bigmick wrote:It's an interesting thread and one which as a confirmed Garcia fan, I considered starting myself to be honest. I think he's a fabulous footballer, one of the best players we have at the club and though admittedly he can be an annoying little bugger at times is well worth sticking with.
His goal on Saturday perfectly illustrated what he is all about. It's not about the finish, though it was a crisply struck first time shot with the right foot. It's all about the run, begun as the ball is on its way to Gerrard, before the capptain looks up. Similarly, his goal away to Betis which was crisply struck first time with his left foot, was all about the run he made accross the defender, begun just as Zenden was about to turn with the ball. He's a good guesser, a gambler on a football pitch with his movement.
In terms of him giving the ball away, I think the majority of this is caused by his failure to fully adapt to the physical nature of English football as of yet. I had hoped that he would have made more progress on this front this season but so far he doesn't seem to have. That said, given his frailty his goalscoring record from a starting position of wide right (usually) is nothing short of remarkable.
I could not agree more.
I think Garcia is a superb player, his goal scoring record is superb and he is the attacking edge that you often need when games are a bit of a stalemate.
The reason people get on his back is because he gives the ball away, and I agree it can be frustrating, but I will offer two reasons why rather than excuses for it:
1) He is unlike other players brave enough to try the flick/stepover/turn/dink etc on the pitch. So many players can do those kind of things, but are restricted by their manger/team formation from trying it.
2) New members of the squad, (and indeed older established ones) need to adapt to Luis' style of play as much as Luis needs to adapt to the English league. Just like two strikers (are you reading this Cisse, Crouch, Nando and Ping Pong) need to form an almost telepathic understanding of each others movement and style of play, so do the other members of Luis' team need to understand what he will try to do with the ball.
You need different types of players in your first 11 to mould a winning team. Some need discipline and a great reading of the game, some stamina and a terrific engine to cover every blade of grass, some need lighning pace and a keen eye for goal, some agility and a bravery to put your body on the line and some need lots of skill and endevour and a good footballing brain.
Luis falls into the last category. The disciplined readers of the game, like Carragher for example are not the kind to see the killer pass or try the audacious lob from 35 yards (remember that Mr Buffon), so they give it to players that can/will in Luis.
Dont get me wrong, I think Luis needs to work on his game in terms of playing the more simple ball at times, but if he does give the ball away, its only through trying to create a chance for the team.
wipe so 
i didnt know you were that agressive phil 
). He can get us a goal from nothing.
