Rickie Lambert's England Call Up Is a Poor Decision by Roy Hodgson

Roy Hodgson has named his squad for the upcoming, ridiculously timed, just before the start of the season international friendly against Scotland. Amongst the usual blend of names and faces (except maybe the inclusion of Wilfried Zaha), there is one genuine surprise: Southampton striker Rickie Lambert.

Lambert is a good player who had a good debut season in the Premier League last time out with 15 league goals. But considering he is a 31-year-old striker who has just one Premier League season under his belt, it seems a strange decision to offer him a place in the squad.

You could say that age shouldn't be an issue and Roy Hodgson is merely rewarding his form over the past 12 months, but then if that was the case, why wasn't he selected for international duty at any point last season? What could he have done between Hodgson's last squad announcement in May and now to realistically justify a selection based entirely on form?

If Hodgson's selection was based purely on form, there should be no place in the squad for John Ruddy, Chris Smalling, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ashley Young, Jermain Defoe or Danny Welbeck whom all for various reasons did not exactly have brilliant campaigns last season.

What has Ruddy done to deserve taking the place of Fraser Forster? What has Jermain Defoe done to prove himself more deserving of a place than Daniel Sturridge? Who was probably the outstanding English striker towards the back end of last season.

If all his selections are based purely on form then Grant Holt should have gone to last summer's Euros before the likes of Defoe or Andy Carroll. The whole thing smacks of inconsistency.

Does it actually matter?

It may only be a friendly, but it is a friendly against Scotland, at the start of a World Cup year. A World Cup in Brazil, no less. A World Cup in Brazil that England are still in real danger of not qualifying for. Every precious minute of time Hodgson has with his squad should be used as a stepping stone towards next summer's tournament, rather than proceeding with novelty selections.

Calling up Lambert now just seems like a bit of a daft decision, Hodgson is depriving himself of the chance to coach and train with a couple of young strikers such as Sturridge and Carroll, players who have a genuine chance of making the plane to Brazil next summer and have genuine England futures.

Calling up Lambert feels a bit like the time Fabio Capello called up Jay Bothroyd, Kevin Davies and Bobby Zamora. All were called up after a brief burst of form (in Zamora's case twice). None were ever seen again. Lambert has had a good season, but he has only had one season in the Premier League, and we all know what the second season can bring. 

At the end of the day, Lambert is a good striker who has worked his way through the divisions and perhaps feels like he's earned a chance of playing for England. There just doesn't seem a point in calling up another one cap wonder with no England future just because he maybe deserves a cap based on one season's performance.

If he was in his mid-twenties it would be a different story, but he is 31 years of age and unfortunately it is too late for him to have any kind of genuine impact in international football. 

Against Scotland, he will probably get on the pitch, get his cap and never be called up again. For Lambert it will be great, for Hodgson and England, it just doesn't seem worthwhile.