20 May 2013

Transfer Priority: 'Suffering' LFC star admits to 'difficult season'. Time for a change...?

It's fair to say that Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has suffered bouts of indifferent form since returning from his injury earlier this season, but the Brazilian is certain that he'll be back to his best next year. Will that be good enough, though?

Speaking to the official LFC website last night, Lucas - who has a great game against QPR on Sunday - admitted that he'd had a 'difficult season', but insisted that he will 'do better' next season:

"Next season is going to be an important one for me because I think I will be at the level I was before the injury. Of course I want to do better because we can always do better. I'll be back to my best next season"

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson summed it up well in a recent column for the Liverpool Daily Post:

"He [Lucas] is levelling out a bit after being out for so long. He is suffering from not having a full pre-season. I don’t care who you are, but you can’t not have a pre-season and not have problems. Lucas may have trained all through summer, but he went missing so early into the season that it is hard to catch up."

Lucas is undoubtedly an important part of Brendan Rodgers' squad, but even if he returns to top form next season, the club (arguably) has to prioritise the signing of another defensive midfielder this summer.

The question is, will Rodgers buy someone, or will he continue to use Joe Allen as cover?

Allen and Lucas are too similar (IMO), and the club needs someone with real physical presence to offer something different in midfield. I suspect, however, that Rodgers will persist with Allen/Lucas sharing the position, and if he does that, it will almost certainly prove to be a major mistake.

Prior to his injuries, Lucas put in some imperious performances for Liverpool, but even *if* he gets back to that level, is the Brazilian's style and impact the best fit to take the club to the next level, i.e. Champions League places, and ultimately the league title?

How will Lucas react to having a major challenge for his position? Competition is a good thing for the squad, but the last time the Reds brought in a dedicated defensive midfielder, he almost left the club. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo last month, Lucas admitted:

“I felt as though it was almost the end for me at the club. I nearly left. They signed Christian Poulsen at the time, and that was a message for me. I was really close to leaving to go to Italy. I had a lot of chances to leave the club through mutual consent. For some reason I did not go, I stayed"

It's great that Lucas has developed into such a key player, but his reaction to the signing of Christian Poulsen is (IMO) slightly worrying. Competition for places is an essential ingredient in any winning team, yet instead of accepting the challenge, Lucas took it as a slight on his ability, obviously sulked about it, and almost ended up leaving the club.

Additionally, the circumstances at the time dictated the signing of another central midfielder, and Lucas surely should've seen that:

* Liverpool had already lost Alonso, and Mascherano had also just left.
* Poulsen was clearly signed to fill out the squad, not to replace Lucas.
* The appearance stats back this up too: Lucas made alot more appearances than Poulsen.

Poulsen was never a major challenger for Lucas, so what happens if the Reds bring in a top class defensive midfielder; someone who won't want to sit on the bench? Someone like, for example, Mohamed Diame. How will Lucas respond to that?

Whatever happens, Liverpool definitely need someone, and if that puts Lucas's nose out of joint, then so be it. The needs of the team have to come before the needs of the individual, and I think most fans would concede that the team needs another DM, specifically someone athletic and strong, with a different style to the likes of Lucas and Allen.

Who though...?



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38 comments:

  1. at last an article of knowledgeable detail on one of the players who for me needs competition or replacing.his irritating habit of giving free kicks away consistently in dangerous areas and his poor distribution mean for me he should move on.the replacement may be hard to find but i believe someone of more stature is required and diame/fellaini or somebody similar would be fine by me.if the guy was threatened by the arrival of poulsen then he does have a problem.

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  2. I don't think it's fair to hold the Poulsen situation against him now.

    Lucas still had not cemented himself in the club and the club brought in another player. All I'm saying is that he reacted that way to Poulsen because he was insecure about his place & role in the team. He's reacted differently now because the place & role is his to lose.

