Lucas would not get in ahead of Fletcher, Essien or De Jong. Maybe just maybe there is a case for him getting ahead of Song at Arsenal but even that is doubtful.
I disagree with all that except Essien. He would easily be better than the other 3 names you mentioned. Watching him week in week out like Liverpool fans would bring you to the same conclusion.
Just no mate If United signed Lucas you actually think he would kick Fletcher out of the team? You must be joking. Dismissing De Jong is even funnier. He is the best defensive midfielder playing in this country.
Surely Fletcher is a different type of player again? Essien has gone downhill and don't rate De Jong.
I don't think Lucas would replace De Jong simply because De Jong is purely a defensive mid... 75% of his involvment with the game is tackling and closing down. He does the job that City require. Lucas has better passing and technique - but wouldn't dislodge De Jong. He would probably dislodge Barry though. So he would get into the City team. Essien, desptie his poor form, will always be played by Chelsea - due to his physical attributes imo.... Lucas probably replace ramires though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU-9WZhGS0g It's when you see Lucas playing for Brazil that you see he has a crisp short pass, and a good touch. He plays further up for Brazil, gets more involved, and plays with freedom. He's their main man in midfield. Could work on his long range passing though.
Just wanted to say to everyone that this has been a good thread. We will not agree on most things but it's been a good debate. Q the idiots.
Fair enough - I haven't actually seen him all that much, but when I have he seems to look for the shorter pass and only try the longer pass when he knows there is no risk of losing the ball. Whether that shows too much caution, or a recognition of the importance of retaining possession is all a matter of opinion. But I think he only got two PL assists this season and one last season, which implies he's probably still being a bit too cautious given the amount of possession he gets in his position. Didn't Benitez originally say he wanted Lucas to be an attacking player and was looking forward to him scoring goals? That could imply he retrained him because he didn't live up to expectations in an attacking role in his first couple of seasons. I think he'd probably get in the Chelsea side, as a replacement for Mikel rather than Essien, would almost definitely replace Barry and City, and would also give Song a run for his money at Arsenal. But I don't think he'd get into Utd's starting 11, purely because we almost never play with a midfielder that is so defensively oriented. Even our best ball winning midfielders like Robson, Ince, Keane, Hargreaves and Fletcher all played in more of a box to box role. The only times we tried to bring in very defensive midfielders we ended up with Djemba Djemba and Kleberson (ironically the player that Lucas replaced in the Brazil team). Playing such a defensive midfielder doesn't work in a 442 with out and out wingers imo - like I said it'll be interesting to see how he does next year if Liverpool do bring in a couple of wingers during the summer.
"Fair enough - I haven't actually seen him all that much, but when I have he seems to look for the shorter pass and only try the longer pass when he knows there is no risk of losing the ball. Whether that shows too much caution, or a recognition of the importance of retaining possession is all a matter of opinion. But I think he only got two PL assists this season and one last season, which implies he's probably still being a bit too cautious given the amount of possession he gets in his position." He doesn't really get direct assists but would maybe pick an important pass that starts an attacking move.
Well, neither of them are bad players, at the moment it is Lucas as he has come on leaps and bounds this season whereas Anderson struggles to get a game. Interesting though that both Lucas and Anderson were bought as attacking midfielders and are now being played further back (not so much Anderson) The Anderson at Porto was like watching a younger Ronaldinho.
Injuries have hampered Anderson's progress but I do believe that if he says fit and gets a run in the team next season he will show what he can do.
