Liverpool FC Forum

[tubby]

why the hell would barry come to us to be a back up player ? He isnt going to play in front of masher or xabi or gerrard

No but he would probably get in ahead of Riera. And he would cost 8mil or less in the summer. Not to mention he can fill a number of positions for example CM. If we are ever in a situation where one of our key CM's are out such as last night with Masch then he could slot in the middle instead of having to resort to the fake Brazilian.

[LegBarnes]

Sorry for me lucus will come good can we wait for it for next season I doubt it sell lucus and get in a proven prem player before his days are numbered barry has 3 years of top flight football in him yet if not 4 so I dn't see problem.

also barrys contract runs out does that meen we get him on a free ?

[akumaface]

I had mentioned before that I don't mind Lucas being here but not at no. 4 on our CM depth chart. He could be 5th, 6th or 7th or heck down to 99th for all i care but just not 4th. Masch, Alonso and Gerrard can't possible all stay heavy or play all the game, we must have someone with quality to fill in the odd games. We persistently mention Barry is because of last year fiasco. Is he going to come? No one is sure but we can get him on a cheap and he can play multipe of positions which makes him the ideal Rafa player (rotation remember anyone?) If Barry doesn't come then we must still find someone who can play the CM with more quality. We had seen what Lucas can do in those fill in games. He played more bad games then good. This means he is consistently bad. I don't mind try him in other less demanding position such as RB since we need cover there anyway but I doubt he can cut it there. Anyway, this is a harsh reality and I do feel sorry for the kid but he is just no good enough for us as we were exposed of our depth in games like on wednesday.

[Owzat]

why the hell would barry come to us to be a back up player ? He isnt going to play in front of masher or xabi or gerrard

exactly cant believe people think spending all that money on a central midfield player just because he can play in a few positions is a good idea when we clearly have one of the best midfields in the world

a left and right winger, a rightback, a centreback and a forward would all be a better option then a midfielder

Agree regards not buying a "jack of all trades, master of none" player.

I'm not so sure we need to replace much of the starting XI, when we've played attacking football it has produced results and maybe it's not so much the personnel as the approach that needs refining. Bring in another striker and we start messing with the formation and that could be fatally disruptive, Aurelio, Riera, Arbeloa and Kuyt have all done better than decent jobs this season. We do need some flair options, but at what cost? (to the balance of the team as well as £££) We don't concede lots of goals so defence isn't such an issue, but we could score more goals - yet to score two a game on average in any season in the Premiership.

Even if we could find one or more wingers more productive than Riera and Kuyt, they'd have to score a lot of goals a season to improve the team's goal output - only Gerrard, Kuyt and Torres really carry their weight in that department, Benayoun does to some degree when he plays. If someone is to play an attacking role in more central midfield, who gets dropped and what does that mean for Gerrard? Do we lose one of the central three or change formation? I think Rafa's devotion to the current system was tested when we signed Keane, other than that it's bring in more names in straight swaps and hope they work - with only one success in the summer in Riera, the rest are fringe players at best.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But is the weakness re draws down to weaknesses in personnel or the system? I'm not sure Lucas fits in ideally in the system, he's not a strong tackler, his shooting is a joke, and his range of passing is not penetrative enough. His all-round game might be better than Mascherano's, but it isn't better than Alonso's or Gerrard's. That doesn't make him a bad player, perhaps just one that needs to improve his limited passing, shooting etc or he'll not make it here. When he is playing I'd like to see him take a few set-pieces, that element of our team game certainly isn't fully functional and efficient

[heimdall]

Lucas was horrific yesterday did anyone see those two open shots he completely missed? One went 50 feet in the air and I think the other one he didn't even get contact on the ball after seeing those two I lost all faith I had in the lad.

Well you are certianly more patient than me then, the way I look at it a player needs to earn my support and belief and Lucas never has. Babel has occassionally but I'm starting to loose faith in him as well not becuase of skill but effort. With Lucas it's a lack of skill and that is more worrying, I just can't see what Rafa sees in him and why he doesn't give plaayers liek Spearing more of a chance, maybe not against Chelsea but in general.

And that my friend is why he is the manajer and youre not

? Your point is what exactly, that becuase I would pick players on merit I couldn't be a manager?

[Sir Roger]

Lucas was horrific yesterday did anyone see those two open shots he completely missed? One went 50 feet in the air and I think the other one he didn't even get contact on the ball after seeing those two I lost all faith I had in the lad.

