It's been over 5 weeks since Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva suffered his latest injury, but with the Reds perfectly poised to mount an assault on the top four, the Brazilian looks set to return sooner rather than later.
This afternoon, €12m-rated Lucas posted the following tweet:
"Back full training!"
Lucas's return will be a welcome boost for the Reds, and the more quality players available for the Premier League run-in, the better. Prior to his injury, Liverpool had a fine record with the Brazilian in the team:
Prem without Lucas this season (Correct up to 20th Jan 2014)
* P5 W0 D1 (20%) L4 (80%)
* Goal conceded: 10 (2 per game)
* Goals scored: 3 (0.6 per game)
* Clean sheets: 0
* 1.2 points per game (Prem)
Prem with Lucas this season:
* P12 W8 (66%) D3 (26%) L1 (8%)
* Goal conceded: 12 (1.0 per game)
* Goals scored: 21 (1.7 per game)
* Clean sheets: 5 (42% of games)
* 2.25 points per game (Prem) Mark Lawrenson recently hailed Lucas's contribution to the Reds' early-year resurgence, and urged Rodgers to keep the midfielder at the club. He told the Liverpool Echo:
"He [Lucas] has been a fixture in a side that has started to do well. He is solid if unspectacular. But most teams need a player like that, even the top ones. There’s surely no chance Liverpool will let him go".
Unfortunately for Lucas, he's going to find it very difficult to get back into the team. Without him, Liverpool have gone to the next level, especially defensively, with the club keeping 6 away clean sheets in a row for the first time since 1972.
Joe Allen has seized his opportunity, and unless there's a catastrophic collapse and/or individual loss of form, Allen, Henderson, and Gerrard are likely to be mainstays in midfield for the rest of the season.
Can Lucas break back into the team, or will he be a squad player for the rest of the season?
Author: Jaimie K
This afternoon, €12m-rated Lucas posted the following tweet:
"Back full training!"
Lucas's return will be a welcome boost for the Reds, and the more quality players available for the Premier League run-in, the better. Prior to his injury, Liverpool had a fine record with the Brazilian in the team:
Prem without Lucas this season (Correct up to 20th Jan 2014)
* P5 W0 D1 (20%) L4 (80%)
* Goal conceded: 10 (2 per game)
* Goals scored: 3 (0.6 per game)
* Clean sheets: 0
* 1.2 points per game (Prem)
Prem with Lucas this season:
* P12 W8 (66%) D3 (26%) L1 (8%)
* Goal conceded: 12 (1.0 per game)
* Goals scored: 21 (1.7 per game)
* Clean sheets: 5 (42% of games)
* 2.25 points per game (Prem) Mark Lawrenson recently hailed Lucas's contribution to the Reds' early-year resurgence, and urged Rodgers to keep the midfielder at the club. He told the Liverpool Echo:
"He [Lucas] has been a fixture in a side that has started to do well. He is solid if unspectacular. But most teams need a player like that, even the top ones. There’s surely no chance Liverpool will let him go".
Unfortunately for Lucas, he's going to find it very difficult to get back into the team. Without him, Liverpool have gone to the next level, especially defensively, with the club keeping 6 away clean sheets in a row for the first time since 1972.
Joe Allen has seized his opportunity, and unless there's a catastrophic collapse and/or individual loss of form, Allen, Henderson, and Gerrard are likely to be mainstays in midfield for the rest of the season.
Can Lucas break back into the team, or will he be a squad player for the rest of the season?
Author: Jaimie K
thats exactly what I was thinking
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling Lucas will take on the DM role with Allen moving to backup Hendo. Give him a rest if needed in the final run at the end of the season. Allen's been good lately, but I still hold him to be more B2B than DM.
ReplyDeleteSelling him now before we even play him is a tad premature...
ReplyDeleteSometimes I don't bother posting a response because I know that if you push a point too far especially with humour it is regarded as sniping.
ReplyDeleteI read that Pellegrini said if LFC were to sell it would likely be £100m before they'd even listen, so not exactly a valuation... If LFC rated Sterling at that fee though, I'd be asking , what they smoking at Anfield?
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I've never seen him play, but I get the impression he's similar to Can.. Possible DM maybe?
ReplyDeleteWe could get in Jack Bauer to count down the clock.
ReplyDeleteIn the time I've been coming to, and commenting on this site, the numbers of users seems to have decreased dramatically...Which is a huge shame.
ReplyDeleteAs I say to my boy don't keep biting the hand that feeds you ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd once again: you do not see everything. Most of the sniping comments don't even make it live as they're caught by the word filter.
ReplyDeleteTiago Ilori has very good football ability for a centre back, but in this case I don't necessarily think it would translate well in defensive midfield.
ReplyDeleteImagine a slightly inferior footballing version of Daniel Agger with more speed, but less strength and average positional play.Would we really want him playing defensive midfield?
I don't think Ilori does the basics in that position well enough to play it to a high level.He would most likely perform like a deer caught in the headlights!
I did see that post though as I responded to it. Surely you can't say that is sniping?!
