Lucas Leiva signing thread

[einar]

"Originally Posted by CAD
If I remember correctly he had 3 goals and 3 assists last season. Anybody can see that Alonso is a quality player. There is no doubt about that. He just doesn't fit Rafa's system very well.

All this business with Gerrard on the right has been done to give Momo and Alonso a chance to make the desired impact. I think it's clear for all, even Rafa, that it's just not working out. I think we will see Rafa build around Gerrard next season. He finally reached the conclusion that we need him at CM. The 23 goals at RM (Which were in fact 6!) myth he constantly threw at Journalist last season is finally coming to an end in Rafa's mind."






5 as a second striker
6 from RM
12 from CM.

That's where he played when he scored the goals last season.

And how often did he start as second striker, RM and CM?

[Guest]

I'd have thought the most likely explanation is that he's to be back up for Gerrard. He's 19, Gerrard is almost 27. He'd be brought in gradually, adapt for a season or two, then put the by then ageing Gerrard under pressure for his place.

I intimated that in one of my earlier posts.

[ARIMAN]

Hopefully, the word warchest springs to mind

[CAD]

And how often did he start as second striker, RM and CM?

You can search for the info. It has been posted here on Est a few times. I don't remember the exact numbers.

[einar]

You can search for the info. It has been posted here on Est a few times. I don't remember the exact numbers.

Sure.

IMO the main thing is getting into goal scoring positions. Gerrard can do that from any of these positions.

[Harv]

Obviously there are cases which are genuine, but lots of the time these players get EU passports by very dubious means.

oh definately.....such as when someones great grandfather is Italian, yet they were born and bred in Brazil/Argentina, and they somehow still get the passport....thats stretching it a tad IMO


Although if it helps us get the next Kaka i couldnt care less

[Neil Young]

I intimated that in one of my earlier posts.

Well done. IIRC you didn't give any reasoning for your suggestion but feel free to appropriate mine.

I remain, Sir, in your debt...

[Guest]

Well done. IIRC you didn't give any reasoning for your suggestion but feel free to appropriate mine.

I remain, Sir, in your debt...

You missed the *forever* part.

[CAD]

Sure.

IMO the main thing is getting into goal scoring positions. Gerrard can do that from any of these positions.

Ahrgh! For me it's about balance. The first Chelsea CL game was a perfect example. Gerrard at RM running all over the pitch. Alonso/Mascher falling too deep and the only outlead was our left side (Zenden).

To keep balance we need a RM who stays wide. We are way too easy to shutdown if we can't keep our formation. If we had a team where Gerrard could roam and another player would slide into his RM position then; "great"! But we don't, do we? We suffer from chronic constipation through our CM when we play with Gerrard at RM. It's way way too easy to predict and shutdown for the better sides. It doesn't help that we have a RB who doens't venture forward that much. Finnan likes to cross from the middle of the opponents half. He rarely goes all the way to the backline allthough it happens at times of course. Against good teams he always sits deep! Anyway, this has resulted in 8 assists this season, which on all accounts is a good number but also in just one (1!) shot on goal. With Gerrard on the other side of the pitch or at center you can be damn sure that Finnan is staying home!

Another issue is the lack of dynamic force through the midfield when Alonso/Mascher (Mono) plays there. Zero goalthreat. Zero bite and aggression on the final third.

For balance, width, bite and goalthreat we need Gerrard at CM.

[dww]

5 as a second striker
6 from RM
12 from CM.

The thing is that as far as I'm concerned he never plays as second striker, in the sense that he is rarely close enough to the front to really count. He could reasonably be argued to be the most attacking of a five man midfield.

Last season wherever he was nominally playing he roamed the pitch in a pretty much free role. The only difference was where he defended a lot of the time. He was however considerably more willing to be seen on the right wing when playing there than he has been this term and we benefitted from the balance. This year all he does on the right is drift inside and clutter up midfield.

We were a better team last season with him on the right. He seems to no longer accept playing there. We have to adapt or leave him out.

Out of interest where do the stats you quote come from as I have seem at least two slightly different breakdowns?

[Neil Young]

You missed the *forever* part.

Ah, well, at some point I intend to go into administration in order to wipe off the debt...

[dww]

Ah, well, at some point I intend to go into administration in order to wipe off the debt...

You better time it to get the 10 point penalty in this season.

[ningnangnong]

When will we hear something from the club about this?

If we have signed him, i'll be fecking delighted. He's excellent on FM 2007.

[AFII]

Reds sign Brazilian star

May 11 2007

by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

LIVERPOOL today made their first significant transfer move of the summer with a swoop for 20-year-old Brazilian Lucas Leiva.

The youngster, rated one of the most exciting emerging talents in South America, has signed from Brazilian club Gremio.

Leiva was recently called up to his national team, and Rafa Benitez believes the central midfielder will be challenging for a first team place at the beginning of next season.

Leiva will join the Reds in the summer after Benitez beat a host of top clubs to his signature.

The fee has remained undisclosed at this stage, but is believed to be around £5m.

“He’s a player with a lot of quality who we watched playing for the Brazil Under-20s,” Benitez said today.

“He will be ready to join the first team squad from the start of next season. He's a very good signing for us and likes to be an attacking midfielder, but he has many qualities.

“We've now reached an agreement for the player to join us.”

Leiva will be the second South American to join the Reds this summer, following Argentinian left winger Sebastian Leto.

CLICKY - The Echo

[CAD]

The thing is that as far as I'm concerned he never plays as second striker, in the sense that he is rarely close enough to the front to really count. He could reasonably be argued to be the most attacking of a five man midfield.

Last season wherever he was nominally playing he roamed the pitch in a pretty much free role. The only difference was where he defended a lot of the time. He was however considerably more willing to be seen on the right wing when playing there than he has been this term and we benefitted from the balance. This year all he does on the right is drift inside and clutter up midfield.

We were a better team last season with him on the right. He seems to no longer accept playing there. We have to adapt or leave him out.

Out of interest where do the stats you quote come from as I have seem at least two slightly different breakdowns?

Please don't laugh but I actually wrote to Paul Tomkins! After Rafa came out and said that Stevie belonged on the right and that the 23 goals was the smoking gun, I went a little crazy. Subsequently a lad on 6CM broke it down to each game.