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Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 11/12 - Mod Note 4153
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That's not allowed on the internet man - it's serious businesspaddy kerins wrote: »Ah yes I'm aware. Just some light-hearted humour
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i've not been online in a few days, but firstly, just to say, another super performance on Sunday. we should've won, and that's happening too often, where we should be winning, but bad finishing and brilliant visiting goalkeeping is denying us.
it all continues to be very encouraging though.
but i wanted to reserve a special word for our general, Mr Lucas Leiva.
warning: long post ahead...
i'm saying it right off the bat, that right now, I wouldn't swap Lucas for any other DM playing in the EPL.
i trust him implicitly in that role. he's learned it. he knows it. he loves it. he's strong. his anticipation is as good as anyone's. his passing has great variety. his game-reading is super. at this moment, he exhibits a bit of everything. there is of course room for improvement, but i could barely be happier with him presently. and that stance has only grown stronger since about 2 years ago.
but one quality he has that makes me trust him even more, and makes me believe he will not let the side down at any point in the future, is that he is battle-hardened to the core after what he has been through at the club. and to think some fans still don't want him, or will admit that they were wrong to not trust in Rafa's judgment (and Stevie's btw) on him....
...anyway, i say battle-hardened, because does anyone remember this?? it's Lucas' take on the most difficult part of his career...from mid-2009It is 11 months since he was booed by his own fans during a 0-0 draw against the same opponents at Anfield.
The incident caused a lot of hand-wringing among Liverpool fans appalled at the treatment of one of their own. Lucas, a man who rarely stops smiling and talks about football with a thoughtful intensity, remembers it well. He regards that Fulham game as an epochal moment. When we met this week at Melwood, Liverpool's training ground, he explained how the doubts about him have made him into a better player.
"Fulham was the worst moment because it was the first time anything like that had happened to me but it was an experience I could learn from," he says. "Maybe it will happen again but now I have the experience. You have to understand the supporters. They were expecting Xabi [Alonso] that time and he was on the bench. The game wasn't good, we were not playing well so I understand. Playing well is the only way you will change it.
"When I came to Liverpool, I came with a target: to make history. Nobody wants to come to a club and become just one more player. Since that moment [against Fulham] I tried to protect myself. I stopped reading newspapers. Each time I listened to criticism it made me stronger. If you just get the negative things you don't improve. I just try to get the positive things. A lot of people believe in my qualities."
thank you Rafa and Stevie in particular for your belief in the lad through the difficult early years.
i remember defending Lucas around the 2008/2009 time. I was at Anfield, and did the tour as those i went with hadn't been before, and due to my defence of Lucas, and my belief that he would at least be a very good squad player for us, they encouraged me to sit beside my "homeboy" Lucas' shirt in the Anfield dressing room.
i still have the photo, and proud of it too
the man had to deal with the shadow of Alonso, a section of supporters deriding him, and then has had the courage and conviction in himself to work his balls off, learn the position, turn the vast majority of the boo-boys around, and become the anchor of the Liverpool midfield - the guy is now our pivot, our shield, our tempo setter, our general.
the performance on Sunday was the latest in an ever growing list of awesome performances, particularly against midfields he is "supposed" to be inferior to. he has helped dominate Chelsea twice last year, and more than match this. he's helped give us the edge in many of our games against United, and many other games over the last couple of years too.
in fact, speaking of United, the first United game he really stood out in, our 2-0 game when Pepe straddled N'Gog after our winner, was the one where it all really turned around for him. from the man himself...Lucas Leiva cannot suppress a smile when he is reminded of the moment, 18 minutes into the game against Manchester United on Sunday, when he clattered into Paul Scholes, won the ball and played in Dirk Kuyt who almost scored. It was the moment that said Lucas was not going to be pushed around.
