7 Feb 2015

Confirmed: Boss admits he 'tried' to sign 'brilliant' £5m-striker on deadline-day for Aston Villa

In January, Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew revealed that he'd held transfer talks with Brendan Rodgers over the possibility of signing Rickie Lambert, and confirmed that the striker 'wants to stay and win his position'. That seemed to be the end of the matter, but Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has confirmed that he tried to sign his namesake for £5m on transfer deadline day.

Speaking to the Birmingham Mail on Thursday, Lambert mused:

“We tried one or two things to try and make it happen [the Lambert transfer]. I don’t know how far it got or anything like that. It’s probably unfair for me to comment on that"

In a recent poll on the site, 84% of participating fans voted for Liverpool to sell 'brilliant' Lambert, so despite the fact he's a Liverpudlian, there's no real loyalty towards him from the LFC fanbase.

According to The Mirror:

"Lambert will instead stay at Anfield after being promised some game time from manager Brendan Rodgers - including the prospects of a Europa League and FA Cup run"

If that's true, then it's strange that Rodgers didn't give him any game time in the recent FA Cup match against Bolton. The manager preferred Fabio Borini to Lambert, and any player who's consistently behind Borini in the pecking order should know that their days are probably numbered at Anfield.

With Sturridge back now; Sterling available as a converted striker, and Balotelli sure to get some game time soon, it's hard to see where Lambert fits in, even in the FA Cup, where Rodgers is bound to play his strongest team in every round to come.

The harsh truth is that Lambert has blown his chance at Liverpool. With Balotelli and Borini misfiring, and Sturridge out injured, Lambert - recently hailed by Graeme Souness as a 'clever' striker - had a golden opportunity to make himself the go-to striker at Anfield, but he spectacularly failed to do that.

That's it for him.

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21 comments:

  1. IBE, STERLING, COUTINHO AND STURRIDGE TO BECOME GREATEST FRONT 4 WEN GERRARD GOES WITH CAN AND HENDO BEHIND

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  2. That isn't any better a point with your caps lock on.
    I see echoes of Keane in Lambert- maybe he's overwhelmed to be playing for his boyhood club, but he had a chance to make a mark and did nothing but slow things down.
    Nice guy, but it's unlikely he will ever re-establish himself as a first team player here. Should have gone. Shame really, but at least he's an option if it all goes belly up with injuries...

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  3. As part of that 16%, I am actually quite disappointed that so many fans wanted Lambert to leave. As he showed against Aston Villa, he can finish and he has great passion to play for this club (something we'd never see from Balotelli). He has also come on a few times and held the ball up well and offered a presence for us up top. I think he can be useful.

    Moreover, what if Sturridge get's injured again (probable IMO)? We can point to Sterling, but he's not a natural striker, that's there for all to see. Then we're only left with Borini and Balo, who clearly aren't cutting it. Lambert is the only recognised striker who has shown some promise and I'm sure he has the greatest to desire to succeed out of the three as well. We have to remember that this guy is a die hard LFC fan (like us guys ;P), so I only wish for him to succeed at the club. Let's get behind him :)

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  4. 84-16% source please

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  5. 84%-16%, = the results of a poll conducted on this site recently.

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  6. Sturridge, Borini, Balotelli, Lambert, Origi
    .
    If we want to buy one more striker...definitely two of the above need to leave. Borini is sure to leave. Balotelli might as well.
    .
    Sturridge, New Striker, Origi and Lambert
    .
    4 strikers needed to challenge on all front. Lambert is good impact player.

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  7. Balo is certainly not sure to be getting game time soon, and nor should he be.
    Sakho is criticised at every opportunity but Balo and Lovren warrant a place in the team every bloody week according to some.

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  8. I would love to see him crack a few goals over the coming weeks (if he gets some game time). Poor fella must be very disappointed with how
    things have transpired.
    He's been overwhelmed, which is a pity for him the club and us fans. let's hope he cracks a few in the Europa league! Who knows what might happen, its been a weird season for the pool so far.I'm glad he's still a red.

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  9. Lambert is a decent plan B. He has not made a big enough impact to suggest that he should be starting matches. At least he did not cost us an arm and leg.

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  10. Agree. It is difficult to tell how much of his problem is down in his mind and how much might be physical.


    I think a lot of people may have not necessarily wanted to get rid of him as they would some other players rather they thought he would not feature much and would be better off moving on with LFC recovering his fee.

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  11. Gerrard has grabbed the bullhorn and literally begged LFC to tie down Henderson, Sterling and Ibe to long term contracts. It really seems like the LFC board is not acting quick or not doing enough to secure the future of the club. I can understand the Sterling's negotiations have been tricky to say the least but if we continue to sign players like Ings in the hope that they make it big one day so we can sell them to the highest bidder rather than fighting to keep world class talents then this club is f@#ked !!

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  12. Hopefully Europe League will give him some good opportunities. Plus, even if he wins a trophy this season with us and contributes slightly, I'm sure he'll be happy.

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  13. Here's a thought: perhaps you can click the *link* in the sentence that mentions the poll result.

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  14. What do you mean 'why'? He's asking for the source of the 84% figure when all he needs to do is click the link to get to the source.

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  15. I was being ironic, it is obvious what he needed to do.. Non UK posters use irony too...

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  16. Yeah but we are good at it ;p

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  17. "Spectacularly failed"? Nonsense. Lambert was signed to be back up to Sturridge & Suarez (or a suitable replacement). He was never intended to be a starter, his role in the squad is (and was always intended to be) a Plan B/C. And he's doing just fine in that role, certainly contributed much more then Borini & Balotelli. He's doing exactly what he was signed to do.

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  18. I don't think that Lambert should be so easily pushed by the way side by the LFC fans. He may not have clicked right away with the team but when he was getting game time the entire team was still pretty terrible. His excellent finishes should be what people are looking at. He also should have come on instead of Balotelli in the Chelsea game as of the 4 strikers I think Balotelli should be the odd man out unless his game changes drastically over the next few months.

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  19. Lambert has the talent and experience but like so many strikers he needs regular playing time to be effective. He isn't capable of coming of the bench and making an impact, with his age and build he has to play every week to stay sharp. That will never happen at Liverpool so he really should have gone to a lesser club where he would be guaranteed to play every week.

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