Early career Lambert was born and brought up in the Westvale area of
Kirkby, Merseyside by parents Maureen and Ray. Lambert joined local club
Liverpool as a youngster aged 10, but was released when he was 15.
Blackpool Lambert tried out for
non-League club
Marine, He made his professional debut on 7 August 1999 as a 17-year-old, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for
Andy Couzens in a 2–1
Second Division win against
Wrexham at
Bloomfield Road. He made two more substitute appearances in the
1999–2000 season,
Macclesfield Town Lambert remained a
free agent for almost four months, during which time he worked in a beetroot bottling plant to make ends meet, A week later, Lambert scored his first
hat-trick in a 4–1 league win against
Luton Town at
Moss Rose.
Stockport County Macclesfield received a club record transfer fee of £300,000 for Lambert from Second Division club
Stockport County, 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 level) 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.
Rochdale 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 the
2005–06 season, the striker featured in all 46 of Rochdale's league matches, scoring a total of 22 goals in the campaign,
Bristol Rovers in the
2007 Football League Trophy Final 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 match of the season against
Hartlepool United ultimately sent Bristol Rovers into the League Two play-offs, from which they won promotion to League One. Lambert also scored the only goal in the
Football 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 match of the season for Bristol Rovers, scoring a total of 19 goals in all competitions 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 match. 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 League One
PFA 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.
Southampton 2009–10 On 10 August 2009, with a total of 155 appearances and 59 goals for Bristol Rovers, 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 went on to become the club's top scorer for that season with 36 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 match his team lost 4–1 at home, a hat-trick against
Milton Keynes Dons in the league on 20 March 2010, and a penalty against
Carlisle United in the 4–1
Football League Trophy Final win at
Wembley Stadium on 28 March 2010. Southampton finished the season in 7th, one place off the play-offs, despite a 10-point penalty for financial reasons. Following a season in which he performed statistically similarly 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 English football's top four divisions for the second season in succession.
2010–11 In February 2011, Lambert scored two consecutive braces: the first was in a 2–1 away win at
Exeter City, and the second was two penalties in a 4–4 away draw against
Peterborough United. He scored his 50th goal for Southampton in a 1–0 victory over Carlisle United on 12 February. He finished the 2010–11 season as the club's top scorer with 21 goals, as they finished second in the league, and won promotion to the
Championship. On 1 July 2011, Lambert signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2014.
2011–12 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 Town. He scored a hat-trick against
Nottingham Forest in a match which Southampton won 3–2. His 100th league appearance came in a 4–0 victory over
Watford, with Lambert netting two penalties. He scored another hat-trick in a 3–0 victory over
Brighton & Hove Albion, two of which came from the penalty spot. His 15th and 16th goals of the season came in a 2–2 draw at home to Blackpool, the opener and a late leveller. He scored in a 1–1 draw with south coast rivals Portsmouth. After sitting out for three matches after receiving a red card, he made his comeback with a goal in a 1–1 draw at
Millwall in the FA Cup. His first league goal after his suspension was in the very next match and came from the penalty spot in a 1–1 draw against promotion hopefuls
Cardiff City. His 20th goal of the season came in the FA Cup replay against Millwall. He scored his third hat-trick of the season in a 3–0 victory at Watford on 25 February. He continued his impressive first season in the second tier with a thunderous volley against
Leeds United at
Elland Road on 3 March, which took his tally for the 2011–12 season to 24 in all competitions. On 13 March 2012, Lambert was named the Championship Player of the Year for 2011. He scored his fourth hat-trick of the season in a 3–2 victory at Millwall. While at Southampton, Lambert has not yet missed a penalty; giving him a 100% conversion rate. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory at
Crystal Palace to bring his goal tally to 30 for the season. He was then named in the 2011–12
PFA Team of the Year for the Championship, along with teammates
Adam Lallana and
Kelvin Davis. He finished the season with 31 goals, 27 in the league, as Saints clinched promotion to the Premier League, earning him the Southampton Fans' Player of the Season award for the second time in three years.
2012–13 in 2013 He scored on his very first Premier League appearance, scoring just minutes after replacing
Jay Rodriguez as a substitute against
Manchester City. This goal meant that Lambert joined a select group of players who have scored in all four league divisions. He followed this up with the opening goal in a match against
Manchester United. He later grabbed two goals in Southampton's first league win of the season, a 4–1 victory over
Aston Villa. His 10th Premier League goal came in a 2–2 draw at
Chelsea, with Lambert getting the first goal as Southampton came back from 2–0 down. He had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes. He scored his 100th Southampton goal in a defeat at
Newcastle United, which was his 12th goal of the season. On 21 March 2013 Lambert signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him with the Saints until summer 2016. On his 500th career appearance nine days later, he scored a free-kick winner against Chelsea. He ended the season once again as the club's top goal scorer, scoring 15 league goals and featuring in all 38 league matches.
2013–14 Lambert started the
2013–14 Premier League season with another goal, a last-minute penalty in a 1–0 win over
West Bromwich Albion at
the Hawthorns on 17 August 2013. His second of the season, and 200th league goal of his career, came from a free kick in a 2–0 home victory against Crystal Palace on 28 September. He finished the season with 13 goals in 37 league matches.
Liverpool On 2 June 2014, Lambert was confirmed as a Liverpool player after passing a medical, signing a two-year contract for an initial £4 million transfer fee plus add-ons. As he had been released from the club as a teenager, he said "I have always dreamt of playing for Liverpool, but I did kind of think the chance of playing for them had gone. I didn't think the chance would come". He made his competitive debut for the club on 17 August in their first match of the new Premier League season, replacing
Philippe Coutinho for the last 14 minutes of a 2–1 win over Southampton at
Anfield. On 1 October, Lambert made his debut in European competitions for Liverpool in a 1–0 defeat against Swiss champions
FC Basel in the
UEFA Champions League group stages. His first goal for Liverpool came at Crystal Palace on 23 November, when he scored in the second minute following a through ball from
Adam Lallana. Liverpool went on to lose the match 3–1. Four days later he scored his first goal in European competition, the first equaliser in a 2–2 draw away to
Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League group stage. As a result, Lambert had scored in the top four divisions in England, the Champions League and for the national team. On 17 January 2015, Lambert scored his second Premier League goal for the club in a win over Aston Villa at
Villa Park. On 19 April 2015, Lambert was selected in the
Football League team of the decade at the 2015
Football League Awards.
West Bromwich Albion On 31 July 2015, Lambert joined West Bromwich Albion on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £3 million. Later that same day, Lambert scored twice on his debut in a
friendly against his former team Bristol Rovers. His competitive debut came on 10 August, starting as West Bromwich began the season with a 0–3 home defeat to Manchester City. He scored his first goal for the team on 31 October, netting a consolation from the penalty spot in a 3–2 home defeat by
Leicester City.
Cardiff City On 31 August 2016, Lambert signed for Championship club Cardiff City on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, making his debut in a 3–2 defeat to
Norwich City on 10 September 2016. His first goal came as the equaliser against
Rotherham United on 24 September, and he scored the winner six minutes later. In October 2016, Lambert suffered a "horrific" leg injury in a match against Nottingham Forest, leading to a long-term absence from the team. Continuing injuries and indifferent form led to
Neil Warnock stating that the striker did not feature in his future plans. On 6 July 2017, Lambert left the club after his contract was cancelled by mutual consent. Having not found a new club, Lambert retired from football on 2 October 2017. ==Penalty record==