The central midfield partnership of Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva has been a regular fixture for Liverpool this season, but there are signs that it is beginning to crack. By the time Gerrard pulled his hamstring against West Ham last weekend, Lucas looked to have lost his starting berth alongside the Liverpool captain. After an injury-troubled first year at the club, Brendan Rodgers has turned his trust back to his prodigy from Swansea City, Joe Allen, to replace the underperforming Lucas. The Decline of Lucas Much has been made of Liverpoolâs troublesome midfield problems this campaign, but whilst Gerrardâs form has improved and proved the critics wrong, Lucasâ has continued to decline. Furthermore, it would be fair to say that Lucas hasnât been the same player since returning from long-term injury just over a year ago. In 2013/14, according to Squawka, Lucas has a performance score of 252 from his 12 appearances, a pass-accuracy record of 91 percent and has created six chances. Not bad. But look closer at Lucasâ game and there are an alarming number of faults appearing. His positioning in midfield is leaving gaping holes between Liverpoolâs defence and midfield for attackers to exploit. His lack of pace is proving a struggle to himself and his teammates as he constantly readjusts himself to cope with the dynamic shift between defence and attack. Squawkaâs statistics also reveal that Lucas wins just 45 percent of duels on the pitch, has had just one shot all season and earned himself five yellow cards in the process. On the visit to league-leaders Arsenal last month, Lucas was nowhere to be seen, as Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey strolled through Liverpoolâs midfield to score the Gunnersâ winners. It is no surprise, then, that Rodgers has looked to Allen to step up to fix Liverpoolâs midfield frailties. The Rise Of Allen Allen provides a quicker, more exciting option alongside Gerrard in midfield. He has formed a good, intelligent understanding with the 33-year-old in recent games. Allen's and Gerrardâs games compliment each other. Allen has the legs to chase balls over the pitch and become the catalyst between midfield and attack, allowing Gerrard to attend to more defensive duties. Gerrard now has the freedom to pick up the ball deep in his own half, and instead of striding forward looking for playmaking options himself, can play a short ball off to Allen, ten years his younger, to continue the play. Last Chance Saloon Gerrardâs injury almost certainly means Lucas has another shot at showing Rodgers he is worthy of a first-team place at Liverpool and to be part of the Northern Irishmanâs future plans. If Lucas is to have a future at Anfield, the time to step up and show his capabilities is now. Unfortunately for the Brazilian, Liverpoolâs hardest run of games this season is about to begin, and it is just before the January transfer window when Rodgers may ultimately look to replace him. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-UK
I've been a very big fan of Lucas, but I admit he hasn't been as good for us since he came back from injury. This is the perfect time for him to start putting in the performances we all know he is capable of. I hope he seizes his chance(s), or he could find himself becoming increasingly sidelined.
The article says it is bad timing..... but in reality it is perfect if he is to show that he can step up again, then what better way than with Spurs, Chelsea, and City away? If he stumbles it will give BR even more ammunition to go to the owners and say "we need to sort this".
True enough. We need some DM back up anyway. Competition for places is important and at the moment Lucas has no real competition for his place. Maybe he's a bit complacent because of this? Who knows. But he really does need to improve.
His attitude towards the club is great. Nice guy and when on form he is fantastic. Would love the Lucas we knew back.
Come in nice and tight. Tighter. Tighter to me Raheem and your gorgeous mocha skin. Assaidi, lovely man, come in tighter. Shelvey, bgi things for us, come in tighter to daddy. Ok. now one thing......
while Lucas was out injured i was desperate for him to come back. When he came back i was desperate for him to get match fit. Now i'm thinking what was the point? He just has never seemed to recover the form and ability that made him first name on the team sheet, if he does i don't think we could get a better DM, if he continues to struggle we must look to replace him in january, Sad to say.
I'm a big Lucas fan. I love his energy, commitment and mentality, he is a very good player to have in the squad. However, I said some time ago that I don't think he is good enough to be a first choice pick at a top four club. What worries me more than anything is I think he is by far and away our best option at DM, hence me also saying previously that he is the most important player in the squad. I've wanted to see us buy a quality DM since Mascherano left. I'd love us to get Alonso back but there would be no decision to make if I had a choice between Xabi and Javier!
good articel til you wrote "The Rise Of Allen" basically everything at fualt in lucas game (bar yellows) is prerent in allens game. I dared raise this last year with lucas and was told it just had to be recover from injury. I wasn't so sure but i think the criticism is a little harsh given he's elf ton his own by gerrard ball watching and doing what he feels like sometimes. in short lucas is way shrot of his best and i am not sure he can get back there.
I'll always respect Lucas for the way he handled all the stick he got when he first signed for us. He knew he had to improve his game and he did. He became one of our best players, then had the injury and he has never recovered his game. Whether this is due to the physical problem of the injury or a mental problem I think he has a lot to do to keep his place in the first team squad and if we do sign another defensive midfielder I think his days could be numbered. Pity really because he seems to be a top bloke.
Allen hasn't played enough games for anyone to start praising him. I'm sure Lucas can tecover his form, people are too quick to write players off.
There's very little wrong with Lucas. To my mind the so called flaws that you want to highlight have more to do with the amended role Rodgers demands of him. But then you've all got your idea as to how we are supposed to be playing so he's always going to be found wanting.
well if there were two players with him in midfield who could sprint up and down all the time and be genuine "box to box" he would not have to do so much work. I mean lets face it mascherano had gerrard and alonso... lucas has old gerrard and a lot of the time henderson is playing "wide" thus we cannot directly compare the two
There's too many here who spout about midfield players who have no Premiership experience as though they were the dogs bollocks and our present squad don't stack up. So it's continual disparagement. Well apart from Alberto our guys do have Premiership experience. They are among the best in the country and are only limited by the 'system' that they are asked to play. Nobody is saying that they can't be improved upon but what we have got is quality and should be appreciated. A lot of you sound like young boys who lust over the latest Ferrari but then moan that it's not efficient in inner-city traffic!
Agree with you there Dave. Also, the 3 at the back really exposed our midfield. Teams ran all over us and in that situation you have your work cut out and it can make you look like a terrible player.
Our team plays such expansive football we are always going to be left exposed to quick counter attacks. I don't think anyone we sign will be able to plug the massive gap in midfield on their own without a change of style.
The article is a load of bollocks. Very little wrong with Lucas. He's not helped by playing alongside an old, ball watching Gerrard in a two man midfield when he prefers being on his own so he has no idea who to pick up and when incase Gerrard does it, or ends up not doing it. The rise of Allen? His game is much worse than Lucas's. All the faults picked out about Lucas are the faults in Allen's game. Whilst I can admit that he played well in the previous two, we were against far weaker opposition and he still managed to **** up a few times. We're going to be smothered by Spuds (lol) tomorrow.