Well you are certianly more patient than me then, the way I look at it a player needs to earn my support and belief and Lucas never has. Babel has occassionally but I'm starting to loose faith in him as well not becuase of skill but effort. With Lucas it's a lack of skill and that is more worrying, I just can't see what Rafa sees in him and why he doesn't give plaayers liek Spearing more of a chance, maybe not against Chelsea but in general.

And that my friend is why he is the manajer and youre not

? Your point is what exactly, that becuase I would pick players on merit I couldn't be a manager?

He can see things you cant.
There must be something special about lucas
Otherwise he wouldnt keep picking him...

[Festy]

Lucas was horrific yesterday did anyone see those two open shots he completely missed? One went 50 feet in the air and I think the other one he didn't even get contact on the ball after seeing those two I lost all faith I had in the lad.

Well you are certianly more patient than me then, the way I look at it a player needs to earn my support and belief and Lucas never has. Babel has occassionally but I'm starting to loose faith in him as well not becuase of skill but effort. With Lucas it's a lack of skill and that is more worrying, I just can't see what Rafa sees in him and why he doesn't give plaayers liek Spearing more of a chance, maybe not against Chelsea but in general.

And that my friend is why he is the manajer and youre not

? Your point is what exactly, that becuase I would pick players on merit I couldn't be a manager?

He can see things you cant.
There must be something special about lucas
Otherwise he wouldnt keep picking him...

Keane and Morientes were some of the mistakes made by Rafa. (and he is the manager mind you)

[heimdall]

Lucas was horrific yesterday did anyone see those two open shots he completely missed? One went 50 feet in the air and I think the other one he didn't even get contact on the ball after seeing those two I lost all faith I had in the lad.

Well you are certianly more patient than me then, the way I look at it a player needs to earn my support and belief and Lucas never has. Babel has occassionally but I'm starting to loose faith in him as well not becuase of skill but effort. With Lucas it's a lack of skill and that is more worrying, I just can't see what Rafa sees in him and why he doesn't give plaayers liek Spearing more of a chance, maybe not against Chelsea but in general.

And that my friend is why he is the manajer and youre not

? Your point is what exactly, that becuase I would pick players on merit I couldn't be a manager?

He can see things you cant.
There must be something special about lucas
Otherwise he wouldnt keep picking him...

Still not quite sure whether or not you're having a pop at me or Rafa?

[PabloAimar]

frank lucas: "my man"

[das20093]

alonso is far better than lucas. we should be talking of selling lucas not alonso. Unless he wins us the FA cup a with 30 yard screamer in the last minute or finds the pass to unlock any defence in the world then get him out. he is a waste of space. spearing and plesis should be put above him

[aCe']

alonso is far better than lucas. we should be talking of selling lucas not alonso. Unless he wins us the FA cup a with 30 yard screamer in the last minute or finds the pass to unlock any defence in the world then get him out. he is a waste of space. spearing and plesis should be put above him

what are you on about ? you on drugs or something ?

[GYBS]

Its lost on me as well mate .

[Kopite-Jud]

He must be good he wouldnt be in the 1st team if he wasnt! he played well vs Newcastle few months back
In Rafa We Trust

[sworth26]

Just read this... I know it's been mentioned for a few days now but it was more the way they described him that madew me laugh... Written tongue in cheek?

LUCAS FOR SALE?
We know that Rafa needs to sell before he can buy and one of the players earmarked for a move is fan favourite Lucas Leiva. The Daily Mirror claim he will fetch around £6m and that clubs in Italy and Spain are already interested in the Brazilian, who scored his first Premier League goal for the club on Sunday against Newcastle.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8671_5277731,00.html

[Owzat]

Read that £6m rumour. Not sure we should be selling players who've made 22 league apps this season. He may not be pivotal, but when we are missing players through injury or suspension then we need someone to come in and if Lucas is happy playing 22 times without complaining about wanting more starts then we should look to hang onto him.

If clubs in Italy and Spain are interested, let them offer £10m. Are we going to find many better players who will happily sit on the bench and cost £6m? (and will they be younger) I think Plessis will be shipped out in the summer, he made two Premiership starts last season, one this and none since. If we can get maybe £2m-£3m for him then at least we'd be getting some money for someone who rarely features rather than a player becoming an important squad player