    Look at last year. The club brings in Joe Allen, a player from Rodgers' old team, and Lucas was coming off a major injury, yet it doesn't seem like he was too worried about being replaced.

    There's nothing wrong with bringing in another player to compete, but I think Lucas is still an integral member of the club. Whoever is brought in should be here to complement him as oppose to replace him.

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  3. whys it always lucas we are worried about imo hes doing and done a dam site better that allen if we are looking to bring in another defensive midfielder thats fine but it should be at the expense of allen not lucas

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  4. Lucas is superior to Allen in his positional and defensive abilities, would pick the Brazilian every time. However, I worry that we need more muscle in the midfield area. We're too lightweight in my opinion and need more of a midfield presence a la Wanyama or Diame to play alongside Lucas.

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  5. Fully agreed. Allen doesn't offer anything that another midfielder currently at the club can. I'd rather see Coady in the team than Allen at this point. If we bring someone in, it should be a powerhouse to strengthen the physicality of our midfield.

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  6. True! I'd rather Lucas at his best plus Diame or Wanyama or even Mulumbu of West Brom. Allen offers nothing too weak to cover the back 4, no natural attacking instincts. Ok he supposed to keep things ticking with side ways passing but for 15mill & our aspirations for top 4 then league domination IT'S NOT ENOUGH! We could Diame for half the price then we wld have a player physically strong to offer proper back 4 protection, he could be up & down instigating attacks. Remember the 0-0 he dribbled 5 players & has scored real crackers. He doesn't go missing against top teams, ask mancs or Chelski!
    If we don't add a Diame type player, Lucas or any other midfielder we have will not be good enough. I would go as far as saying that it wld be a sackable offence for BR because its SO OBVIOUS WE NEED A PHYSICAL ATHLETIC PRESENCE! As for Allen, he is dispensable get rid & use the funds wisely else where!

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  7. I see red people5:14 pm, May 20, 2013

    We only have on defensive midfielder so Lucas definitely needs competition otherwise he will fall into the same comfort zone as Reina where he knew he would be picked everytime.

    Lucas is a good player but is he the best defensive midfielder around? He is most certainly the least creative player in his position and cannot score to save his life. He gets caught out far to often by pace so a quicker more physical defensive midfielder with an eye for goal will do just fine to create competition for places in our squad.

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  8. agreed but i do not think rodgers thinks that way

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  9. i,am afraid allen will be back starting next season

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  10. You've missed out a big part of what happened with Lucas, remember Purslow giving Hodgson a list of players that were expendable with Lucas's name on it? no doubt he would have been aware of this, so anyone in that position would think they were on the way out. There's also a big clue where he says "leave the club through mutual consent".

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  11. He's the Welsh Xavi!

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  12. Didn't Rodgers say, upon signing the 'Welsh Xavi', that he would have payed double the amount payed to get him...?

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  13. With Lucas in the side our play more free where as it just seems slow build up with Allen paired there with Gerrard. Although Lucas was flying high last year you can see that hes a little nervous in tackles sometimes as the thought about the ACL popping is in the back of his mind. But still us fans were slagging him off at the start of his LFC career but now hes an integeral part of our squad and we need him, lets just hope Rodgers buys cover for him so if he gets injured again we dont play Allen!

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  14. If he did, I'll have whatever he was drinking and make it a double!

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  15. You won't need a double of what he was drinking when he said that, a few sniffs will have you in hospital!

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  16. Bringing in poulson was like buying a lada when you already had Mercedes

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  17. I agree with the gist of your argument, but the likes of Diame/Fellaini just don't use the ball well enough for me. They both remind me of good ole Momo, but after the eye injury.


    I also don't think it would be too hard to find a replacement.quality alternative for Lucas though.

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  18. I don't think Allen's playing style is particularly similar to Lucas'. Allen is more mobile, moves to the ball more and moves it quicker (although Lucas does move it a lot quicker now than in his early years). However, Allen isn't strong enough to complete his tackles, and commits fouls around our box even more frequently to stop his man running passed him.


