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The 100 worst strikers in Premier League history: 100-81
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After 25 years the Premier League has seen its fair share of great goalscorers. But it has also witnessed a fair amount of mediocrity in its time.
While its greatest players remain revered, some of its worst are equally heralded.
Here Sportsmail begin the countdown from Nos 100 to 81, with some names sure to spark a blast from the past…
Scorer of one of the most important goals in Fulham history, but that does not wipe out years of poor returns across three different Premier League clubs.
The Senegalese international joined Portsmouth from Modena in 2004, and a return of four goals in 25 appearances was as good as it got. He lasted just a season at Fratton Park before West Brom came calling, promptly scoring 20 times in 34 appearances… in his second season in the Championship.
Four seasons of meagre numbers followed at Craven Cottage, but it was his brace away at Manchester City in April 2008, which helped seal Fulham’s dramatic survival from 2-0 down, which sees him enter so low on this list.
You’re the son of one the greatest British players of all time, and you’ve already failed to make it at his two former clubs.
Don’t worry, because he’ll sign you up at his current job anyway. That was the lot of Paul Dalglish, when he arrived at St James’ Park under his father Kenny.
Dalglish Jnr was not cut out for the Premiership - even in the nineties - scoring once in 11 appearances and being shipped out on loan to both Bury and Norwich in his two seasons in the northeast.
The latter-day Robbie Earnshaw. Too good for the Championship, not good enough for the Premier League.
Seven intermittent seasons in the English top-flight have yielded 33 goals, 18 of which came in his first two seasons with Birmingham.
After just three goals in Norwich’s most recent Premier League campaign, his days in this league may be at an end. But he will always have that wonder-goal against Southampton to look back on.
The early-noughties answer to David Healy. Macken excelled in five years at Preston before Manchester City came calling in 2002 upon their return to the Premiership.
The step-up proved too much for him, as a return of seven goals in 51 league appearances shows. His most famous moment coming with the winner in the 4-3 comeback against Tottenham in the FA Cup in 2004.
Macken may be forgiven for thinking he’d suffered enough at the highest level, before playing 11 fruitless games for THAT Derby side in 2007-08.
His 25 goals in 41 in the Championship lifted Wolves back into the Premier League in 2009. But a cruelly-timed injury ruined his chances of an immediate impact.
It never improved for the Manchester United youth product, who managed 10 goals in 76 appearances before Wolves’ sorry relegation in 2012.
Plucked from Panathinaikos in January 2006, Portsmouth thought they had found the answer to their striking problems.
The Nigerian-born Polish international had forged a goalscoring reputation in Greece, but his career fell off a cliff upon his arrival at Fratton Park.
He managed only two appearances and had his contract terminated four months in. Last seen at Greek club Veria in 2012 after a successful spell in China.
Ishmael Miller, a striker, has scored only 48 times in 256 professional career appearances.
In the Premier League, in five seasons with Manchester City and West Brom, Miller scored just three goals in 38 appearances.
MLS legend Bradley Wright-Phillips did actually play in the Premier League (sorry, Premiership) once.
Shaun’s brother managed two seasons with Manchester City, scoring twice in 32 appearances. A slightly worse record than across the pond, where he has 84 goals in 134 games for New York Red Bulls.
The first name on this list to give the older readers a proper jolt. Silenzi turned out for Nottingham Forest between 1995 and 1997.
Did the tag of being the first ever Italian to play in the Premiership weigh heavily on his shoulders?
Either way, two goals in 12 league appearances did little to enamour him with the Forest faithful, and his contract was allegedly torn up by Dave Bassett when he refused to return from a loan spell at Venezia.
Lanky centre-forward Stead was a £1m signing for Blackburn from Huddersfield in February 2004. A debut goal and winners against Manchester United and Everton before the end of the season hinted at a big future.
But that was as good as it got, with just a further eight goals following in spells with Sunderland and Sheffield United.
Indeed, it was Stead who led the line for that miserable Sunderland side of 2005-06.
A club-record £8.15m signing from Serie A side Empoli, Maccarone is remembered with fondness at Middlesbrough despite the slim pickings of his five-year stay.
Without his goals in the run to the final of the UEFA Cup in 2006, the Italian would be recalled disastrously.
He managed only 18 goals in 80 league appearances before heading back to Italy in 2007.
Only the twelfth name on this list but already it’s another Italian striker. Di Michele’s season spent on loan at West Ham is remembered neither well or at all.
