It’s fair to say that Rickie Lambert has had an extremely successful career, beginning at lower league clubs such as Macclesfield Town and Bristol Rovers to then progressing to the Premier League and scoring over 100 goals for Southampton, consequently earning him a legendary status at the club.
In the summer of 2014, Lambert ended his tenure with Southampton in order to pursue his dream of pulling on the shirt of the club whom he had supported since his childhood, signing for Liverpool in a £4 million deal. This was a move that broke the hearts of many Saints fans, but the cult hero was met with the respect and appreciation of the Southampton faithful for his huge part in their rise back to the top flight. 
Lambert’s dream, however, turned out to be more of a nightmare than what it could have been. Under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, the former England international played just 25 times for Liverpool, with starts coming very rarely, scoring twice.
Although Lambert is unlikely to have any regrets over rejoining his boyhood club and playing with footballers of great international prestige and experience, such as Steven Gerrard, he will certainly be missing life at St Mary’s.
The huge decline in reputation as a goalscorer has clearly knocked what was once a confident, powerful forward and it looks increasingly likely that the end of his career will be more underwhelming than what could have been. Some would say that this is due to not being given enough first team opportunities at both Liverpool and now West Brom.
As the striker hit 34-years-old just this week, it would be fair to say that he is very close to the end of his career as a professional footballer. This would pose the question to the Southampton faithful – is there a possibility that the cult hero and club legend will return to St Mary’s in a coaching role in the near future?
It is clear to see that in Southampton’s game against West Brom last month, the Saints fans’ reception for Lambert demonstrated a great deal of appreciation and love for his efforts during his time on the south coast. Therefore, if the Liverpudlian was to return to the club to teach the illustrious youth academy of Southampton’s, it would certainly benefit the side in many ways. For example; this would inject a strong boost in morale for the youngsters who are just starting out their career, such as young pairing Sam Gallagher and Ryan Seager both who have shown a lot of talent in recent games during respective loan deals. I also feel that this return would provide a boost to the current first team players such as James Ward-Prowse and recent arrival Charlie Austin, meaning Lambert’s experience in the lower leagues will help current first-teamers to improve their game.
For example, this would inject a strong boost in morale for the youngsters who are just starting out their playing career at the club, such as young striking pairing Sam Gallagher and Ryan Seager. Both of the young forwards have shown a lot of talent and promise in the recent seasons at youth level for the Saints. With Lambert’s expertise and killer instinct in the box being one of his greatest qualities, it can never be in doubt that the promising duo could learn a lot from Lambert’s ventures through the divisions and his goalscoring prowess. I also feel that this return would provide a boost to the current first team players such as James Ward-Prowse and recent arrival Charlie Austin, meaning Lambert’s experience in the lower leagues will help current first-teamers to improve their game.
I also feel that this return would provide a boost to the current first team players such as James Ward-Prowse and the recent arrival at the club that is Charlie Austin due to Lambert’s experience in the top flight as well as his short stint at international level being of benefit to the current England hopefuls within the ranks at Southampton.
There is no doubt in my mind that Lambert would excel in the role of a striking coach because recently, youngster James Ward-Prowse came out in an interview after scoring a magnificent 25-yard free kick against Lambert’s current side West Brom, stating:
Rickie did a bit of training with me a few years back, so he must have been proud of that one as well.
So, if this quote from Ward-Prowse himself is anything to go by, it is clear that the influence of Lambert still has a psychological and mental effect on some of the younger players at the club. This would clearly make him a candidate to bolster the attacking threat of the team through his finishing and techniques that he has to offer.
Although there seems to be little room for sentiment in the modern day game that we all know and love to hate sometimes, a striker of Lambert’s credentials and status among those at Southampton would surely be a good move for all parties.
After all, he did take us to the Premier League.
