THE Lucas thread

[carheex]

That's not true at all, Plessis has made several first team appearances and frankly, if you think Lucas is bad.....

Amen to that. Plessis is the worst player I've ever seen at Liverpool. Makes Diao look like Zidane!

[JudgeRed]

Dont know if its already been mentioned, but could Aurelio do a job for us in midfield? Im sure he did at Valencia a few times. Rafa has said before about his passing ability and was quality one time when he played there last season. Just a thought like- Im no Lucas basher- but maybe its worth a go.

[cream]

Aquilani will not play in Alonso's position, he is more like Lucas, only 10x better. Aquilani will be playing ahead of Masch, which is what Lucas should be doing.
Anyway Lucas is a squad player and will never command a first team place at Liverpool, probably won't even be here next season.

[RedReet]

Once again, i think people are looking for the scapegoat, and for someone to blame for our woeful performance tonight.

By no means was he the worst on the pitch tonight, and to be honest he was one of the better players against Tottenham.

What do people expect this fella to do.. Come in and start passing the ball like Xabi.. He's not that kind of player, and he's the only central midfielder we have with any premier league and international experience, that can play in that position.

The lad can't do right, for doing wrong. Against Stoke, he didn't play the ball forward (we where 2-0 up) and he got torrents of abuse directed at him by 'fans'.. I think these people need to think before they act.. "do we still have the ball.."

I think its a case of people don't like to criticise our better players. The likes of Torres tonight, who spent more time arguing with the ref, and on the floor, than he did playing football. Yeah he scored our goal but if he had his mind on the game, he could have buried at least 2 more.

Kuyt tonight was another player who un-characteristically didnt turn up today.. He put in a lot of effort, but was out played by the Villa defenders.

I know i will probably get slated for this, but i find that people find it easier to criticise the likes of Lucas, when something goes tits up.

Nice to see someone talking a bit of sense. I really worry for Lucas, as it seems some fans are just not gonna give him a fair chance. I thought he started off very well last night, some nice passes and even threw himself into a crunching tackle. But even before the goal there were instances when with no one available to pass to, Lucas kept possession with a simple ball only to hear the collective groans around the stadium. Is it any wonder he struggles under these conditions?

Gerrard was our worst player last night, the tackle was just madness, plus he missed a sitter. Kuyt had a nightmare first half, slightly better in the second. Benni was terrible also, and Torres just doesn't look fit.

Maybe those trying to protect Lucas for the sake of it can come up with some reasons why he deserves his place in a Liverpool team instead of using these vague excuses about systems and departed players. He's either good enough or he's not.

He is good enough and at the minute we have no alternative.

he is ok



takes too many touches and too much time before releasing the ball
which ties in with

I think the opposite. Lucas loves to play the ball first time which means the players in front of him need to be alert and ready to receive it. Sometimes I would actually like him to take the extra touch, change direction a bit more and carry the ball the odd time. Just mix it up a bit.

If Lucas made the kind of naive, stupid tackle that Gerrard did 90 seconds after getting ourselves back into the game people would be burning straw filled life sized dolls of him outside Anfield.
He's not Alonso, never has been and the best of my knowledge never pretended to be him so the comparisons are futile.
Lucas is just the current whipping boy, the scape goat so that when we lose it's solely his fault, not the other 10 lads on the pitch as well.

Lucas isnt Alonso and that's not his fault. But we need to stop using the system that relies on an Alonso, when we dont have one.

If Aquilani is upto the task, revert back to the 4231 system then. But til that happens, we're using a push bike to race a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

People need to remember that we lost games with Alonso in the team too. Not necessarily aimed at you, but listening to commentary last night and reading the papers you'd think we'd never lost with Alonso.

Fair enough we only lost two last year, but this year we've had to accommodate a new attacking RB, change our CB pairing every game and play players probably not 100% fit. There are other factors to consider, not just Alonso.

[Roberto Bobbolino]

If Lucas made the kind of naive, stupid tackle that Gerrard did 90 seconds after getting ourselves back into the game people would be burning straw filled life sized dolls of him outside Anfield.
He's not Alonso, never has been and the best of my knowledge never pretended to be him so the comparisons are futile.
Lucas is just the current whipping boy, the scape goat so that when we lose it's solely his fault, not the other 10 lads on the pitch as well.

You mean Steven Gerrard one of our best ever players, who is consistently outstanding and has saved our arses on numerous occasions over the past 10 years?

Great comparison.

Lucas loves to play the ball first time which means the players in front of him need to be alert and ready to receive it.

Yeah that's the reason why he's out of his depth.

[cream]

None of our players are up to the standards of Lucas, thats why he looks ****.

[Kenneth]

None of our players are up to the standards of Lucas, thats why he looks ****.

If only.

[RedReet]

None of our players are up to the standards of Lucas, thats why he looks ****.

So do you rate him or not? I can't really make it out from your twenty or so posts.

[Scratch]

None of our players are up to the standards of Lucas, thats why he looks ****.

If only.

It's actually a fair point...you only have to look at the stats on interceptions made to see that Lucas reads the game far better than most, and altho he is not as adept on the ball as Alonso yet, the numbers of times he received the ball or won the ball, and had no movement ahead of him was appaling, and reminiscent of us at our worst...pass and stand still...reminded me of our 5-a-side...receive the ball, look up...and no ****er is moving, or in space...you expect it at my level, but these guys are paid to play, and yet sometimes they don't seem to engage their footballing brains.

[Zapater]

Dont know if its already been mentioned, but could Aurelio do a job for us in midfield? Im sure he did at Valencia a few times. Rafa has said before about his passing ability and was quality one time when he played there last season. Just a thought like- Im no Lucas basher- but maybe its worth a go.

I made that call a while ago. He's naturally probably our best passer now that Alonso is gone. And ironically probably the closest player to him in the squad, when looking at skillset anyhow. He did quite well against Portsmouth the only time he played there for us. So if he's training again (apparently) and available before Aquilani I wouldn't mind seeing him there for a game to see how he goes. He'll definitely add a broader range of passing which would definitely be a good thing.

[RedReet]

You mean Steven Gerrard one of our best ever players, who is consistently outstanding and has saved our arses on numerous occasions over the past 10 years?

Great comparison.





Yeah that's the reason why he's out of his depth.

He was hardly comparing them, clearly stating that Lucas would have been crucified had he made the same tackle.

Don’t know what you mean about the depth, but I’m sure it’s as funny as the smiley suggests.

[tomasjj]

I think the opposite. Lucas loves to play the ball first time which means the players in front of him need to be alert and ready to receive it. Sometimes I would actually like him to take the extra touch, change direction a bit more and carry the ball the odd time. Just mix it up a bit.
.

I'd like him to carry it too when there is space, and switch play at times, but he seems to lack confidence.
That said, I do think he should find SG earlier, cause now he takes too much time and the result is either SG is crowded out, Lucas himself is pressurised, or the gap is gone.

[Roberto Bobbolino]

It's actually a fair point...you only have to look at the stats on interceptions made to see that Lucas reads the game far better than most, and altho he is not as adept on the ball as Alonso yet, the numbers of times he received the ball or won the ball, and had no movement ahead of him was appaling, and reminiscent of us at our worst...pass and stand still...reminded me of our 5-a-side...receive the ball, look up...and no ****er is moving, or in space...you expect it at my level, but these guys are paid to play, and yet sometimes they don't seem to engage their footballing brains.

[tomasjj]

none of our two holding mids offer any threat going forward

at home, we need more penetration and threat from there

aki might do it, but until then, stick stevie back there.

[Scratch]

Quality debating skills there...pleasure to meet you.