I have to admit, I havn't always been Lucas's biggest fan. I wondered how bad things must be if we were starting him. Thought he was to light weight, to slow and to one dimensial to be of any worth. However,I think I maybe have been a little harsh on the lad. I was at Anfield yesterday and to my mind he was man of the match. He ran the midfield, breaking up the rare Bolton attacks, screening the two center halfs superbly. He never stopped running and getting in the faces of Bolton's midfielder's and his passing was crisp and precise. Over the last 18 months he's grown from a possible 1st team player, to a definite starter. He's games come on in leap's and bound's. He in short looks like the best young holding midfielder in the league.I don't know what Kenny's said to him, but he's responded and how.
Yes. I wasn't too sure about Lucas when he first came into Liverpool but he's proved me wrong. He has become excellent at breaking up the play and is one of the first names on the team sheet. Let's hope he can keep improving!
The best bit for me yesterday was when he just stepped over the ball and used his body to shield it from Kevin Davies and out strengthed him! I think Mascherano would have dived in and probably flicked the ball away but maybe given possession back to Bolton but Lucas kept it and then played it simple. I think someone compared it to Makelele (sp?) which wasn't far off. Obviously he's not quite as good as him but that peice of football was identical.
He is my favorite player, not just from his performances but his personality and professionalism as well.
I never thought he was awful when he first came in, I knew he was young and adjusting to a new league/country. I was quite excited about what he could be but now he has turned out to be a completely different player to what i was expecting, but a very good and important one.
Agreed. He came from Brazil as a goal scoring attacking midfielder, but I think the pace of the Premier League meant it took him a while to adjust and he's found his place as a defensive minded player. He was only 21 when he came over as well, I think people forget that.
Lucas is not the most improved player in the league this season. He's not even the most improved player in Liverpool's squad this season. All of those plaudits could be applied to him LAST season! For those of you who find him to be a revelation then you weren't looking last season.
I don't think it was being suggested that he's the most improved this season - but over the last couple. There has only been 3 games this season so can't really judge a players improvement just yet.
a year ago there was a joke doing the rounds that went something along the lines of: Liverpool have announced the team to play Chelsea on sunday; Jimmy Kranki Ken Dodd Jimmy Tarbuck and so on (can't remeber all the names but they were all Liverpool comedians etc) and finally Lucas..... That sunday we beat Chelsea 2-0 and Lucas did play and played very well.Now he is no joke figure and possibly one of the first names on the team sheet.Well done Lucas it takes alot of strength of charachter to come through the ridicule and abuse he was subjected to.Top Man indeed.
foredeckdave.. I did say over the last 18 mths., not over 3 games..What do you think i am a United fan?
Me! I'll repost it cos it's probably more relevant to this thread than the one I actually wrote it in: "I like the way Lucas doesn't always look for the tackle, like Mascherano might. There was one instance where he beat Kev Davies by getting his body in front of him and stepping over the ball and letting it do the work for him rather than sticking a foot in and risk losing it. He's getting a bit like Claude Makelele, who wasn't one for chasing the ball, but rather anticipating where it was likely to be played and intercepting. Looks simple in practice, but is a very hard skill to master." The best bit about Lucas' tackles is that you don't actually notice most of them, despite him being up there in the charts. Rarely does he come in with a crunching sliding challenge, simply because he doesn't need to. He's often in the perfect position just to nick the ball away neatly and then lay it off for someone, which means he's never burnt out at the end of the game.
I knew someone said it but was too lazy to try and find who and were it was said! Totally agree with you though, he tends to go unnoticed and for a DM that is a great skill. Does all the simple things he should be doing but can provide a threat running forward and has an eye for a goal (scored a few in Brazil even if he hasn't here yet).
1. i think he's improved as players have improved around him. 2. he's improved with age and expereince for sure. 3. his attitude and life style, family life etc are spt on. 4 he's still young and should have plenty of scope to improve still
He's exactly what is needed for a top four side, he's going to be what gets us a win against Man United at Anfield on October 15th. He's the one that will make the difference in a non obvious sense.
Class,class player.He is constantly improving and has been for 4 yrs, at this rate he should be better than Messi by sometime in 2013. I said at the start of the season we had 4 world class players. Luis,Stevie,Pepe and Agger.I am tempted to name him as number 5.Hes a £20m player now .And Im bias, but I think hes possibly the best holdin mid in the prem now