ReplyDeleteHe was just moaning about having to have English Nd home grown players in the team and how that means they can demand more like Milner is apparently doing or they cost more just for being English which we are aware of. I am sure it was exaggeration and hyperbole.
ReplyDeleteTrue I'm sure... I think though, it was more an excuse to give when he goes out and buys another forgien player.
ReplyDeleteStop wasting thread space with this. That comment is just where the ban message is placed. There are other comments that you are not aware of, and not just from today, from the last month.
ReplyDeleteJust to you Jaimie. I request you delete so it takes up no more space. The post deleted usually is the final straw as ones previous stay active if they don't annoy. Was he banned for pushing home a point? I have tried something similar and the posts kept being deleted. You really need to think about how this affects the site and how you are seen in regards to your veracity and honesty.
ReplyDeleteWe have 1 game per week until the end of the season so, like Gerrard, Lucas will have to wait it out on the bench until something goes wrong, which it doesn't look like doing currently.
ReplyDeleteYeah! Don't rush him back just to get injured again.
ReplyDeleteReally? Sinisterly big brotherish I sometimes think.
ReplyDeleteHaving perfectly reasonable posts removed used to annoy me when I first started visiting this site, it usually just makes me laugh now. It can be very exasperating at times though.
ReplyDeleteMakes more sense than shipping him out without having been given any opportunity in the English leagues. Derby County would be a good club for him to go to unless they get promoted, or Bolton. They are good clubs for players to develop at.
ReplyDeleteI agree ,No point in shipping him out at this stage..
ReplyDeleteChampionship legue would be good for him .
Why pay 7.5m for such a green player ?
Jaimie at no stage do you mention when his contract expires as it is no use letting him go for free !
Its important to have all the players fit for the last few games.
ReplyDeleteKeep him on the bench with Gerrard until something goes wrong !
I have always been huge fans of both Allen and Lucas. Bother do the dirty jobs of no praise and constant ridiclue but there some of the best around and provide a unique balance for us. Allen is superior against possession based teams, he is quick and cuts out short angle passing superbly well cause of constant work. Lucas is best against a rough and tumble team. Really bullies big forwards/attacking mids.Let's them know who is boss and really good at angles and cutting attacks out before they start.
ReplyDeletePersonally with ManUre having Fellini and Rooney, rough players, I perfer lucas to get the nod. Allen could use a little rest too, the more he plays he seems to pick up a niggle. Well both of them actually, but balancing their time and being more specfic with who they play against I think would make our team more consistent.
Probably best to ship him around on loan until he finds a team with which he can settle and establish himself as a dependable player. This may take some time. He might come good or he might never step up to that next level. Such are the perils of being a professional player aiming to succeed at the highest level. He seems to have plenty of talent but there is more to it than just talent. Good luck to him, I really would love to see him come back to Liverpool one day ready to play in the senior team.
ReplyDeleteWith Lucas in the team Liverpool can revert to a diamond like they did against Swansea after the change. That let's Allen and Henderson loose to play a more attacking role. It's just a different option for Liverpool when the width provided by the wing backs doesn't seem to be helping and more solidity is needed centrally. Attacking width then comes from a front three. It leaves the team vulnerable to opposition wingers and the back three need to work a bit harder however Allen and Henderson are more than capable of slipping back into a defensive position when needed. It's just a different look for the team, it might be more effective against particular opposition.
ReplyDeleteWill Rodgers go for it very often? Who knows. I'm not a tactician, I really don't understand much of the modern game, so I'll just wait and see what happens.
Loan him to a premier league club. Get him some experience in the right league. Then you'll really be able to see if he's up to it.
ReplyDeleteSpot on mate. When I first saw this kid, the first thing I thought was he's far too skinny to play centre half in the premier league so a loan or two was necessary. I saw him play for Granada a couple of times and was quite impressed but again nowhere near physically ready to play CB for us. Haven't seen him at all this season but I would imagine he's on some kind of training regime and diet from the club to help him bulk up a bit.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest fear with Ilori is his injury record however I recall in my late teens having niggly knee and back problems which by all accounts were just growing problems. I got a bit older, filled out a bit and these issues went away. Hopefully he'll follow a similar trajectory. Definitely think it's too early to be writing him off
Do you remember when Kevin Davies was at Blackburn.He was skin and bones.No flesh on his body whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteThen a few years later Sam Allardyce got he's unhealthy Junk Food hands on him.It was one of biggest player transformations I've seen.He became the target for Bolton's long balls.Davies went from a skinny kid who ran at defenders.To heavyweight striking b3lly who beat up centre backs.
Forget the latest Aston Martin.Tiago Ilori needs to spend his money on slabs of meat.Liverpool should make sure he's eating like a Lion.He's on football wages so he can easily afford the food bill.
Yea or the transformation of Ronaldo in one close season. Once he could compete physically there was no stopping home
ReplyDeleteGlad to have him back and hope he's coming back stronger than before! dont see him making the staring 11 for some time yet though...Allen's form too good to ignore and the old man;s back too...our bench will be better because of it though..
ReplyDelete