As The Hammers struggled to deal with the absence of their all-but-retired No 9 Dean Ashton, Di Michele was just the latest bit of mud thrown at an ever-growing wall.
By Upton Park standards he did himself no harm at all, with four goals in 30 games.
The Championship Manager 01-02 legend’s arrival at Crystal Palace in 2004 turned heads.
Signed as a foil for first-team regular Andy Johnson, the Italian’s year at Selhurst Park was wrecked by injury.
He made just three appearances, scored on the penultimate day against Southampton, but could not prevent their relegation back to the Championship.
A club-record £9m signing from Croatian outfit Rijeka, Kramaric was identified as the man to lead Leicester to Premier League safety.
The Foxes’ survival in 2014-15 has become etched in folklore, though Kramaric’s contribution was negligible - two in 13 games.
That he failed to receive a Premier League winners’ medal a year later because he had not made enough appearances rather sums up his time with Leicester.
While Jon Stead led the line for Sunderland in one relegation season, Kevin Kyle led the line in two.
As the Black Cats crashed out of the Premier League on 19 and 15 points in 2003 and 2006, Kyle contributed just the solitary goal.
The Ivorian was a regular goal-getter in the European powerhouses of Russia and Switzerland.
Some were surprised, then, that he failed to deliver the same magic as a desperate January deadline-day loan signing for Newcastle.
He played just three times, scoring a grand total of no goals.
Delgado was already a Southampton player when he gave Ecuador a fifth minute lead over Mexico at the 2002 World Cup, with his first season in England wrecked by injury.
By pushing himself to feature at Japan and South Korea through a cocktail of painkillers, Delgado did more damage upon his return to the south coast.
In three years at the club he failed to learn English and led Gordon Strachan to once say: ‘I’ve got more important things to think about. I’ve got a yoghurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Agustin Delgado.’
After helping Swansea into the Championship, Wigan took a punt on the Trinidad and Tobago international.
Yet it took until April 4, 2010, for Scotland to net his first league goal against Fulham, in his 29th game.
He lasted just a season before moving to Ipswich.
At 5ft 5in, Nunez is surely one of the smallest strikers in Sunderland’s steeped history.
The Honduran is unlikely to feature in the history books, however, after managing only one league appearance in two years.
Two popular theories surround his arrival at the Stadium of Light; Peter Reid thought he had signed his strike partner from PAOK, Adolfo Valencia, instead, while another alleges that he was in fact playing for a Uruguayan third division team with a similar name to Nacional.
The Frenchman’s arrival at Sunderland in June 2001 was viewed as something approaching a coup for Peter Reid after his success with Bordeaux.
Laslandes failed to justify either the expectation or the £3.6m price tag, and failed to score in any of his 12 appearances.
Reid decided to cut his losses as soon as the following January, shipping Laslandes off to Koln on loan.
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| Rickie Lambert retires from playing football | Southampton legend Rickie Lambert has decided to retire from playing football. Twitter: Rickie Lambert has decided … 02-10-2017 |
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appearances
goals
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We wish you every success in retirement, Rickie!
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WATCH & VOTE: Premier League Goals of the Week
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Take a look at the best goals from the weekend’s Premier League games and vote for your favourite.
There were some great strikes to choose from, including Philippe Coutinho’s long-range effort that gave Liverpool the lead against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Super Sunday.
Yet again, in-form Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane features, with the England international’s second goal in his side’s 4-0 win against Huddersfield Town making the cut.
Elsewhere, Maya Yoshida’s acrobatic volley that brought Southampton level with Stoke at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon is a contender, as is Jeff Hendrick’s winner for Burnley at Everton on Sunday.
And finally we have Alex Iwobi’s first goal of the season for Arsenal in their 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion, as well as Kevin De Bruyne’s thunderbolt that saw Manchester City secure a hugely significant 1-0 win at champions Chelsea on Saturday.
Hit play on the video above to see each of the goals and then vote for your favourite below…
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Summary of non-mainstream articles: 02/10/2017 12:44:05
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It was a pleasure to watch you in red and white!
