xabi misses us...

[Craig_H]

Frankly you're talking nonsense. No player has a God-given right to be in the team and I'd rather back the manager's assessment than an internet forum drone.

He did have many excellent games for us but he also had many indifferent ones.

For all his brilliance at controlling the tempo if the game, as you put it (and I'm unsure how that would be evaluated objectively - does it mean a team always wins if he gets the tempo right?) it's usually always forgotten now that he was an out-and-out defensive midfielder. He had minimal input at the sharp end of the pitch and it's worth digesting the salient point that his three assists out of our 77 league goals last season was just one more assist than that provided by Pepe Reina, a goalkeeper.

Assuming all that is correct, how would you compare him to Lucas, just out of interest?

In terms of goals and assists, if you'd like. Or by whatever other criteria you wish to use. Many indifferent games and many excellent ones.

How many excellent games has Lucas had to go with indifferent ones?