Congratulations to Rickie Lambert, from a Pompey fan

May I just say how fantastic and heart-warming it is to see Rickie Lambert scoring the winner for England tonight.

Naturally, over the past few years I have been almost forced into pretending to not like him whilst in the stands at Fratton and when with Portsmouth supporting friends/family. However, I do believe he's a top quality striker.

It almost brought a tear to my eye the moment ITV showed the net rippling from his excellent power-header, and then Lambert's face as he was celebrating with Frank Lampard and the other England lads.

Or maybe it was because someone had just told me that my beloved Norway had been beaten 4-2 by Sweden ..

If I were Hodgson, I'd acknowledge that Lambert is the best striker, after Wayne Rooney, that you, England, possess at this moment in time. I would play him against Montenegro, Ukraine and Poland in the qualifiers, a few of the friendlies, and then start him out as first choice in the World Cup next year (I'm sure you'll qualify). Perhaps after that, it would be time to use the younger alternatives who would be available for the next tournament cycle. On the form he showed tonight, Lambert looks like he may even score more in the Prem this year than he did last year- so it looks like England have found themselves a very good, top-notch short term option in Rickie.

Once again, congratulations to Rickie Lambert for scoring on his debut for England, from a lifelong Portsmouth fan

 

Cheers PL!

 

He's too good at pens to be considered for a competitive match for England.

 

Very generous. Thank you. We are Cock-a-Hoop at the moment.

Rickie Lambert is just a really nice guy.

 

Where you from in london pal?

 

Greater London, University college London, mate. Why?

 

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I read some posts on the Poorsmuff snooze website earlier and they are in the main very generous about Rickie. Shame about some of the people posting on there though who claim to be Saints supporters.

 

I finished uni there a couple of years ago

 

Cool, although I bet you didn't pay as much for your course as I'm currently paying for mine! However, when I convert my krone to pounds, I end up ever so slightly better off than my english pals so you never know!

 

A Norwegian Pompey fan .... Glory hunter!

Cheers for the thought though. Very generous. As Godders says, we are all really proud of him.

 

I didn't go to UCL! However, it is great to see how much well-being and nostalgia such a positive outcome can have. I know Portsmouth are on a long and hard road but at least it is a decent road.

I think the whole Lambert story shows us that there is plenty of talent to be polished in the UK, however managers and clubs have enough money not to take risks and therefore would prefer to purchase established overseas players rather than taking the time and risk to hone talent; too much money at risk from relegation.