"The tackle [on Scholes] was a good moment, not just for me but for the team. We started well, we were on top and had some chances. After that game I feel stronger. I'm a positive man, if I listened to everything I would not be focused and I would not be a good player. I just try to get the positive things and try to change."
as i say, Sunday was merely the latest example of his growing stature. he won a ridiculous amount of challenges. he hit passes of varying length, strength and purpose. he dominated our tempo. he snuffed out Silva's space. he joined our attack at times with quality. he won aerial duels. he did just about everything a holding midfielder can be asked to do.
and i say this too...if Scotty Parker had put in that performance, the media would be fingering themselves over it. i'm a big fan, but the amount of times i've seen performances of grit from that man without half the technical prowess and calm that Lucas showed on Sunday, and he gets lauded as incredible, is laughable. i've no problem with Parker getting praise, as i say, i'm a fan of his work, and i'm only picking on him because he's the 'Chosen One' in the English media right now...
but this sort of shít happens while Lucas barely gets a mention anywhere. he got MOTM on Sunday....hardly a whisper of recognition. the most you'll get is the odd patronising "isn't it wonderful to see he's improving after his start at Anfield", or something to that effect. almost 5 years on.
it's time for everyone to forget about what he was. he was a young man, coming to a new country, having to learn a different culture, language...as well as way to play the game. he's learned his craft, and he's now excelling, and i don't use these words lightly.
we don't need the media's recognition to know how good he now is, but it's worth pointing out that he gets a fraction of the plaudits he deserves, and this is reflected in the amount of rival fans, and occasionally our own, who still refuse to see what he has become...because 'Lucas' is a name you cannot possibly associate with "quality", purely because of the start of his career in England :rolleyes:
he's just about the first name on our teamsheet, only maybe after Pepe and Suarez.
the old Lucas is gone...long live our new general.
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From F365:
Says a hell of a lot though.
Kuyt and Downing should have a few by now and obviously Carroll as well.
Same problem for a couple of seasons now. Meireles went on a run last February, then Kuyt, need somebody to do the same now.Mad Men's Don Draper : What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons.
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i've not been online in a few days, but firstly, just to say, another super performance on Sunday. we should've won, and that's happening too often, where we should be winning, but bad finishing and brilliant visiting goalkeeping is denying us.
it all continues to be very encouraging though.
but i wanted to reserve a special word for our general, Mr Lucas Leiva.
warning: long post ahead...
i'm saying it right off the bat, that right now, I wouldn't swap Lucas for any other DM playing in the EPL.
i trust him implicitly in that role. he's learned it. he knows it. he loves it. he's strong. his anticipation is as good as anyone's. his passing has great variety. his game-reading is super. at this moment, he exhibits a bit of everything. there is of course room for improvement, but i could barely be happier with him presently. and that stance has only grown stronger since about 2 years ago.
but one quality he has that makes me trust him even more, and makes me believe he will not let the side down at any point in the future, is that he is battle-hardened to the core after what he has been through at the club. and to think some fans still don't want him, or will admit that they were wrong to not trust in Rafa's judgment (and Stevie's btw) on him....
...anyway, i say battle-hardened, because does anyone remember this?? it's Lucas' take on the most difficult part of his career...from mid-2009
thank you Rafa and Stevie in particular for your belief in the lad through the difficult early years.
i remember defending Lucas around the 2008/2009 time. I was at Anfield, and did the tour as those i went with hadn't been before, and due to my defence of Lucas, and my belief that he would at least be a very good squad player for us, they encouraged me to sit beside my "homeboy" Lucas' shirt in the Anfield dressing room.
i still have the photo, and proud of it too
the man had to deal with the shadow of Alonso, a section of supporters deriding him, and then has had the courage and conviction in himself to work his balls off, learn the position, turn the vast majority of the boo-boys around, and become the anchor of the Liverpool midfield - the guy is now our pivot, our shield, our tempo setter, our general.
the performance on Sunday was the latest in an ever growing list of awesome performances, particularly against midfields he is "supposed" to be inferior to. he has helped dominate Chelsea twice last year, and more than match this. he's helped give us the edge in many of our games against United, and many other games over the last couple of years too.
in fact, speaking of United, the first United game he really stood out in, our 2-0 game when Pepe straddled N'Gog after our winner, was the one where it all really turned around for him. from the man himself...
as i say, Sunday was merely the latest example of his growing stature. he won a ridiculous amount of challenges. he hit passes of varying length, strength and purpose. he dominated our tempo. he snuffed out Silva's space. he joined our attack at times with quality. he won aerial duels. he did just about everything a holding midfielder can be asked to do.