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Saints’ October international guide
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The October international break is upon us, so here’s your guide to when Southampton’s players are due to be in action for their countries…
Jonathan Afolabi, Michael Obafemi, Thomas O’Connor
Republic of Ireland U19 vs Azerbaijan U19
Waterford RSC, Waterford
3pm BST
Euro U19 qualifying
Thursday 5th October
Christoph Klarer
Netherlands U18 vs Austria U18
KNVB Academy, Zeist
5.30pm BST
Friendly
Jan Bednarek
Armenia vs Poland
Republican Stadium, Yerevan
5pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Ryan Bertrand, Fraser Forster
England vs Slovenia
Wembley Stadium, London
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Steven Davis
Northern Ireland vs Germany
Windsor Park, Belfast
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Friday 6th October
Maya Yoshida
Japan vs New Zealand
Toyota Stadium, Toyota
11.20am BST
Friendly
Dušan Tadić
Austria vs Serbia
Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Shane Long
Republic of Ireland vs Moldova
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Manolo Gabbiadini
Italy vs FYR Macedonia
Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Saturday 7th October
Jonathan Afolabi, Michael Obafemi, Thomas O’Connor
Ireland U19 vs Cyprus U19
Ferrycarrig Park, Wexford
7pm BST
Euro U19 qualifying
Cédric
Andorra vs Portugal
Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Wesley Hoedt, Virgil van Dijk
Belarus vs Netherlands
Borisov Arena, Borisov
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Mario Lemina
Morocco vs Gabon
Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
8pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Sunday 8th October
Ryan Bertrand, Fraser Forster
Lithuania vs England
LFF Stadium, Vilnius
5pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Jan Bednarek
Poland vs Montenegro
National Stadium, Warsaw
5pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Steven Davis
Norway vs Northern Ireland
Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Monday 9th October
Shane Long
Wales vs Republic of Ireland
City Stadium, Cardiff
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Dušan Tadić
Serbia vs Georgia
FK Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Manolo Gabbiadini
Albania vs Italy
Loro Borici Stadium, Shkoder
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Tuesday 10th October
Maya Yoshida
Japan vs Haiti
International Stadium, Yokohama
11.30am BST
Friendly
Callum Watts
Hungary U17 vs Wales U17
Globall Football Park, Telki
1pm BST
Euro U17 qualifying
Sean Brennan, Kameron Ledwidge
Republic of Ireland U17 vs Azerbaijan U17
Lokomotiv Stadium, Oryahovitsa
2pm BST
Euro U17 qualifying
Mario Lemina
Gabon vs Benin
Stade d’Honneur, Mallemort, France
Time TBC
Friendly
Cédric
Portugal vs Switzerland
Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Wesley Hoedt, Virgil van Dijk
Netherlands vs Sweden
Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam
7.45pm BST
World Cup qualifying
Friday 13th October
Sean Brennan, Kameron Ledwidge
Ireland U17 vs Bulgaria U17
Lokomotiv Stadium, Oryahovitsa
4pm BST
Euro U17 qualifying
Callum Watts
Wales U17 vs Kosovo U17
Csakvar Stadium, Csakvar
1pm BST
Euro U17 qualifying
Monday 16th October
Callum Watts
Wales U17 vs Netherlands U17
Globall Football Park, Telki
3pm BST
Euro U17 qualifying
Wednesday 18th October
Kornelius Hansen
Norway U17 vs Greece U17
Serbia FA sportcentre, Beograd
Time TBC
Euro U17 qualifying
Thursday 21st October
Kornelius Hansen
Norway U17 vs Serbia U17
Serbia FA sportcentre, Beograd
Time TBC
Euro U17 qualifying
Sunday 24th October
Kornelius Hansen
Norway U17 vs Gibraltar U17
Serbia FA sportcentre, Beograd
Time TBC
Euro U17 qualifying
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Loan Watch: Gallagher nets first Birmingham goal
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Frazier Campbell scored after just seven minutes, before David Meyler’s spot-kick doubled the advantaged after Emilio Nsue had brought down Campbell.
Further goals from Jarrod Bowen, Kamil Grosicki Markus Henriksen and Seb Larsson made it an embarrassing afternoon for the Blues.
Gallagher’s effort was a deflected header, after Isaac Vassell’s low shot had been turned out by the feet of Allan McGregor.
Harrison Reed was a late substitute for Norwich City as they secured a 2-1 win over Reading in the Championship to extend an unbeaten run which now stands at seven games.
Reed replaced James Maddison on 77 minutes, whose stunning free-kick opened the scoring at the Madjeski Stadium, before Liam Moore leveled things up just three minutes later.
But shortly after the interval, Cameron Jerome’s header from a corner, his first league of the campaign, sealed all three points.
Mariey Watkins was sent off in stoppage time for the visitors for a lunge on Chris Gunter.
