IT'S RICKIE LAMBERT WEEK: 2nd to 8TH October

Rickie marked his 100th game for Saints by scoring twice in the 4-0 win over Watford.



From Wikipedia....

Rickie Lee Lambert (born 16 February 1982) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Southampton. Born in Fazakerley, Liverpool, Lambert began his professional career with Blackpool in 1998 and later played for Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers before moving to Southampton for £1 million in August 2009.

Rickie Lambert began his professional career with Blackpool in August 1998 at the age of 16. He did not play in his first season, instead debuting in the 1999–2000 campaign with three substitute appearances. Lambert failed to make any further impression, and was released by the club in November 2000.

Lambert remained a free agent for almost four months until he was signed by fellow Third Division club Macclesfield Town in March 2001, where he made a total of 9 league appearances in the remainder of the 2000–01 season. In the 2001–02 season Lambert became a regular for Macclesfield, with a total of 40 appearances and 10 goals, his first two finishes coming in a 2–2 draw with Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup on 17 November 2001. Just a week later, Lambert scored his first hat-trick in a 4–1 league win against Luton Town.

Macclesfield received a club record transfer fee of £300,000 for Lambert from Second Division side Stockport County F.C., in a move which was completed on 26 April 2002. In his first season in the third-tier, Lambert made a total of 32 appearances in all competitions, although only scored two goals (both in league matches) – in a 2–5 loss against Swindon Town on 18 January 2003, and in a 2–2 draw with former club Blackpool on 22 March 2003. The 2003–04 season would prove to be Lambert's most successful (on a personal) yet, as 40 league appearances yielded 12 goals in a relegation-threatened season, including another against Blackpool and two in a late win against Rushden & Diamonds in the late stages of the season. Lambert was a regular for Stockport at the beginning of the newly-restructured 2004–05 season, but following poor team performances and a very real threat of relegation for the club he left in February 2005.

Despite now being a relatively accomplished player, Lambert moved down a division to League Two club Rochdale from Stockport on 17 February 2005, the day after his 23rd birthday, for an undisclosed fee. Lambert scored his first goal for the club only nine days after his transfer, in a 1–1 draw with Kidderminster Harriers, but could not help secure promotion for the club. In 2005–06 the striker featured in all 46 of Rochdale's league matches, scoring a total of 22 goals in the campaign, including one in a 3–1 defeat of former club Macclesfield Town.

Early into the 2006–07 season, Lambert was purchased for £200,000 from Rochdale by Bristol Rovers in a move finalised on 31 August 2006, transfer deadline day. Despite quickly establishing himself as a regular member of the squad, it took Lambert until November to score his first goal for the club, in the last-minute of a 2–0 win over Barnet. The remainder of the season proved to be a disappointment for the forward, although an 86th-minute goal in the last league game of the season against Hartlepool United ultimately sent Bristol Rovers into the League Two Playoffs. Lambert also scored the only goal in the League Trophy Southern Area Final in a Bristol derby against local rivals Bristol City, which ultimately sent the team into the final with Doncaster Rovers (which they lost 2–3 after extra time).

In 2007–08 Lambert appeared in every game of the season for Bristol Rovers, scoring a total of 19 goals in all competitions. Lambert proved to be most useful in the FA Cup, scoring goals in both legs of the First Round against Leyton Orient, two goals in the 5–1 Second Round win over Rushden & Diamonds, the only goal in the Fourth Round win against Barnet, and the only goal in the Fifth Round win against Southampton, scored in the last ten minutes of the game. Despite his relatively low scoring record, Lambert finished as the club's top scorer for the season.

In the following season, Lambert established himself as one of League One's best players by finishing as the season's joint-top scorer of 29 goals with Swindon Town's Simon Cox – a performance which also resulted in his first inclusion in the PFA League One Team of the Year. Throughout the season, in which Rovers finished a respectable 11th in the league, Lambert put in a number of impressive performances, including scoring all four goals in a 4–2 win against Southend United, and scoring a hat-trick in a 3–0 away win against Hereford United.

On 10 August 2009, with a total of 155 appearances and 59 goals for Bristol Rovers, Rickie Lambert completed a move worth in excess of £1 million to recently relegated League One club Southampton. The striker scored on his debut for The Saints against Northampton Town on 11 August 2009, and has gone on to become the club's top scorer for the season with 33 in all competitions. Other notable goals scored by Lambert during the season include one against local rivals Portsmouth in the FA Cup Fifth Round South Coast derby on 13 February 2010, a hat-trick against Milton Keynes Dons in the league on 20 March 2010, and a penalty against Carlisle United in the 4–1 League Trophy Final win at Wembley on 28 March 2010. Following a season in which he performed statistically similar to his last with Bristol Rovers, Lambert was again named in the PFA Team of the Year for League One, as well as winning the PFA Fans' Player of the Year award for the division.

He finished his debut season with Southampton with a total of 36 goals in all competitions, in addition to the goal he scored for Bristol Rovers in the opening match of the season. With 31 League goals, Lambert was the top scorer in all 4 divisions of the Football League for the second season in succession.

He scored his 50th goal for Southampton in a 1–0 victory over Carlisle United, on 12 February 2011. He finished the 2010–11 season as the club's top scorer with 21 goals, as they finished second in the league. On 1 July 2011, Lambert delighted Saints fans by signing a new deal to keep him at the club until 2014.

He scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season with a 25-yard free kick in a 4–1 victory over Torquay United in the League Cup on 9 August. He followed this with a brace in a 5–2 victory at Ipswich. He scored a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest which Southampton won the match 3-2. . His 100th league appearance came in a 4-0 victory over Watford FC, with Lambert netting two penalties.

Quite remarkable how Rickie's early career was pretty ordinary and how well he has improved since he has been at saints. No reason why he cant do it at next level.

If he keeps banging them in then no doubt some premiership clubs (those in trouble) will come sniffing around in January but think Lambert recognises where he is happy and if we are doing well then can achieve going to next level with us.