I've never been a fan of Lucas but saying that, all through the hardest times of the club with the Owners changing and Roy coming in, he has always kept his head down and worked hard, and I dare say, improved. It could have been due to the fact that everyones attention and anger was diverted to the owners and manager, but he's been able to concentrate on his game and gradually improve as time has progressed without fear of being booed and slated at every turn.
His performance against Blackpool was back to his old self, getting the ball unmarked and then panicking to lay it off to someone marked 5 yards away, and still putting it 3 yards short. He lacked confidence and didn't seem to know where to put himself during the game. Could be due to the change in tactics, from all out defensive under Hodgson to more attacking play under Kenny, or it could be that he knows focus is solely on the players now and possibly tried too hard to impress. Either way, no one really performed well at Blackpool so I'ts hard to judge on this alone.
Realistically though, I don't think he is good enough for the squad of the future unless there is a dramatic improvement in his game, but you have to admire his persistence and resillience to the abuse he's had while at LFC, and all through this he has pulled on the shirt and worked his arse off, not always effectively, but, he always puts in the effort, which at times like these you need.
So as for selling him, yes definately, but not until the summer at the very earliest, possibly give him one more season under stable management and see if he can settle and improve. If he doesn't then fair enough, we should be able to add an extra £1m - £2m to his price with a semi decent season and part ways, or with some stability then we may see him develop true brazillian flair and he may flourish and be a diamond in the rough. Either way, there are other players in the squad that are equally as bad, some slightly better than Lucas, but very few have the same drive and determination to become a regular in the squad and will give all for that place.
Lucas has shown the desire and passion to pull on that shirt for every game he has played, knowing full well he will take a load of abuse if he doesn't astound, but he keeps coming back, he doesn't let up and has shown true determination not only to improve and make himself a regular within the squad but to also try and win over the fans regardless how much abuse he has taken. This for me makes him a true LFC player as I can't imagine many others in the squad that could take the same abuse and still look forward to pulling on the shirt each game. I am still not his biggest fan on the pitch, I feel he does need to improve drastically and become far more consistent in his performance, but this may change with confidence and stability.
Previously I was quick to slate Lucas each and every game but there are some players I would prefer to be sold way before him, soley due to his work rate and passion for the club. Due to this I'm gonna lay off the lad for a few months at least (well see what happens if the red mist falls again while playing shit
), give him some time to develop and hopefully he can prove me and many others wrong.
Poulsen on the other hand I'd sell for an expired McNasty's voucher.
