27 he would have cost more. Besides, for age substitute experience – and the experience Rickie takes to Anfield cannot be measured in ££££s although it may be if, as expected, he helps Liverpool go one step better than last season’s second place in the Premier League.
What most observers fail to appreciate is that Rodgers took Liverpool to within touching distance of the title with pretty much the squad he inherited. He engineered massive improvement, notably the renaissance of Luis Suárez and made a silk purse out of the raw material that was Jordan Henderson. Just imagine what Liverpool could achieve with careful selection of new signings from hereon in, hence the speedy offer of a new and better contract from the Anfield hierarchy.
Rickie Lambert is a magnificent start for Rodgers though I suspect both he and his new centre forward know that the former Anfield schoolboy will not be a starter for every game. But what he does bring to the party is variety and a lot more besides.
The best quote I saw about the first Liverpool signing of the summer was from Brendan Rodgers when he said he was impressed by the variety of goals that Lambert scores. His repertoire covers the full spectrum from tap-ins to long-range shots, from deft curling efforts to precise headers not to mention a proficiency from 12 yards that saw him leave St Mary’s with a better penalty record than Saints legend Matt Le Tissier. Although Le Tissier scored 47 penalties he did miss one. Rickie left Saints with a 100% record netting 34 from 34.
Another link between the two clubs is that when Lambert strikes a ball with his foot he reminds me of one of the best strikers of a football in the modern era, Jimmy Case, who starred for both clubs. Jimmy didn’t kick a football he caressed it, with the care and attention of an artist creating a picture with a sweep of his brush. Lambert does that.
But of all the qualities Rickie Lambert brings to his home town club the greatest of them is his head, literally and metaphorically. Many view him as the stereotypical British centre forward but he is much more than that. What sets him apart from pretty much any other player of his type is the fact he is an intelligent centre forward who thinks about his game. Not only is his aerial ability a potent weapon in front of goal it is additionally advantageous in other areas of the pitch.
He brings other players into the game with a deft, thoughtful flick of the head that is as good as any pass. His awareness of other players around him is something that Liverpool did not really have in the attacking third, beyond Luis Suárez, and when called back for defensive duties he is at least the equal on Agger and Škrtel, and sometimes better.
There is something else that will benefit Liverpool from having Rickie Lambert in their ranks. In these days of what polite people term a cosmopolitan constitution of Premier League players, in plain English, too many foreign players, it isn’t the language barrier that is a problem it’s the cultural one. Too many footballers come to ply their trade in England without adapting to, or adopting, the culture that is inherent in British football.
That was never a problem for Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, John Flanagan or Martin Kelly. It will not be a problem for Rickie Lambert. Indeed part of the rehabilitation of Luis Suárez was the way he embraced the culture of his adopted country in the wake of his controversial episodes of recent times. How many Player of the Year awards did he rack up last season, proof of the pudding as they say.
In all, neck on the line time, Rickie Lambert has the potential to be the best Liverpool acquisition of the Premier League period.
I covered the last game of the season at Anfield, in 1990, when the Football League Championship trophy stood on a little table on the middle of the Anfield pitch prior to it being presented to the team and paraded before the Kop. If Rickie Lambert proves part of the catalyst that leads to a first Premier League trophy for the Liverpool trophy cabinet then I think it safe to say that he would have repaid, many times over, the trifling £4 million that Brendan Rodgers has shelled out to bring Rickie Lambert home.
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