    Allen is a liability as a DM as far as I'm concerned, and he'd better learn how to play a more advanced role and play the more direct pass to open up the opposition if he wants to avoid being a major target for the boo boys next year (we all know he's going to start more often than not so no point in pretending otherwise)

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  19. I was surprised to see the lack of interest in M'vila in January. Capoue was always my preferred choice from last year though, and I still think he, or someone of his ilk should be brought in asap - somebody disciplined enough to effectively play the holding role, but dynamic enough to get forward too if necessary

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  20. Excellent comment

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  21. Joe Allen is NOT , I repeat NOT a defensive midfielder. He wasn't bought as one.. nor,baring the Lucas injury, intended to play as one.

    So let's quit the comparisons right there. Lucas took about 3 years to settle into the team before he offered anywhere near the quality of performance I expect from an LFC player.

    Truth be told, I've never pulled as much hair out about any LFC player than Lucas. The guy was shite with a capital S. Then just before he got injured he actually started playing REALLY well.. Ohh the irony of it all

    I don't think Lucas will get back to where he was.. He's been the Lucas of old since he returned(not the briefly good one) and I'm not prepared to give him another 3 years to see if he can get back to where he briefly was.. He's a likeable guy and a good pro but I'd sell him in the morning.

    And to be fair to Lucas it wasn't his natural position either. We bought an attacking midfielder and shoehorned him into a DM position !

    We've gone from two of the finest DM in the modern game in Didi and Mascha to two central - attacking mid's in that position !!

    Time to address it.. and I wouldn't look further than Diame.. a ya ya toure in the making if ever I saw one.. And I would swap ANYBODY in world football bar Messi for Ya Ya !!

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  22. Very good comment

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  23. If Lucas can be more faster that would be good and long pass skill if possible

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  24. thought Lucas performed well on that year Poulsen arrived but i agree we still need another defensive midfielder, and a real good one as our full backs go up alot as wingers!! which is brilliant.

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  25. I am expecting to a much-improved Lucas next season.

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  26. Lucas and Allen are different types of players, if you play Allen beside a top class DM, then you can see his full abilities and unfortunately Lucas is not a world class DM. But the point against Lucas is that he will remain mediocre no matter what midfield he plays in. So Lucas should be replaced.

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  27. what abilities a five yard backward pass sorry m8 but imo hes average at best

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  28. No need for him to go if he believes in himself. If it's really a case of him missing the start of the season, it'll show soon enough when the new season gets on the way. For us as a club though he's injury prone so we need someone else for that position anyway. Second of all, we need competition for places and his is pretty much the only position where competition is lacking and finally, we were unable to control games against more physical sides so we need someone who can do that. Mascherano or Davids were no Giants either but you could be sure they'd not be bullied out of a game the way Lucas has been a few times this season.

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  29. We do need another DM, but what if that "another" DM becomes our "DM" in case Lucas leaves? We will be back to square one..

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  30. We need to buy tall, strong and fast dm and to sell Lukas or Allen. Allen is BR pet, so that is probably good bye Lukas...

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  31. Too much ego in BR to sell Allen...

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  32. If he has the freedom to move forward, he can link up well with the forwards, we saw that in the game against zenit when he scored. He has been played in Lucas' position all season, look what happened to Hendo when played out of position last year. I have seen glimpses of quality from Allen and i believe we can see more of that if he's given a consistent run in his position. On the other hand I don't see how Lucas can improve as DM as he has lost his pace and isnt any good going forward.

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  33. each to thier own but allen will not make it at lfc imo waste of money

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  34. agree he will cost us again next season

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  35. It is always like that with people in major places. we can only hope that we will benefit more from his other decisions than we will lose from decisions like that one. With Rafa was the same thing...

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  36. iam on about allen hes a liabilerty

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  37. haha... I imagine you also think BR will cost us so...

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  38. if he picks allen yes he will lol

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