Lucas

[Kenneth]

The "bad" performances are in the minority. The guy has made mistakes, and he has had less than great games. As has EVERY MEMBER OF THE SQUAD THIS SEASON.

He isn't going to stand out, that's not his role. He's more like Hamann than Alonso or Mascherano, and with confidence will come better games. Give the guy a break for Christ's sake.

Hamann stood out, he was widely regarded as a world class player, a genius at being in the right place at the right time and covering the back four, mostly without another defensive player alongside him. If Lucas showed signs of being even half the player Didi was, he's be getting all the plaudits. Unfortunately, at the moment, he looks like being half the player Nicky Butt was.

[Neil Young]

Lucas is crap, Skrtel is crap, Dossena is crap, blah, blah, blah.

[BFG]

I think the dismissing of Lucas importance is a very old fashioned way of evaluating a player. He's not flashy, he doesn't stand out but he does exactly what Rafa tells him to do and he does it well and never lets anyone down. He performs a vital role in the way we play and that role isn't any less important because he keeps it simple. Oh and he's still very young.

People criticising his passing and tackling seriously need to look at the Guardian chalkboard and admit they're idiots.

[Kenneth]

Lucas is crap, Skrtel is crap, Dossena is crap, blah, blah, blah.

Lucas is crap. Skrtel is quality and Dossena is improving after a shakey start.

[Craig_H]

I find it odd that now, when Lucas is putting together a run of good performances, people are getting on his back. I was on his back when i thought he was being totally ineffective, but there seemed to be less Lucas critics then than there are now.

[Kenneth]

I think the dismissing of Lucas importance is a very old fashioned way of evaluating a player. He's not flashy, he doesn't stand out but he does exactly what Rafa tells him to do and he does it well and never lets anyone down. He performs a vital role in the way we play and that role isn't any less important because he keeps it simple. Oh and he's still very young.

People criticising his passing and tackling seriously need to look at the Guardian chalkboard and admit they're idiots.

I think you're wrong. He's not flashy, he doesn't stand out, he has let us down on a number of occasions, he plays in a key role and is one dimensional. He doesn't deserve to be vilified, but he also doesn't deserve a regular place in our first team.

[Kenneth]

I find it odd that now, when Lucas is putting together a run of good performances, people are getting on his back. I was on his back when i thought he was being totally ineffective, but there seemed to be less Lucas critics then than there are now.

You are joking I assume. He was booed on and off the pitch earlier in the season.

[BFG]

I think you're wrong. He's not flashy, he doesn't stand out, he has let us down on a number of occasions, he plays in a key role and is one dimensional. He doesn't deserve to be vilified, but he also doesn't deserve a regular place in our first team.

He's 3rd or 4th choice depending on how you view Gerrard so usually he's not regularly in our team. Noone's making out he's Eusebio but as he "doesn't deserve to be vilified" maybe his own supporters shouldn't be calling him 'crap.' He's far from that.

[Kenneth]

He's 3rd or 4th choice depending on how you view Gerrard so usually he's not regularly in our team. Noone's making out he's Eusebio but as he "doesn't deserve to be vilified" maybe his own supporters shouldn't be calling him 'crap.' He's far from that.

He's 3rd choice out of 2 DM positions.

[Skillz]

He seems to be a controversial player does Lucas. Personally think he is taking a bit of time to really settle but IMO he will continue to improve. He's got plenty of class about him but is struggling with the English league which shouldn't really be a surprise.

We have plenty of quality in this area of the pitch which means we have time to let him develop but it also means it will take a bit longer as his games will staggered. He has had plenty of opportunities lately and it's no surprise his performances have picked up.

[Craig_H]

You are joking I assume. He was booed on and off the pitch earlier in the season.

I meant on these forums.

[Neil Young]

Lucas is crap. Skrtel is quality and Dossena is improving after a shakey start.

My point, covertly suggested to the point of inarticulacy, for which I am happy to apologise, is that there were footballers in our starting line-up on Saturday that plenty of people on here have criticised as being not up to the standard deemed to be required of Liverpool Football Club. And yet we won the game which is actually the aim of the exercise.

In short, people want too much.

[MrMichael]

I'm not going to keep saying "Oh, but yes they are".

That's just debating with Craig for ya! <----- lame attempt at getting a bite

[Craig_H]

That's just debating with Craig for ya! <----- lame attempt at getting a bite

No it isnt

[Nick77]

If that was a 'good' game from him yesterday, I really don't want to see the bad ones. Whenever he plays, he's always the weak link in midfield and has minimal impact. You barely notice he's there, so people say "He was in Masch's role, so he did the simple defensive work", but what exactly did he do defensively? How many tackles has he put in? How many balls has he won? At least Masch has some energy going forward, and sometimes he even manages to contribute offensively, he's set up quite a few goals going forward, what does Lucas do? I'll tell you what he does:

1. Receive ball.
2. Attempt to control the ball for about 3 seconds.
3. Gets pressured by an opposition player.
4. ****s himself.
5. Tries to find the nearest man for a simple backwards or sideways pass.
6. Lets out a sigh of relief, and makes a run forward to hide behind the opposition so that no one will give him the ball again.

So 6 works with Alonso in the team, because he's excellent at making the plays by himself, but it fails horribly when he's partnered with Masch because we're left with on one to master our game. This is why Lucas-Masch is so horrible, and why Alonso-Lucas kinda works. He's a liability either way, we just feel he's good when it doesn't hinder our team massively. A player who's a liability by default and is needed to be carried by someone next to him does not merit a starting position.

So when does Lucas have a good performance? When we don't dominate possession and he just concentrates on running around and chasing the ball. Everyone can look good by working hard.

Not good enough.

I agree. The team is playing so well at the moment which is making it a hell of a lot easier for Lucas. Also he just passes the ball square or when he does pass forwards, it's usually no more than a couple of yards. He's not adding anything to the team - he offers no creativity a la Xabi & no protection a la Mascher. He just plays simple balls & wins possesion as often as he loses it imo...