PRO: He's in form
It always bugs me when a player is called up purely on their reputation. Take James Milner for example. Yet to start a game for Manchester City this season, but Roy Hodgson insists on selecting him for his squad, and playing him too. Andros Townsend would have been a better choice to play, being more direct and, bringing it back to the title, in form. Lambert's performed admirably during Southampton's current tenure in the Premier League and faces his biggest task this season, to be able to compete with other quality strikers for a place in the team after his side's acquisition of Roma and Italy striker Dani Osvaldo/Johnny Depp for a club record fee. His battle is made even greater considering that Mauricio Pochettino has previously worked with Osvaldo at Espanyol, and is therefore likely to favour him to Lambert, but with Lambert being in form, he can continue to lead the Southampton line. Maybe not the England line, except when it's against Moldova. At home.
CON: He's too old
Rickie Lambert is 31 years of age. I know there are older players in the England setup, ie Gerrard and Lampard, but 31 is quite old to suddenly break into the England team. Can he do a job? Yes, yes he can but he doesn't have the pace that other strikers like Danny Welbeck and Danny Sturridge have, and he's no Wayne Rooney, but then again, nobody is. Let's say that there are no injuries in the England camp. The four strikers that I would pick, permitting that they are playing regularly, would be Rooney (27), Sturridge (24), Welbeck (22) and Defoe (30). Despite Defoe being the elder statesmen of the four, Rooney is the most experienced at international level. All of their international careers started very early on in their lives, with Rooney earning his first cap at 17, and Defoe when he was 21. Some strikers in recent years have only managed one cap after being selected late on in their careers, most notably Kevin Davies and Bobby Zamora, and who could forget Jay Bothroyd. Maybe Lambert can buck the trend.
PRO: He brings more qualities to the team
He can pick out a pass like it's nobody's business. He can hold the ball up too. And most importantly, he can score. 2 in 3 for England so far only begins to tell the story of his qualities. His penalty record is phenomenal. 32 from 32 for Southampton so far, something England badly need in a tournament, is a convincing penalty taker, and that's what Lambert is. He's used to playing as the prominent striker at Southampton, so can hold the ball up and bring his team-mates into play, but doing it when the pressure's really on at international level is a different ball game. Andy Carroll can do the same thing for England and West Ham, has more experience, and is younger too. But Rickie Lambert has a cooler name. And a better range of passing, which could prove to be vital in his quest for selection.
CON: He plays for Southampton
I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. I rate Southampton's chances this season, they're my dark horse. However, the pattern has been down the years that England will only pick players that play for Manchester United and City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool, basically the big teams, and Everton. Just look at Adam Johnson. An England regular whilst at Manchester City, regardless of if was playing or not, before moving to Sunderland in search of first team football, and hasn't figured in the England team since his move. Peter Crouch said that he still hopes to regain his place in the England team as a Stoke City player. Good luck with that Pete mate. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Stewart Downing after his move to Upton Park, because his England career has been on the back-burners for a year or so. Lambert will have to have a similar or even better campaign than last year to try and claim a place in the World Cup squad, permitting that we qualify. I mean, he was the only outfield player in the squad to play Moldova and Ukraine that didn't play for the clubs mentioned above. Sort it out Roy. Lambert for England?