Elsewhere, Ryan Seager was an unused substitute as MK Dons stretched their unbeaten run to four games with a 2-0 win at Bury, thanks to goals from Osman Sow and Ethan Ebanks-Landell.
In Scotland, Harry Lewis helped Dundee United move second in the Championship as Fraser Fyvie’s brace either side of a Scott McDonald strike earned a 3-1 victory at East End Park.
Olufela Olomola played 66 minutes as Yeovil’s unbeaten home record was ended Sean Murray’s solitary strike against Colchester in League Two.
The U’s held on to their 1-0 success after the 43rd minute mark for their first away win of the campaign.
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Ticket Information: Saints vs Burnley
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Saints face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday 4th November (3pm). Ticket information is as follows:
Become an Official Member and get priority access on tickets to each and every home match. Adult Members will also now benefit from £5 off two Premier League fixtures whilst Junior Members will receive enhanced Welcome Packs with free gifts. Find out more about Official Membership here.
There are two special offers available for this game:
Visit tickets.saintsfc.co.uk or call 02381 780 780 to redeem either of these special offers.
For certain fixtures, groups of 20 or more can make savings. Find out more and enquire here.
Making a weekend of it? Book your ticket and hotel break via Thomas Cook Sport. Find out more and book online at thomascooksport.com
Tickets are restricted to one per Supporter Number. Fans can purchase more than one ticket in each transaction by linking other eligible accounts with theirs using our friends and family function.
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Premier League grades: Season so far analysed by Stuart Pearce
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Who is top of the class, and who needs to do more homework? Stuart Pearce gives his Premier League season grades so far as we head into the second international break.
It’s an A, without a doubt. They’ve put a marker down that they are serious title contenders, and have started the European campaign superbly as well. They have almost been faultless in what they’ve done.
Exactly the same. The recruitment has been fantastic, they’ve started outstandingly well both domestically and in Europe. The new signings have settled in, and most importantly, Romelu Lukaku has got off to a fine start.
They started the season well on the road, looking very impressive, but I think they’re going to miss Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, with Rose injured and Walker at City now. While Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies are more than adequate, they’ve not got the same energy as the other two, and I think they need that at home. I think their home form will cost them this year. If they finish in the top four they’ll be delighted.
Dele Alli is just going through a tough period at the moment. You have peaks and troughs in a career. Teams are giving Spurs more respect, banking up and making it tight, and I don’t think Dele is great at manipulating the ball in tight spaces; he likes to have a bit more room.
It was an awful start to the season with the defeat against Burnley, and then they got better and better. They’ve lost a major game against one of their rivals, Manchester City, but that can be forgiven I think because City were so good. My question is whether there is cover for Alvaro Morata if he is out for any length in time. I think they’ve got two major rivals in the Manchester clubs, and it won’t be easy to overcome them.
Arsenal have started OK, and in Europe they’ve done well enough too. With my expectations of Arsenal this season, it’s a B as well. There was a lot of chit-chat about Arsene Wenger early in the season, but they’ve been consistent against teams they should beat, for example rolling Brighton over at home. If they get in the top four they’ve had a good season.
Outstanding. Sean Dyche has done brilliantly again. They lost Andre Gray, their mainline striker, and everyone expected them to suffer. Every year they’ll be tipped to go down, but they’ve done fantastically well. They’ve brought Chris Wood in, who seems to have hit the ground running, and they’ve got such a good team spirit. They’ve learned the lessons of bad away form last year, and it has been sensational this season.
I think drawing too many games could be their Achilles heel this year. They’ve got to make sure that they are beating teams like Newcastle away and Burnley to have a top-four finish, and they haven’t done that in their first seven games. The warning signs are there.
They’ve had a fantastic start to the season; they’re another team who we thought might struggle with a new manager, who was still relatively unknown. He’s done well, as have the new signings. They’ve had a really solid start to the season, especially on the road, where I thought they might struggle.
It’s a really good start for another side who we many tipped to struggle. They’ve picked up some important results against sides in and around them, which will be vitally important.
They started the season really well, but have slipped away a little bit in recent weeks against opposition they’d like to be beating; Stoke at home, Brighton away, West Ham at home, Watford at home. They’re probably a win away from having an outstanding start to the season. They’ll stick around mid-table I think.
Their opening-day win put a marker down, but as the season goes on I think they’ll consistently find it more difficult. I feel they have to be far more careful against the bigger teams; if they play the expansive game they will get ripped to bits. In expectation terms, their start has been a B-. The warning signs are there, however, and I still think they’ll be one of those sides in and around the relegation zone.
