"Could Lucas be the temporary solution to defensive problems?" by Owen Morris

[Grinch]

There is absolutely nothing positive on a football pitch that Lucas is better than Steven Gerrard, not a thing.

 

The only way the crocked Brazilian could possibly help with our defensive problems is if he happens to know an out of contract defensive midfielder who hasn't been finished by injury.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

You've been saying that for the last four windows, Mr Stopped Clock.

No, I haven't. I said he should be. Now I think he will be, Mr. Kant Reid-Fershit.

[Boss]

The only problem Lucas Leiva is the solution to is the Fenerbahce defensive midfield problem.

[Pureblood]

No, I haven't. I said he should be. Now I think he will be, Mr. Kant Reid-Fershit.

Same difference, Mr. Per Dan Dick.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Same difference, Mr. Per Dan Dick.

Different difference, Mr Gary Wilmot Jimmy Glitter-Brown-Saville. I'd have gone with Per Dantic, but I always was better than you at everything. I'm sure you agree.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

I do feel a bit bad for hijacking this thread, to be honest. Good article, etc, etc.

[Kevin D]

Over the past year of two, I - along with many Liverpool fans - have criticised Lucas Leiva and questioned his place in our squad. Some say he simply isn't good enough, or that injuries have robbed him of that yard of pace which can be vital to a defensive midfielder. After our performance against West Brom though, the Brazilian midfielder's role is a something that has had me deep in thought. Now before you all race to the comments section and tell me how deluded I am, please give me to the end of this article to show my reasoning.When Lucas came on in the second half he slotted into the holding role with Gerrard pushing up behind Balotelli and Henderson occupying a box to box role. Lucas did well I thought, he certainly did what was asked of him, but what interested me most is that he got two shots off as well. Both somewhat predictably sailed high into the upper echelons of the Kop, but those shots did tell me something. We rarely see Gerrard getting that close to the goal from his 'quarterback role' and to do it such a short space of time did surprise me.It got me thinking whether the problem with Lucas is tactical, or down to personnel. There is no way that Lucas and Gerrard can play together in a midfield two. You simply cannot have two immobile midfielders in this day and age, simple as. I can't say that Gerrard is better than Lucas simply because Lucas has lost a yard of pace, because in my opinion so has Gerrard. So for me it comes down to who has a more positive effect on the team.Of course you would look to Gerrard; one of our best ever players, our Captain, our icon, but does he actually help in a defensive aspect? I won't go too much into this as I have another article about Gerrard in the next issue of the fanzine, but I think Rodgers has him at the base of his midfield solely for his passing. He isn't a defensive minded player, and his tackling is not suited to a defensive midfielder. Lucas can tackle. Sure, he cannot spread a ball as well as Gerrard but in terms of doing the main job of a defensive midfielder - ie defend - I think he could probably do it better than Gerrard. Which makes me question whether Rodgers should sacrifice defensive quality for the sake of good ball control and passing? Another example would be Glen Johnson; who probably will come back into the starting XI, but the only reason I can come up with is his ball control, as he certainly isn't any better than Manquillo in a defensive sense, but this is another topic for another day.To add to this, think about when Lucas plays and Gerrard doesn't. Last season during December when Gerrard was out we played 4-3-3 with a trio of Henderson, Allen and Lucas for the games against City and Spurs, and in both we played very well. We did seem to have more balance in the squad and only conceded a whopping two goals! When Lucas plays in a midfield with Henderson, it works. He played in a midfield with Allen too at the start of the 2012/13 campaign and it also worked, but when Gerrard and Lucas play together it simply does not work.I do not think Lucas is the permanent answer at all, I think we can do a lot better now that we are a champions league team again. I would love to see Emre Can given a go in there with Allen and Henderson because I think he would be perfect with his strength and ability to move with the ball. But he is returning from injury, he's still inexperienced and he is adapting to the premier league, so the only alternative to Gerrard until January (or until Can adapts and can play consistently on a regular basis) is Lucas.Of course Gerrard will not be dropped, not for a while anyway, but it is just an interesting thought, could Lucas be a quick, temporary fix to a leaky defence? 

Owen Morris@LFCOpinion1Click here to view the article

Fuck off back to the MF.

[stringvest]

Sure it was.

You really are devoid.

[El Dangerous]

Fuck off back to the MF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any need to quote the whole thing, it's annoying scrolling all that way on a twatting phone.

[Gym Beglin]

Lambert and Lucas as full backs.

[bossy]

Andy Carroll. Should have kept him as a back up cb.

[moof]

I actually wouldn't be against Lucas starting if it means pushing Gerrard forward

[Tyler Durden]

Could Heroin help me give up ciggys??

[ZonkoVille77]

The simple answer to this question is no.

1 reason to play him in defence and a 1000 not to.

[KopOut]

Just one foul per game when a tackle goes tits up, is reason enough to disagree with the idea. Giving away possession AND a dangerous dead ball opportunity is his specialty.

 

Also, you contradicted yourself if I'm not mistaken. Firstly, you were surprised at how Lucas popped off a few shots, which Stevie cant do in the same role, but then, you reckon they are both immobile.

[Torvald Utne]

I'd rather Lucas as DM than Gerrard

[Bjornebye]

we may as well play with 10 men. 

[Xherdan]

No.

[Russ Atmosphere]

[Trevorjc]

we may as well play with 10 men. 

 

We already do with Stevie in DM, Lucas is simply much better at the defensive part of that position.  Is he the long term answer? No, that's probable Can.

 

We all saw how much better SG is in the final third and how much more threat we had, that's where he should be either starting or coming from the bench.

[Bjornebye]

Yes but we need to find an alternative to lucas. I want stevie pushed up as much as anyone but having lucas there is not the answer. Id genuinely prefer sakho or flanagan there.

[Fat Head]

Personally, I cannot remember the last time Lucas let us down as defensive midfielder. Lets's face it, Rodgers is just shoe-horning Gerrard into the team at Leivas expense. It worked in the main last season because of the Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling attack.  Defensively, it has never worked playing Gerrard there, last season nor this.This season we would be better served by playing Gerrard as AM and playing  our best DM as DM.

And Can has only played 5 games at DM in his career.

[Pureblood]

Yes but we need to find an alternative to lucas.

We need an alternative for a player who doesn't get a game, really?

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

[Bjornebye]

We need an alternative for a player who doesn't get a game, really?

 

You know exactly what I meant you queg 

 

An alternative solution to Lucas