Posted:
Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:16 pm
by gato_busta
For his first season I think Lucas has done really well. When he came little was known about him, I remember mentioning he was considered the brazilian Gerrard back in Gremio. He is rather versatile yet due to his height (abouth the same size as Masch yet not as physically built) his favored position IMO is higher on the pitch. In our current formation Lucas would be good cover for Gerrard yet this season he has come in as a holding midfielder due to Alonso's injury and the sale of Sissoko.
I do believe he is simmilar to Gerrard, only much... shorter. I still remember the first derby of the year when he came in for Gerrard and earned that penalty for us (darn Neville should have let him score). It's a good thing we brought him in at a young age (he is still only 21) so he can get used to physical nature of the league. I was really expecting him to play for the reserves this season yet he has done just fine in the first team and has really earned a place on the bench.
Going back to Alonso, when he first arrived at the team there was a lot of discussion that he did not play well alongside Gerrard. Whenever Gerrard was out of the team, Alonso was usualy the best Liverpool player on the pitch. When our captain almost left to Chelsea, I remember many saying that he should leave as when he is not in the team Alonso did great. I do agree that in a 4-4-2 formation, Gerrard is better paired with Mascherano in the middle yet in our current formation we have been doing better since Alonso has been back IMO.
With that said, I don't think Alonso should leave as it would leave our midfield a little vulnerable. We finally got cover for the space Hamann left (Mascherano) and if we were to loose Alonso, who knows how long it will take to find someone to replace him.