5 Nov 2014

'No disrespect, but...': Hamann insists £4m star is not good enough for LFC. Agree?

After a dream transfer, Rickie Lambert's Liverpool career already seems to be stalling, and like Mario Balotelli, the ex-Saints star is struggling to make a consistent impact at the club. At £4m, Lambert is great value for a back-up striker, but LFC legend Dietmar Hamann is not convinced that the 32-year old has the the quality required to succeed at Anfield.

Lambert failed to make the bench for last night's Champions League game with Real Madrid, and with only one Premier League start all season, Rodgers clearly doesn't have much faith in him.

This comes as no surprise to Hamann, though, who argued this week that Lambert is not good enough to be a regular starter for Liverpool. He told the Evening Standard:

"No disrespect to him [Lambert], but I don’t think he’s a centre forward who can lead the line for Liverpool on a regular basis, especially in the Champions League"

This is, perhaps, slightly unfair. Lambert is, after all, a full England international, and he's scored goals on the international stage. He clearly has something to offer, but the brutal truth that Lambert is not going to strike fear into Champions League opposition, and irrespective of consistency, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini remain superior options.

In October, Rodgers reiterated that Lambert is primarily a 'back-up player', so his chances of regular starts in the Premier League/Champions League will probably remain slim for the rest of the year, but I'm sure he knew that before signing for Liverpool.

Of course, it's entirely possible that Lambert may start a few games over the Christmas period. As a rough and tumble English striker, he's built for the tougher conditions in December/January, and he should (in theory) bring much needed fight and endeavour to tough fixtures during that period.

Overall, as Hamann suggests, there's a nagging sense that Lambert just isn't good enough to make a consistent impact. Indeed, perhaps the club got it right back in the mid-1990s when Lambert failed to make the grade at Anfield? Discussing his career last season, the striker told reporters:

"I was at Liverpool from age 10 to 15 and I was basically told I wasn’t good enough, which obviously was a hard thing to take at the time. I thought it was the end of the world."

Lambert wasn't good enough then, and according to a growing number of fans, and ex-LFC players, he's not good enough now, either.

For me, though, Lambert remains a decent signing. As Rodgers noted recently, he is at the club to perform a 'specific' role in 'certain games', and as a cheap back-up striker, it's hard to argue with the deal.

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25 comments:

  1. BR should have bought Crouch if he was looking for an experienced target man. He would have been cheaper and an all round better signing.... but BR got caught up in the romance of having another scouser in the side.

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  2. AndWithSuchSimplicity2:56 pm, November 05, 2014

    He was always going to be a bit-part player behind Suarez and Sturridge - the famed 'Plan B' we had craved for against Chelsea. I'm sure he realised that when he signed. The fact Suarez left shouldn't automatically elevate him to first-choice.

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  3. Do you think its worth having a 'plan b' if no one in our team with the exception of SG at set pieces can deliver a decent ball. Our crossing has to be amongst the worst in the league. We should have bought a 'plan b' winger as well who can cross.

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  4. I honestly don't mind the romance at all. In an age of teams comprised of the best from across the country and foreign players, its nice to have a scouse presence in the team….its the Liverpool way.
    When Flano scored the 4th against tottenham last season it was one of the loudest cheers of the season. When Lambert finally gets on the scoresheet Im sure it's going to be the same and resestablishes the core that makes this club so great (how many clubs can boast more 1 or even 2 local lads in their matchday squads?).
    For 4mil pound we got an england international whos a backup to our main strikers...imo we take a punt on this everytime

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  5. AndWithSuchSimplicity3:29 pm, November 05, 2014

    That's the problem. We needed the pan B last season when we were drawing games we should possibly have won. I don't think Lambert was bought purely to get on the end of crosses, more to 'mix it' in the box if we needed to get a late goal.
    You are dead right about our crossing, but also our general passing has been woeful this season - Gerrard included.
    We tried to get Shaqiri and Marcovic is supposed to be a winger i believe.
    I think this season we could do with a decent Plan A before we worry about Plan B.

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  6. AndWithSuchSimplicity3:36 pm, November 05, 2014

    Flano was a bit too excited from what I remember :)

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  7. In many ways the scouse presence in our side has been to the detriment of our side ever since the season we came second under Rafa. Carra should have been replaced and Gerrard has been a ghost for almost 5-6 years happy in the knowledge that his legendary status will keep him in the side.