They’ve started OK. They had the issues with Virgil van Dijk pre-season, which I think was a real aggravation for the club, though he’s back playing now and you’d like to think they’ll be a bit more solid at the back. There are no signs there that they are going to have a really good season, nor many signs that it’s going to be a disaster. They’re going to be a mid-table side.
It’s similar for Stoke too. They had a fantastic result against Manchester United and played really well and got a good, expected win against Southampton. Jack Butland back playing has been a boost for them. Mid-table is where I expect them, but mid-table is often anything between eighth and 16th!
They had a tough start to the season fixtures-wise, but Chris Hughton has got them very well organised. I think they are one of the sides who will struggle this year, in and around the relegation zone, but each week they are outside of the drop zone it is a bonus for them. They’ve started OK, as good as you’d expect from them; take three points off it’s a poor start, but add three points on and it’s outstanding.
I would say C, on the grounds that they had the early away fixtures bunched up, which were always going to hurt them, and they were tough away games at that. They had injuries, new players coming in, Andy Carroll wasn’t fit, and until the stagger unwinds, and the amount of home games catches up with the away games, we’ll start to really be able to judge West Ham. I think they’re three points away from what would be considered a reasonable start.
They’ve had a real poor start, but they’ve had a stinker of a start when it comes to fixtures, too. Remember they’ve lost so many goals and assists in both Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku. They’ve brought in quite a few new players, but on top of that they’ve had a bad run of fixtures. They’ve had a real bad start to the season, but again, until the games start to equal out, we won’t know how good or bad their start has really been.
Their performances have been OK but they haven’t got the results. You’d probably have to give them a C-. The trouble is, many people are still viewing Leicester on what they did two years ago, and that was a standalone season, it skewed the thinking and perception of what Leicester are. I do expect them to finish a bit higher than their current position.
I expect them to be in the bottom three towards the end of the season. They’ve lost Gylfi Sigurdsson, and their recruitment has been questionable, particularly Wilfried Bony, are his best days behind him? They’re defending OK, but finding goals really hard to come by.
I expected more from Eddie Howe’s side. Their recruitment looked good, getting Nathan Ake permanently and also Jermain Defoe in. I’ve got to give them a C-, I expect them to improve as the season goes on. They’ve underachieved so far, however, whichever way you look at it, and they have to start winning more games at home.
They’re breaking all sorts of records. No goals, no points, but the fixtures haven’t been great to them either. There is hope, there is always hope, and the one thing they’ve got in their favour is that they’re still in touching distance with the few sides above them. When you start to become two victories away from getting off the bottom, that’s when things start getting seriously concerning. That will happen quickly if they don’t improve, however.
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WATCH: Best Premier League Saves of the Weekend
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There were some fantastic saves during the seventh round of fixtures in the 2017/18 Premier League season, and we have picked out some of the best in our round-up.
Chelsea 'keeper Thibaut Courtois produced an outstanding stop to keep out Fernandinho’s bullet header in the first half of Man City’s win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Wayne Hennessey had to be alert to block Man Utd forward Anthony Martial’s near-post shot, although it did not stop Crystal Palace from going down 4-0 at Old Trafford.
Elsewhere, England international Joe Hart had to be alert to keep out Wilfried Bony’s stinging drive in West Ham United’s 1-0 victory over Swansea City at the London Stadium.
Also making the top five is Brighton and Hove Albion No 1 Mathew Ryan, who made a key block with his foot to deny Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey from finding the back of the net at the Emirates on Sunday.
And finally we have Southampton 'keeper Fraser Forster’s full-length dive to keep out Saido Berahino’s well-struck penalty for hosts Stoke at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see our pick of the best saves from Matchday Seven!
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Former Liverpool, Southampton and England striker Rickie Lambert announces retirement
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Former England striker Rickie Lambert has announced his retirement from professional football.
The 35-year-old has called it quits after a 19-year playing career which included spells in the Premier League with Liverpool, Southampton and West Brom, as well as 11 international caps.
Lambert has been beset by injury problems in recent seasons and has been without a club since leaving Championship outfit Cardiff City in the summer.
A statement from Lambert read: "I feel lucky to have been involved in this sport for as long as I have. I have had some ups and downs in my career but to have represented clubs like Southampton, Liverpool and playing for my country in a World Cup were beyond my wildest dreams.
