It’s the battle of the big men this weekend – but that’s about where the similarities end.

As Rickie Lambert and Andy Carroll go head-to-head as Saints take on West Ham it is inevitable that comparisons will be made.

They are both what was once thought of as the archetypal British centre forward – big, strong, good in the air, a tough and physical afternoon for defenders.

As the Premier League has evolved though, the big man striker has started to go out of fashion, replaced by smaller and quicker players.

Despite that, as Lambert has proved, an effective big man remains a real force to be reckoned with. Their effectiveness does not sway in the winds of fashion.

Even at international level, where big men have been increasingly overlooked, there can still be room for a more traditional English player if the side want to play, arguably, a more traditionally English style of football.

But while that has certainly been true of Carroll, who has won nine caps for England, Lambert has yet to win a call-up, despite prolific form over many years and 14 goals in the top flight this season making him the division’s top scoring Englishman.

At 24, Carroll is seven years younger than Lambert, and their physical stature is one of the few things their careers have in common.

Lambert’s career has been a slow burner to the top flight, the journeyman midfielder turned striker who rose late on to become a star.

Carroll on the other hand shot to prominence at the top level, as an out and out striker, an out and out goalscorer, and his star has been on the wane ever since.

The Geordie’s introduction to the Newcastle team was about the polar opposite of how Lambert started his career. It was goals, glamour and fame.

Lambert has moved clubs five times during the course of his career. The transfer fees paid for him have totalled £1.5m. That includes the £1m paid by Saints.

Carroll’s form at Newcastle persuaded Liverpool to pay £35m for him for his first move in 2011.

Was it always too much for the player, did he simply not live up to the hype around him, was Liverpool just the wrong place at the wrong time?

Whatever, it didn’t work out and this season he has had an injury hit loan spell at West Ham trying to regain confidence and form.

While Lambert has rarely felt the weight of a price tag around his neck, for Carroll it must have pulled his chest close to the floor.

Carroll has time on his side to turn things around again, and surely finding the correct surroundings for him to flourish once more is a vital part of that.

But maybe it proves that in this day and age where everything has to be instant results, overnight celebrities and fast rising stars, the slow burners can still be the best.