First choice midfield...

[Armchairkopite]

Reina and torres have had better seasons than lucas.

I am not a Lucas hater by any means but I just don't see what he has done to deserve such an accolade, he has had a couple of very good games and a string of decentish performances.

He very rarely assists in goals and never scores, which when u take into account he has one of the worlds best dm's next to him he should be doing a lit more.

Torres has not played anywhere near enough to say that and he has looked injured in a good few games.

But that is not what he is there to do so judging him on that is not really relevant.

Exactly.

[Craig_H]

Personally I would say Lucas.

But I think N'gog has been hit and miss this season, which is no slight on him, just an indication that he is not quite ready for a lone striker role.

Then i have no further discussions to hold with you.

[Craig_H]

you are so deluded man. Thats like taking the league table after 12 games and working out the rest of the results based on those games, guess what it doesn't work like that.

What on earth are you on about? I'm not claiming Johnson would be our player of the season based on those early games I was simply responding to your comment:

"Johnson was hardly mom material before he got injured"

Which is clearly bollocks. In the very early stages of the season, he put in a a few superb performances, definitely MOTM stuff there. That doesnt mean he's player of the season for us, which is why i wasnt claiming that it does.
It just means that for a few games early in the season, he was putting in MOTM performances.

On what basis is that 'like taking the league table after 12 games and working out the rest of the results based on those games' ? Please answer me this question.

Its obviously not that clear cut, if it was he would be top, wouldn't he?

Or maybe he hasn't played enough games.

Who said age was a key factor

Do you think that age is taken into consideration?

Reina's not top because people like to get behind the 'underdog'.

Are you suggesting these votes are 'clear cut'?

I dont think age should be taken into consideration, but you seem to, when you say that Lucas is a "young player that has been thrown in at the deep and when the chips where down he was actually performing" and seem to use that to back up the view that he's been our best player this season.

[Armchairkopite]

Reina's not top because people like to get behind the 'underdog'.

.

Here we again with your theories.

Have a good one i'm off.

[badpiggy]

i'm no lucas hater but any team with designs on the league or a CL place that has him as their best player in a season is in trouble. he might get better creatively but i doubt it.

this thread would be so different if xabi was still here. his loss has been massive.

take out SG and the admittedly underperforming aqulani and we have the ultimate in a functional and tough but uninspired midfield.

i'd go for a midfield 4 of

johnson - masher/lucas - buy someone ****in creative/aquilani - riera

[Armchairkopite]

i'm no lucas hater but any team with designs on the league or a CL place that has him as their best player in a season is in trouble. he might get better creatively but i doubt it.

I think thats unfair based on the improvments he has already made to his game this season and our lack of attacking options.

Zidane would find it hard to be creative if he was surrounded by statues ie. Ngog, Dirk'theflyer'Kuyt and Aurelio out on the left.

He deserves more time to be judged on his creativity hopefully he will show us over the next 10 games.

[badpiggy]

I think thats unfair based on the improvments he has already made to his game this season and our lack of attacking options.

Zidane would find it hard to be creative if he was surrounded by statues ie. Ngog, Dirk'theflyer'Kuyt and Aurelio out on the left.

He deserves more time to be judged on his creativity hopefully he will show us over the next 10 games.

i know what you're saying but i think you may have gone mad for a few minutes there.

[red g]

I think thats unfair based on the improvments he has already made to his game this season and our lack of attacking options.

Zidane would find it hard to be creative if he was surrounded by statues ie. Ngog, Dirk'theflyer'Kuyt and Aurelio out on the left.

He deserves more time to be judged on his creativity hopefully he will show us over the next 10 games.

Well he has had over 100 games to be judged on hs creativity and I judge him as a non creative midfield player but as someone stated earlier he is not n the team for assists/goals which when paired with thr equally non creative that is masher = a ****e midfield pairing that is painful to watch.

I really don't see why u r advocating keeping Lucas in for the next 10games? Would u want masher dropped? Or you happ with the mdfield pairing?

[badpiggy]

Well he has had over 100 games to be judged on hs creativity and I judge him as a non creative midfield player but as someone stated earlier he is not n the team for assists/goals which when paired with thr equally non creative that is masher = a ****e midfield pairing that is painful to watch.

I really don't see why u r advocating keeping Lucas in for the next 10games? Would u want masher dropped? Or you happ with the mdfield pairing?

i admire lucas for what he has done. he stood up to a lot of criticism, is getting visibly stronger, runs his legs off and closes down lots of space and clearly follows his managers instructions to the letter but that doesn't change the fact that 100 games into his LFC career he has shown no ability to shoot, score, head, beat players or show any passing range. yeah he can find a teammate more often now but never with a pass that stretches a defence or causes any real trouble.

