Lucas Leiva

[badpiggy]

your all pleased with him cos he can at least pass and control a ball unlike momo. he's not shown anything exceptional about his game from what i've seen so far. squad player fine, alonso replacement (when he's match fit again) no chance, i don't see it in his locker.

Not sure what skills they look for in brazillian player of the year awards these days. Maybe its the keep it simple players that stand out as flair, creativity etc are 2 a penny there.

fair play brother. he didn't do a lot bar not giving the ball away. which for us is an improvement. we're not as **** as we claim we are when we lose but we're a long way from being a consistently dangerous prospect in all competitions.

i think if people are lauding lucas for a steady unremarkable performance, they're getting sucked into a particualar type of football which we seem to aspire to at the moment - hard-working, unspectacular, keeping it tight, perspiration above inspiration.

sounness got it bang on on rte last night - spanish and italian teams find it very hard to cope with the intensity with which liverpool under benitez play. endless hounding, zero time on the ball and this can go on for a whole match. lucas seems to fit in very well into this system but he ain't going to provide something magical or unexpected. like most of our players.

[The Birdman]

Why is everyone hung up on Xabi? Admittedly he was brilliant in his first season but has dipped massively since then. Teams now close him down quickly and he gets caught in possession too often. He was average at best against Barnsley, was weak as piss losing the first tackle to Howard before the winner but people bang on about him still. It's been a long time since he perfomed consistently well, sell him back to Spain where the pace of football is slower and he'll thrive again.
Lucas has everything to be a top class midfielder including mobility and versatility, Xabi can only play the deep lying role passing back and across. Xabi is a modern day Ray Wilkins

[Howard_lfc]

can we have a sense of perspective here.

Alonso is one of the best midfielders in the world. He has proved it many times over. Lucas has great potential and showed some of it last night but lets not get carried away. He's still young and central midfield is one of the hardest to play at a young age. Im sure he's got a great future ahead of him.

Xabi is having a tough season through injuries and bad form but class is permanent. He will be back. Might not be for us though.

Henry this way - Xabi that way?

[Darth Marty]

Henry this way - Xabi that way?

Let me think. Yes!

[Nic83]

can we have a sense of perspective here.

Alonso is one of the best midfielders in the world. He has proved it many times over. Lucas has great potential and showed some of it last night but lets not get carried away. He's still young and central midfield is one of the hardest to play at a young age. Im sure he's got a great future ahead of him.

Xabi is having a tough season through injuries and bad form but class is permanent. He will be back. Might not be for us though.

I am a member of your fan club.

[Nic83]

Why is everyone hung up on Xabi? Admittedly he was brilliant in his first season but has dipped massively since then. Teams now close him down quickly and he gets caught in possession too often. He was average at best against Barnsley, was weak as piss losing the first tackle to Howard before the winner but people bang on about him still. It's been a long time since he perfomed consistently well, sell him back to Spain where the pace of football is slower and he'll thrive again.
Lucas has everything to be a top class midfielder including mobility and versatility, Xabi can only play the deep lying role passing back and across. Xabi is a modern day Ray Wilkins

I watched him for years in Spain and he was one of the best midfielders in that league for years IMO.

[AFII]

It's key for Xabi that we have excellent movement off the ball or else his game becomes very limited because he isn't mobile enough.

Our movement off the ball have been rubbish and that means that Xabi can't play to his strength.

Lucas can create more on his own, that's why he is a better option the way we are playing right now.

[Skillz]

It's key for Xabi that we have excellent movement off the ball or else his game becomes very limited because he isn't mobile enough.

Our movement off the ball have been rubbish and that means that Xabi can't play to his strength.

Lucas can create more on his own, that's why he is a better option the way we are playing right now.

Nail on head