    I have no problems with a scouse core or presence like we had with Macca Fowler and owen? But they have to be good enough and I've always put Lambert in the Grant Holt category. Mid table performer....... Which is actually what we are performing like this season post Suarez so yeah maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we did make the right choice.

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  8. A quality signing for the money and the role he's expected to play.

    Unfortunately, he's not going to be a sparkplug off the bench (ala Craig Bellamny).


    He's the type of player who needs to get his legs under him for a bit before he gets going. For him to have any contribution to a game, he needs to play at least 30 minutes.


    Right now, he's a square peg in a round hole unless he gets to play more often in a role that better suits his strengths.

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  9. He wasn't brought in to lead the line on a regular basis so there goes Didi's point. He was brought in to have a plan B. So we won't get caught out like we did against Chelski last season. But since we don't even have a plan A this year he hasn't been able to show much of that. At least he works his socks off which is more than can be said about Heskeytelli.

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  10. You state that Hamann's comments are slightly unfair. How so? Lambert is not a front line striker for a top side. There was nothing unfair in Hamann's statement. It was simply a fact.

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  11. What's more important at the moment goals or hard work? Lambert hasn't really looked like scoring any game he's played in. For all Balotelli's laziness at least he's getting in some positions to score.

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  12. for me its outrageous to sign Markovic and Lambert. we should have bought Benteke £18M and Musa £15M.

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  13. Right now I'd be happy enough with 11 players who actually try to win and take the game to the other team. Like Lambert does. But how could the team play like that if we have a manager who plays not to get hammered rather than with pride.

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  14. 11 Lamberts wouldn't get you qualifying for the Champions league. You need more than effort. As for playing not to get hammered, the team last might showed more application than the supposed "1st team" in the home leg. If you judged the team last night on what they did, and not there names, you might come a more reasoned conclusion.

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  15. Sign an injured Benteke for £18m. Really? Does that seems like it would have been a good plan to you?

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  16. That is very harsh on Gerrard.


    Sure maybe the last couple 12-18 months but not 5 - 6

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  17. You know, I agree with Crouch. I like Rickie Lambert but I feel crouch would actually be more effective

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  18. For me its outrageous that he paid that much money for Markovic and Can and hardly plays them.

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  19. I think that's a little harsh on Stevie: 6 years would be 2008 and since then he's been on the PFA and Fifpro teams of the year and was the FWA player of the year which was the first time since Barnes a LFC player had won it so it's really only just recently when his legs have started to catch up to him like Ghost Rider mentions below
    I do agree with the Grant Holt comparison but I dont understand why a player like that can't be a backup for us? He could be a lower teams top scorer but he's happy playing a secondary role for us which I think is a plus whether he works out or not coz you know he'll score for us sooner or later. I would rather have him as a backup striker than not coz other clubs have academy players as their third string strikers, not capped internationals.
    Taking into account his resume, role, price, and identity as a local lad, I personally think he's one of a few players that we've signed in the recent past that makes all around sense

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  20. Bring back AC :-)

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  21. Terry McDermotts perm7:41 pm, November 05, 2014

    The only reason he didnt make the bench last night is because Brendans savingh him for the Chelsea game!
    :D

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  22. I agree burt ......if gerrard plays average they say hes been brilliant other players play well and its said they play average it was the same with carra and its all a bit tiresome ...the sooner gerrards gone the sooner the other players will come out of there shells especially the likes of allen and hendo .If lucas did a 40 yard Hollywood ball to no one carra and aldo would be screaming blue murder gerrard does it and its a defense splitting ball that the forwards where not alert to

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  23. other players can pass just as well if not better its just that its stevies thing and no one else dare do it ...we thrashed spurs last year with no gerrard the midfielders must of been shutting there eyes and hoping for the best in that game because there is only gerrard who can pass

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  24. The team last night had all of 4 shots AT not even ON goal. So it was a tight game then? Not quite, they had 30 shots.

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  25. spot on. There's so much arse kissing going on when SG is in the vicinity AND how does SG get away with talking contracts when the team is playing so poorly?

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