[Mattshark]

i admire lucas for what he has done. he stood up to a lot of criticism, is getting visibly stronger, runs his legs off and closes down lots of space and clearly follows his managers instructions to the letter but that doesn't change the fact that 100 games into his LFC career he has shown no ability to shoot, score, head, beat players or show any passing range. yeah he can find a teammate more often now but never with a pass that stretches a defence or causes any real trouble.

His heading is pretty decent for his height and he wins plenty in midfield and his passing has always been accurate, I have no idea were you have gotten this myth that he his passing was previously poor from.
I'm pretty sure it was his incisive pass that lead to our second goal last week.

[Armchairkopite]

Well he has had over 100 games to be judged on hs creativity and I judge him as a non creative midfield player but as someone stated earlier he is not n the team for assists/goals which when paired with thr equally non creative that is masher = a ****e midfield pairing that is painful to watch.

I really don't see why u r advocating keeping Lucas in for the next 10games? Would u want masher dropped? Or you happ with the mdfield pairing?

I am more then happy to see Lucas and Masherano in the middle until the end of the season because I think that both will show more going forward now that we have more attacking options.

i admire lucas for what he has done. he stood up to a lot of criticism, is getting visibly stronger, runs his legs off and closes down lots of space and clearly follows his managers instructions to the letter but that doesn't change the fact that 100 games into his LFC career he has shown no ability to shoot, score, head, beat players or show any passing range. yeah he can find a teammate more often now but never with a pass that stretches a defence or causes any real trouble.

He scored a cracker in the Fa cup a couple of seasons back so he has shown that he has got the ablility. His heading technique is very good and to say he has no passing range is completely blinkered although he doesn't spray the ball around often enough he hasshown on more then one occasion that he is capable of doing it.

He can be frustrating to watch at times but he has a lot more attribute then a lot of people give him credit for.

Agin, lets see how his game improves now that we have more attacking options in the team.

[badpiggy]

it's surely inevitable that a professional footballer playing in midfield will at some stage pass to teammate who will score? and i totally agree that his passing is quite accurate and that the ball makes contact with his head and goes in the general direction he'd like a good percentage of the time and i also totally agree that he wins the ball a lot in midfield as most midfielders tend to do buit that just ain't enough for me.

[red g]

I am more then happy to see Lucas and Masherano in the middle until the end of the season because I think that both will show more going forward now that we have more attacking options.



He scored a cracker in the Fa cup a couple of seasons back so he has shown that he has got the ablility. His heading technique is very good and to say he has no passing range is completely blinkered although he doesn't spray the ball around often enough he hasshown on more then one occasion that he is capable of doing it.

He can be frustrating to watch at times but he has a lot more attribute then a lot of people give him credit for.

Agin, lets see how his game improves now that we have more attacking
options in the team.

one over hit pass last week and 1 fa cup goal in 100+ goals is hardly showing attacking capabilities!

I am happy to see Lucas as mashers back up, but he has shown diddly squat creative skills and as a top team I don't see how we can play the 2 together specially when so many teams sit deep against us, we need creativity in centre of park.

[Mattshark]

one over hit pass last week and 1 fa cup goal in 100+ goals is hardly showing attacking capabilities!

I am happy to see Lucas as mashers back up, but he has shown diddly squat creative skills and as a top team I don't see how we can play the 2 together specially when so many teams sit deep against us, we need creativity in centre of park.

How about his ball to Gerrard last season away at Newcastle, his run that should have been a penalty v Stoke, his run and shot the brought a good save v arsenal, his good attacking play away to Unirea, his CL goal v Chelsea, his league goal v Newcastle, a league cup goal v Crewe.

His role though is not an attacking one, but he does have very good movement going forward and contrary to the myth on this site, a lot of his passes are forward passes and they are generally very accurate.

[badpiggy]

How about his ball to Gerrard last season away at Newcastle, his run that should have been a penalty v Stoke, his run and shot the brought a good save v arsenal, his good attacking play away to Unirea, his CL goal v Chelsea, his league goal v Newcastle, a league cup goal v Crewe.

His role though is not an attacking one, but he does have very good movement going forward and contrary to the myth on this site, a lot of his passes are forward passes and they are generally very accurate.

i agree and your examples are all accurate and fair but the fact is that lucas is a fairly good player who excels at nothing. we can go on about forward movement, the odd good pass, the fact that he always finds a teamate etc but we are aiming at winning the league (next season) and qualifying for the CL and while i obviously don't think a team needs world players of the year in every position, all our competitors have creativity in CM and that is more than just isolated instances of scoring/assisting/a good run that should have got a penalty etc..

i'm not sayong lucas is **** - i'm just saying he doesn't create much or ever boss a game in anything other than a very functional way. that's fine if we had someone beside him to run things but we don't. (i actually prefer lucas to masher but this thread seems to be running on some sort of weird defend lucas at all costs thing at the moment)