Liverpool FC Forum

[Thingy]

Unsung hero Bob? If hes not getting noticed then thats when people call for his head, saying hes not playing well etc. If his work isnt getting noticed, then him playing well dosent get noticed, therefore people dont think hes playing well.

[Bad Bob]

Unsung hero Bob? If hes not getting noticed then thats when people call for his head, saying hes not playing well etc. If his work isnt getting noticed, then him playing well dosent get noticed, therefore people dont think hes playing well.

I'm not sure why he's often singled out, mate.  "I thought Alonso was poor" has become something of a pat phrase in match threads these days...almost a milder version of "Kuyt was rubbish."  In most cases, I must confess, people are seeing different things from what I'm seeing or they're focusing their analysis on one or two instances and letting the things he did well go unremarked.  Despite the old adage, every player puts at least one foot wrong during every game and Xabi's no exception.  Often that's enough for some to consider him "poor" which baffles me, TBH.  He's hardly a passenger when we play and he does far more right than what he does wrong in the course of a match yet he's somehow always "poor" of late.  C'est la vie, I suppose. 

[Thingy]

Against Aresenal he ran more than any other player on the pitch bar Fabregas, including our players, yet no one noticed that. Im in 2 minds really Bob. Kuyt works hard yet he should stay, Alonso work even harder , and is better in almost every department, but he should go. People confuse me. Most of the time I confuse myself admittedly, I have 2 opnions for matters, and alot of the time I dont no what one to go with:D

[LFC2007]

Why Alonso? Is he really from Spain?

[Toffeehater]

But , Bav , Saint and GBJH , the fella can't hold off a challenge without falling over and apparently cant make a clean tackle, so how long do we give him ? and (back to the nub of my original post) should we feel comfortable about talk of letting Alonso go when at the moment after Gerrard and Mascherano , Lucas is our only senior midfield replacement?

Well lucas passing was better then alonso not only yesterday but this whole season , he never seems to be afraid to venture foward and i think , he deserves the spot more then alonso , who is below average this season and its really dissapointing , if alonso does go ,i think rafa will sign muntari or somebody for cover , for suspensions or he will just promote plessis into the side

[Toffeehater]

Against Aresenal he ran more than any other player on the pitch bar Fabregas, including our players, yet no one noticed that. Im in 2 minds really Bob. Kuyt works hard yet he should stay, Alonso work even harder , and is better in almost every department, but he should go. People confuse me. Most of the time I confuse myself admittedly, I have 2 opnions for matters, and alot of the time I dont no what one to go with:D

He worked harder in 1 game thne kuyt , and also , better in every department? No sorry , he's better at passing but these days , even that has been below par this few seasons .

[RedBlood]

i still think class is permanent and form is temporary. Alonso will come good again, but agree with the Lucas opinon....in fact i think he and Babel have been huge disapointments.

huge dissapointments ??

there 20 years old and have come into a new country to play a higher and faster level of football then they are use too

they are both very talented players any1 that cant see that needs to go to spec-savers

to rate them as huge dissapointments is rediculous

but i agree on alonso, hes a class player and he always gives 110% his form hasnt been at its best since returning from injury but you dont sell world class players 

[andy_g]

it was inevitable that this would descend into a lucas v alonso thread but i think its a misleading argument as they are different kind of players. lucas will never sit back, do the 'quarterback' thing and dictate the tempo of the game like alonso does at his best (and when he's given time). as we've seen, lucas is better further up the pitch and yesterday played a vital role in the first two goals. i like his calmness, his eye for a pass, the way he seems to be able to make time for himself and a certain fluidity he brings to our attacking build ups. i don't think he needs to beef up, he needs to become a bit more aware how quickly people will close him down in the prem and to not be there when they try to. juninho was even more lightweigh than lucas and was brilliant in that respect.

regarding the brazilian thing; the brazilian game is not what it used to be. the days when they looked like the footballing equivalent of the harlem globetrotters are behind us now. most of the modern brazilian players, while certainly skillful, have a much more european style of playing now. can you imagine the likes of lucio, gilberto silva and ronaldo in the mid seventies teams? of course i'm generalising but you get the picture...

[The Ace1983]

I think that if Lucas had scored that goal in the derby when Phil Neville handled on the line, we'd never want to see a team sheet without him!

I get what you're saying woof, but in the position he plays, it's hard for him to do magic tricks. He's like a more graceful Mascherano. In fact Javier is in the same situation. He comes from a country with a reputation for flair players (Maradonna, Riquelme, Batistuta,...) and plays in a role where he balances the team by being solid and composed.

I think that for a player in his first real full season, at his age, he's doing really well. I see a lot of potential and as long as he continues to develop and learn he could turn into something very special. And the only way he's going to get better is by playing in the first team. A bright young star for the future imho.

[Seano Kop]

Personally, I feel far safer with Lucas in the side than Babel

[stmichael]

I thought Lucas was excellent yesterday. Won the ball back, kept it simple and was always willing to join in the attack.

Xabi on the other hand was poor again.

[Seano Kop]

What to do with Xabi..

[66-1112520797]

At a time when many are questioning Alonso's worth to the team I find myself thinking "Well, just how special is Lucas ? "

This is not meant as having a dig at Lucas but let's face it for a Brazilian midfielder the fella has yet to produce a flash of magic you would normally expect from a player with his pedigree and heritage and despite Alonso's below par season I fail to see why some think it wouldn't be a major loss if Alonso should go and so little is said about Lucas' less than newsworthy performances given that after Gerrard and Mascherano the third place midfield spot falls to either Alonso or Lucas.

Lucas is neat , he's tidy , erm ....... I'm hard pressed to say anything else apart from he's also very lightweight , gets brushed off the ball and decked by any opposing player that puts in a serious challenge and the majority of his own tackles seem to result in a free kick for the opposition. Offers little in terms of goal threat or creativity.


As far as I'm concerned Lucas' performances for us have so far been distinctly average, don't see that the lad has any real future with us, apart from being a handy fill in when Mascher is unavailable, or am I missing something ?

I have wondered the same thing Woof, he was SO HYPED up on these boards, that I almost found myself conned into thinking he was the dogs gonads. He hasnt impressed me too much as of yet.

As for the style thing well, I think only Rafa could find a Brazillian player who as the markings of your typical run of the meal Prem player.

He definately isnt the flair type player which TBPH doesnt bother me. What does bother me, is that he seems more or less exactly the same as Alonso. Which isnt a bad thing nessecerily, but I thought he'd be a tad more adventurous than Xabi. His touch has et him down on a few occassions and at a first glance the pace of the Prem has caught him out, like Xabi in recent years 

But going on the 90 mins Plessisi played the other day he looked equally capable if not more suited to the holding role, which I dont think Lucas naturally is.

[66-1112520797]

Yes, opponents have learned to close Xabi down quickly but he still completes most of his passes and does his defensive duties well.

I'd expect a fully fledged interntionally Bob to complete his passes, especially as 95 % of the time they go backward or side \ways.

Defensively Xabi does get caught flat footed alot, and that showed against Arsenal in the CL goal the other day (their first goal), he was caught flat footed in the Blackburn game in one incidence. He screens the back four well, but defensively Xabi isnt as good as Mascha.

In saying that though Alonsos distribution in the last two games he been alot better, and I think he looks as though he is starting to find some form now.

[Bad Bob]

I thought Lucas was excellent yesterday. Won the ball back, kept it simple and was always willing to join in the attack.

Xabi on the other hand was poor again.

Funny, I thought almost the exact opposite.