"I would like to thank the fans of all the clubs I have for but especially at Southampton where I enjoyed my best years as a football and had a special relationship with everyone connected to the club.
“Playing and scoring for England is probably my proudest professional moment and I will look back at every aspect of how I got there with fond memories.”
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Van Dijk handed Netherlands call-up
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VIRGIL van Dijk has been called up to the Netherlands national team - despite playing just one full game for Saints in more than eight months.
The 26-year-old centre-back made his first start since January 22 on Saturday, playing the full game and giving away a penalty in the 2-1 defeat at Stoke.
But that is enough to give Van Dijk a call-up to the Netherlands squad who are heading in to vital World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Sweden.
Dick Advocaat’s side are currently third in Group A, three points behind the Swedish in second going in to the final two qualifying matches.
They are four points behind leaders France and face not being at next summer’s finals in Russia if they fail to finish in the top two.
After his well-documented transfer saga in the summer, Van Dijk did not return to playing for Saints until the 1-0 win at Crystal Palace last month - coming on as a late substitute.
He had handed in a transfer request and was pushing for a move away, but Saints stood firm and banished Van Dijk to train alone while his future was resolved.
But at the end of the window, he returned to the fold and played twice for the clubs under-23s as he built up his match sharpness, having not played since January following a foot ligament injury.
Van Dijk was then handed his return at Palace before starting his first game since January 22 against Stoke on Saturday.
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A host of #SaintsFC players are chasing qualification for the #WorldCup this week! Find out more: http://sfcne.ws/OctWorldCup
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From working in a beetroot factory to becoming a #SaintsFC legend + playing for England & #LFC, Lambert has retired http://wp.me/p2g4vo-1NFv
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Sourced from Daily Mail article
Rickie Lambert announces retirement aged 35
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Former England striker Rickie Lambert has called time on his playing career at the age of 35.
Lambert, who won 11 caps and score three goals for the national team in 2013 and 2014, hangs up his boots after 701 professional games and 241 goals for nine clubs in the top four divisions.
Starting his career at Blackpool, the forward went on to play for Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale, Bristol Rovers, Southampton, Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion and Cardiff City.
Having spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues, earning a promotion from each division, Lambert realised his ambition of playing in the Premier League for Southampton at the age of 30.
His excellent form for the Saints earned Lambert a call-up to the England squad for the ill-fated 2014 World Cup in Brazil and a subsequent move to Liverpool.
In a statement released on Monday lunchtime, Lambert said: 'I feel lucky to have been involved in this sport for as long as I have.
'I have had some ups and downs in my career but to have represented clubs like Southampton, Liverpool and playing for my Country in a World Cup were beyond my wildest dreams.
‘Playing and scoring for England is probably my proudest professional moment and I will look back at every aspect of how I got there with fond memories.’
'I would like to thank the fans of all of the clubs I played for but especially at Southampton where I enjoyed my best years as a footballer and had a special relationship with everyone connected to the club.
'Thank you to all the players I have played with and managers I have played for throughout my career, it was an honour to work with you all.
'Thank you to my family and friends who have always been there for me, especially my gorgeous wife Amy.
‘I will be taking a break for a while to spend some quality time with my family just being a husband and father. In the future I hope to give back as best I can to the game that has given me so much.’
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Sourced from BBC article
Rickie Lambert: Ex-England, Southampton, Liverpool & West Brom striker retires
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Former England striker Rickie Lambert has announced his retirement from football.
The 35-year-old ex-Southampton, Liverpool and West Brom forward has been without a club since leaving Cardiff City by mutual consent in July.
He scored 218 goals in 607 league games in a career that spanned 19 years and took in nine clubs.
“I feel lucky to have been involved in this sport for as long as I have,” said the Liverpool-born forward.
Lambert scored three goals in 11 appearances for England and came on as a substitute at the 2014 World Cup.
“I have had some ups and downs in my career, but to have represented clubs like Southampton and Liverpool and playing for my country in a World Cup were beyond my wildest dreams,” he said.
“Playing and scoring for England is probably my proudest professional moment and I will look back at every aspect of how I got there with fond memories.”
His club career started at Blackpool and included spells at Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers.
Having spent his early career in in the lower leagues, Lambert realised his ambition of playing in the Premier League, at the age of 30 for Southampton.
Lambert’s form for the Saints earned a call-up to the England squad and he scored the winner on his international debut in a 3-2 win over Scotland in 2013.
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