Rickie Lambert's Fairytale. The Story of a Journey Man!!!

Leap of faith: Rickie Lambert rose highest to give himself a dream debut

Even Hollywood's best script writers couldn't have penned this down. Rickie Lambert on his England debut scored with his first touch and sent Wembley into a frenzy as he clinched a winner agianst England's old foes, Scotland. What a feeling for the Saint! It might have taken him 31 years to make his debut but surely it was worth the wait.
Born on 16 February,1982, Lambert began his professional career with Blackpool in 1998. Failing to make an impression, he was released by the club and was a free agent for almost four months until Macclesfield Town signed him up in 2001,scoring a total of 10 goals in 49 appearances.

Receieving a club record fee of £300,000 in 2002, Macclesfield sold Lambert to Stockport. Lambert showed glimpses of his abilities with a personal best of 12 goals in 40 lge appearances for the club in 2003\2004 season,scoring a brace against Rushden & Diamonds. The 2004\05 season was terrible for the club as they fought relegation forcing Lambert to jump ship in February 2005. He joined League 2 side Rochdale for an undisclosed fee on his 23rd birthday. In the 2005\06 season, Lambert featured in all of Rochdale's 46 league matches, scoring 22 goals.

Lambert was one one of the best players in the 2nd tier of English football

In the 2006\07, Lambert was purchased for a modest sum of £200,000 by Bristol Rovers, His first season was terrible scoring only 3 goals. In the 07\08 season, he appeared in every game scoring 19 goals. The following season,  He established himself as one of league two's best players, jointly topping the scoring chart alongside Simon Cox with 29 goals. This earned him a place in the PFA League One team of the year.

Making a total of 155 appearances for Bristol Rovers and scoring 59 goals, Lambert moved to Southampton for £1 million, the highest transfer fee he has ever commanded. The striker scored on his debut against Northampton Town. He became the club's top scorer with 36 goals in all competitions. He was named the 2011 championship player of the year. 

Saint: Rickie has never missed from the spot for Southampton  

A fun fact is that Lambert has never lost a penalty with the Saints, giving him a 100% record. Finishing as top scorer with 31 goals, Lambert and his teammates reached cloud nine as they secured promotion to the Premier League in the 2012\2013 season. He scored on his Premier league debut against Man City and scored against teams like Man Utd and Chelsea. Southampton survived the relegation battle and Lambert was their top scorer with a total of 15 league goals. He has signed a two year contract that will tie him to the club till 2016.

Lambert celebrating the woes he's caused Scotland 

Roy Hodgson seeing potential in Lambert, called him up to the England squad on August 8, 2013. Eyebrows were raised and doubts cast as to whether Lambert had what it takes to be an International player at the ripe old age of 31. He had what it took alright, scoring a sublime header against Scotland six days later in a friendly at Wembley and handing a victory to England against their fierce rivals. The two sides hadn't met in over ten years and the victory meant a lot to the English. Lambert himself couldn't believe it, a glazed look in his eye as he celebrated the winner with his teammates. Even Bilbo Baggins can't boast of such an adventure!!! A warrior, A fighter at heart with never say die attitude. That's what Lambert stands for and we at Sportunes doff our hats to an inspirational journey man, Rickie Lambert.