and i say this too...if Scotty Parker had put in that performance, the media would be fingering themselves over it. i'm a big fan, but the amount of times i've seen performances of grit from that man without half the technical prowess and calm that Lucas showed on Sunday, and he gets lauded as incredible, is laughable. i've no problem with Parker getting praise, as i say, i'm a fan of his work, and i'm only picking on him because he's the 'Chosen One' in the English media right now...
but this sort of shít happens while Lucas barely gets a mention anywhere. he got MOTM on Sunday....hardly a whisper of recognition. the most you'll get is the odd patronising "isn't it wonderful to see he's improving after his start at Anfield", or something to that effect. almost 5 years on.
it's time for everyone to forget about what he was. he was a young man, coming to a new country, having to learn a different culture, language...as well as way to play the game. he's learned his craft, and he's now excelling, and i don't use these words lightly.
we don't need the media's recognition to know how good he now is, but it's worth pointing out that he gets a fraction of the plaudits he deserves, and this is reflected in the amount of rival fans, and occasionally our own, who still refuse to see what he has become...because 'Lucas' is a name you cannot possibly associate with "quality", purely because of the start of his career in England :rolleyes:
he's just about the first name on our teamsheet, only maybe after Pepe and Suarez.
the old Lucas is gone...long live our new general.
Very good post SlickRic.
One thing I will say is that I hope he can be consistant with these performances week in week out.
Lucas is a very good player in my opinion. He has come on leaps and bounds and noticeably he performs best in games against high class opposition.
I do think some fans go a little over the top though with the praise, just like fans went over the top in their criticism of him.
In reality Lucas is somewhere in between, he was never the poor player people made out, however I don't think he is the world class midfielder some make him out to be now either.
Theres absolutely nothing wrong with that however, he is an important side of this team, and will continue to be an important member of our squad for hopefully years to come. I think you will need players like him in the squad if we are looking to win trophies.0 -
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Says a hell of a lot though.
Kuyt and Downing should have a few by now and obviously Carroll as well.
Same problem for a couple of seasons now. Meireles went on a run last February, then Kuyt, need somebody to do the same now.
Deffo, Kuyt has always managed close to double figures a season (3 in 07/08 and 9 in 09/10) in his time at the club. But like he has always done .. its not for the want of trying. Maybe a break out of the team and send on Carroll with Suarez to liven things up a bit. One could do with a run the other needs a rest.0 -
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I see we're being regularly linked with Sao Paulo's Lucas. Lived with a Brazilian chap from Sao Paulo out here for a while, wouldn't shut up about how awesome Lucas is. He's resigned to them losing him this year. He was saying Lucas was very one dimensional for a time, but has finally started developing game intelligence, and particularly came on leaps and bounds this year.
I've not seen enough of him to say if this is true myself.
He can certainly play the right wing forward role though, and gives a different options there. Imagine the front 3 we could put out:
Suarez
Bellers
Lucas
Adam--Gerrard
Lucas
Enrique--Agger--Skrtel--Johnson
Pepe
As time goes on, could have Suarez in the left spot, Carroll centre and Lucas rwf.
<Edit> Adding a video showing some very nice wingplay.
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I see we're being regularly linked with Sao Paolo's Lucas. Lived with a Brazilian chap from Sao Paolo out here for a while, wouldn't shut up about how awesome Lucas is. He's resigned to them losing him this year. He was saying Lucas was very one dimensional for a time, but has finally started developing game intelligence, and particularly came on leaps and bounds this year.
I've not seen enough of him to say if this is true myself.
He can certainly play the right wing forward role though, and gives a different options there. Imagine the front 3 we could put out:
Suarez
Bellers
Lucas
Adam--Gerrard
Lucas
Enrique--Agger--Skrtel--Johnson
Pepe
As time goes on, could have Suarez in the left spot, Carroll centre and Lucas rwf.
Sounds good - only 9 more to go for a team of Lucas's
Will Coates get a game tonight? He needs to play as often as possible - Agger won't play every game this season so cover badly needed0 -
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DBKPHOy-Wc
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