Re:new-red
Good points but again why are there always fans like you who think he has been brilliant. I do not know what games you watch, he has been beaten often 1 on 1and pretty sure that toughness is not his strength.
And then, there is the comment that certain players are detriment in our some games which is the reason for the poor performances which is very wrong.
The point is often made the scapegoat when we are not doing well. I do not agree with that, I mean Lucas is a effective player but that does not mean we can go totally opposite by praising every pass/shot he does. Lucas has to improve a lot for both himself and Liverpool...
Well yes of course we shouldn't go overboard. Not every pass he makes is going to be good but when you play a short passing game it minimizes mistakes as much as possible so as long as you have good awareness you can keep passing the ball well.
To honestly answer that first of your post. In the past there was only a few of us in the lucas club as he was mostly written off early. Most of the posters were so dismissive and harsh on the lad that it naturally causes any Lucas supporter to be defensive. So his performances this year haven't been world class but they have been good and in certain games they have been very good. The lucas camp is very excited for him because he is clearly improving. And now even as he continues to progress at a very good rate in his development and performances, there are still people who discuont him as a nothing player so we just become frustrated with blatant thick-headedness.
Its fair to say that you don't think he could be a CM in a title-winning side but that does not mean that he is a bad player. People are using a black and white system for evaluating players and its bullshit. Either they are world class, (which appears to be a simile for good, great, very good, which are all varying degrees of ability.), or they are shite, or they are local (i.e. Spearing, decent player but no once can actually put him ahead of lucas seriously?).
Now to address the other part of the first sentence. Lucas' toughness is unquestionable. He is demonstrated it time and time and time and time again. Now, I know why we are on opposite sides of this tackling thing. Lucas has been beaten 1 on 1 quite a few times, however, the circumstances are always the same. It happens often when lucas has to try and stop an attacker who is running at him at full speed. In these circumstances lucas tries his best to stop the attack if he can because he knows the CBs will be fucked behind him. So sometimes lucas times it well and wins the tackle but he is mostly trying to just stop the momentum.
When i think of lucas' tackling I am thinking of when he actively closes down and pursues attackers. He is extremely good at closing down the ball. The best example of this is the 90 minutes vs Chelsea at home where he bossed midfield.
Is the scapegoat thing in regards to my comments on stevie? Because he by no means a detriment to the team but sometimes his decision making can be. There is always 2-3 games a season where stevie tries to force the attack too much and will waste possession in favor of passes or 1-2s that require perfect execution and more often than not will lose the ball.
Now he is more than entitled to a fair share of mistakes for what he has done for this club. I was merely expressing my preference for being more patient and working for a more promising opportunity.
Now I think we deep down we have an understanding that Lucas needs to improve if he wants to continue to be a key part of our future. For this current side he needs to be more assertive on the ball and demand the ball more because the team needs someone to direct it like Xabi did. Of course, Lucas is not Xabi, nobody is. But Aquilani came into the team and used his short passing and movement and got us playing with real fluidity which, not coincidentally, raised Lucas' performances in the second half of the season. It seems that Kenny wants to allow Lucas to get forward more which should allow Lucas to be more influential in attacks.
However, Lucas can't do it alone. I think Kenny coming in as manager is really gonna help lucas. With more movement in the side Lucas' quick passing and move style should be accentuated and it should lead to better performances by him. Also, This club being able to actually sign a player like Luis Suarez would be tremendous help.
It honestly seems to me that we are looking at different halves of the same coin.
