' Why Rickie Lambert Retired From Football '

Rickie Lambert explains how dream Liverpool move contributed to his retirement


Rickie Lambert:

“I didn’t play much football at Liverpool and it was the same at West Brom and then Cardiff.

"I was getting well paid"

"I fell out of love with football"

Daily Mail

By Jack Lusby

Sports News

Saturday 7 October 2017

Rickie Lambert, who recently retired from professional football, believes his move to Liverpool in 2014 saw him start to “fall out of love” with the game.


Lambert called it a day on October 2, after a 19-year senior career that saw him play for sides in the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

Most notably he broke through with Southampton, following a successful spell with Bristol Rovers, enjoying back-to-back promotions to reach the top flight under Nigel Adkins.

His performances with the Saints earned him a £4 million move to Liverpool ahead of 2014/15, but he spent just one season with his boyhood club, before spells with West Brom and Cardiff City.

Lambert was without a club when he opted to retire, and speaking to the Mail to reveal his decision, he said he became disillusioned when he moved to Anfield.

“If I’m honest it was like that for the last three years, after I left Southampton,” he explained.

“I didn’t play much football at Liverpool and it was the same at West Brom and then Cardiff.

“I was getting well paid but I never started playing football for the money.

“And when I decided to go to Liverpool I sacrificed a regular first-team place and that was when I started to fall out of love with it.

“I never should have accepted being on the bench, even though Brendan Rodgers had made it clear to me I would be backup for Suarez and Sturridge.”


Lambert’s move to Merseyside was seen as a dream move, with the lofty striker describing it as “coming home,” having been released as a teenager in 1997.

Despite that, however, Lambert was an accomplished, football-playing striker with an excellent record with Southampton.

But he admits when he joined the Reds, and a year earlier when he was called into the England squad, there was a nagging feeling that he was out of his depth.

“I was never as quick or as technically good as the best players, but in my own head, when it came to actually playing, I could convince myself I was the best,” he said.

“But when I joined up with England I felt lucky to be there, and it was the same at Liverpool.

“And when I look back now I realise I lost something mentally as a player, by allowing that to happen.”

Lambert scored just three goals in 36 games for Liverpool, but his time with the club can be considered a success, relative to his upbringing.

It is interesting, though, for the 35-year-old to admit that opting for a backup role at Anfield saw his ambitions fade.

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Rickie Lambert left Cardiff City after his contract was terminated by mutual consent on August 1st 2017.

The striker scored four goals in 13 league starts after he joined from Premier League side West Brom in August 2016.

The last of the 35-year-old's four Cardiff goals came in a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on 26 November 2016.

It is believed Lambert earned approx £1.7mill from Cardiff City in a year after agreeing a settlement with the Welsh club.

Lambert had originally a two year contract worth up to £2.5mill.

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

Kevin, correct that type of player should never been at Cardiff.

Don't blame him I blame the idiots who signed him it was a panic buy as we had no strikers and we just sold our best player worth anything David Marshal for f**k all.

The sad thing we had a great striker there in Ken Zohore just didn't have the manager or coaches to get the best of players we had Trollop is with Ole totally useless and rubbish as managers they are better as assistants or rubbish leagues we had Slade who was no better.

Thankfully we got Warnock

he says he fell out of love with the game - well there was nothing stopping him going to a club or level that he would have played regular football.

my gripe with us signing him was not the mere fact we signed him and he turned out to be garbage, as signings always carry an element of risk - it is the fact we gave a 2 year contract to an old player who had barely played in the previous 2 seasons.

some players can go on and on - look at sheringham, kevin davies etc. others like michael owen and robbie fowler decline rapidly. the key is a thorough medical, and to give only a one year contract. the losses sustained on lambert would have been much less this way.

that said, despite this, we recently gave bamba a 3 year deal, taking him up to 35. we haven't really learnt much.

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

Says it all

Don't blame him I blame the idiots who signed him it was a panic buy as we had no strikers and we just sold our best player worth anything David Marshal for f**k all.

The sad thing we had a great striker there in Ken Zohore just didn't have the manager or coaches to get the best of players we had Trollop is with Ole totally useless and rubbish as managers they are better as assistants or rubbish leagues we had Slade who was no better.

Thankfully we got Warnock

The blame really belongs with Paul Trollope who identified Lambert as someone to solve our goal scoring problem. I have some sympathy for the club because it was a 'back the manager situation' and they were dammed whichever way they went.

Also you are correct to point out that Trollope failed to identify KZ as a solution which was right under his nose. Of course nor did the vast majority of City fans or posters on this board so it is a case of cast the stone on that one.

What I would say is that while there were obvious blunders over the Lambert transfer, the club got it absolutely right when they identified NW as PT's replacement.

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

Says it all

It certainly does That comment really gets under my skin as Lambert is somehow portraying himself as a victim by getting paid £1.5m a year to literally sit on his backside.

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

Says it all

It certainly does That comment really gets under my skin as Lambert is somehow portraying himself as a victim by getting paid £1.5m a year to literally sit on his backside.

Makes you wonder how many of the "niggling" injuries that seemed to keep him out of the team so often where actually genuine

He fell out of love with football but took the money......not good

Says it all

It certainly does That comment really gets under my skin as Lambert is somehow portraying himself as a victim by getting paid £1.5m a year to literally sit on his backside.

Makes you wonder how many of the "niggling" injuries that seemed to keep him out of the team so often where actually genuine

well i dont think he retired because he is fighting fit and just passed the SAS medical.