RAFA and LUCAS

According to B.B.C. Radio Merseyside RAFA said he had had numerous clubs asking if LUCAS was available for transfer.RAFA reckons Lucas is part of his long term plans and is going nowhere.I also think we should keep him as he can only improve with RAFAS knowledge.Come to think about it sounds a lot like BOB PAISLEY and RAY KENNEDY,so could this be a good omen for the future.

No chance, will be one of the best in the world if we're patient. Too early to sell him if he is for the future anyway.

I think he has had a number of shockers this season to be honest really has done nothing to prove me otherwise. Some people must be watching another game to me at times as I Cant ever remember him having a really great game for us. Im not saying the lad does not have potential but in the EPL to play those positions that he has been playing he has to be strong enough and for me he just looks like he gets bullied off the ball far too much. I would probably argue about giving him another season at least as there has been glimpses and he does seem to be keen and enthusiastic about what he is doing.

He isnt going anywhere he's already been great and will get better given more confidence to take people on, shoot, play through balls in to the front men and take control of games from the centre

A piece in todays Mirror RE:Gerrard & Lucas

Rafa Benitez appeases Steven Gerrard as Liverpool lurch from one crisis to another

GERRARD BACKLASH LIVERPOOL LURCH FROM ONE CRISIS TO ANOTHER
David Maddock  29/02/2008

As Rafael Benitez hurriedly moved yesterday to again appease his captain, a simple Anfield truth was made more painfully apparent.

The Liverpool manager has won skirmishes with his assistant boss, his chief executive, and even his American owners in a season of intrigue and political infighting.

Yet he knows the one fight he can't ever pick is with his skipper.

For Benitez, losing Steven Gerrard would be suicide, an act designed to turn every Liverpool fan against him.. even though the Anfield boss has always held certain reservations about the midfielder.

In his outburst this week, as Gerrard finally laid bare his season-long frustration with the continuing underachievement at the club, the captain delivered a withering assessment of domestic form under Benitez. And in doing so, he aroused the interest of just about every top side in Europe, with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea and even Manchester United alerted by his comments.

"We can't keep talking about next season all the time. There are only so many times you can say it and believe it," was Gerrard's examination of Liverpool's perennial suggestion they are a season away from challenging for the title. "I'm 27 and don't want to be talking about next season for Liverpool when I'm 32," he said. Such comments are bound to set the alarm bells ringing, and they were heard loud and clear in the manager's office at Anfield, with Benitez quick to offer some soothing words.
"Everyone at Liverpool shares Steven's sentiments. We wanted to be further up the table and the fact we are not is a disappointment to everyone," said Benitez.

Behind the scenes at Anfield this season, things have not always been harmonious, with several players unhappy about being used out of what they consider to be their true position.

Gerrard fits into that category, although he would never make his complaint public. He has been confused, to say the least, by his manager's insistence on taking him out of the midfield, and playing him further forward, behind a lone striker.

That confusion has been exaggerated somewhat by Benitez's decision to play raw young Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva in Gerrard's place.

Quite how a kid just making his way in the professional game can keep a player regarded as the best in Europe out of his favoured position is a mystery that has never been explained at Anfield.

Benitez attempted to do that though when he talked up the contribution of the young South American.

"We have received offers for Lucas, maybe 10 clubs in Spain and Italy want to take him," he said. "That is how good he is. I have faith in Lucas. When I put him on for Gerrard in the Merseyside derby, it is because I believe he can have an impact in games, and he has played really well recently.

"He has a very good mentality, and is a player of top quality. He will be a top player, that is certain.

"But he already is a top player, he was captain of Brazil Under-21, and has won two cups with the national team."

Even so, it is still a surprise such a young player can keep Europe's best central midfielder out of that position, and perhaps Benitez recognised that with yesterday's comments.

For all his fears about Gerrard's positional play - and that is at the root of why he often pushes his skipper further forward - the Liverpool manager knows he can not afford to upset the captain too much.

Should Gerrard decide he cannot waste another season with a Premier League challenge "that we are always well out of by the first week in January", there will be no shortage of takers.

Madrid have made strong noises in recent weeks, while Barcelona and Chelsea would offer attractive alternatives.

But it will surely not come to that, because if the owners of the club - whoever that may be by the summer - seriously thought their prize asset was ready to walk out, then you can be sure they would sacrifice the manager first to ensure Gerrard stayed.

It has to be stated there is little chance he will turn his back on Liverpool, after twice before flirting with that option, but it is a risk Benitez cannot afford to take.

That is why he offered his soothing words yesterday, and that is why he will do his best over the coming weeks to convince the midfielder that not only can Liverpool be a genuine force in the Premier League, but that he will be a CENTRAL figure in that.


Stories have been doing the rounds near enough since Rafa started that he would prefer to sell Stevie G as he doesn't fit into his 'tactical' plans, now whilst not agreeing with him at the moment that doesn't mean iam oblivious to another point of view and lets face it one day we will move on without him.

It is also interesting how much faith Rafa has placed in Lucas but only time will tell whether its misplaced.

I dont want stevie to go i want him to win the league with us and i want him to play with us till his career is over.

I dont think rafa has as much faith in lucas as it seems, imo he is keen for him to do well and wants him to become alot like gerrard. He has started him so much due to Xabi's injury and dip in form from the injury and due to him wanting lucas to feel confident, Momo left and lucas stepped up a place. I think he is just hoping that lucas progresses well and is keen to show him that he has faith in him. Centre mid isnt an easy position to get into (especially in our side) especially when you are young and its tough to make your mark in the prem at CM coming up against the like of makalele, mascherano (i no lucas wont be up against him just an example).

Rafa seems to be making lucas confident that he is good enough to make it into our side and is trying to give him some time on the pitch so he can show him what the prem is all about and what he expects from him. I think rafa is now just looking to learn from his mistakes of this season. Next season i believe he will have, shifted the dead wood, stopped playing players out of position (maybe not alltogether but will do it alot less) and i think he will have brought in some players who naturally play in the positions we have players playing in (who arent naturally suited for playing there) e.g. babel left wing.

I think rafa is still learning about the prem and although he is a stubborn man he knows that he must learn what works and what doesnt in order to succeed. This season seems more like an experiment with the new players than a real title challenge and i hope rafa has learned from this season and takes his knowledge of the season into next and we can finally sustain a real title challenge for the course of the season.

There has been talk of Hicks giving rafa £50 million to spend in the summer (doubt it but we can hope) and of O'Neill wanting to tie up a £10 million deal for Scott Carson. Both of these things would do wonders for us as long as rafa gets rid of the players that need to move on.

Much has been said about Lucas, but I kept asking myself the question is he the right man to play in the middle? Let's be honest, being a Brazilian doesn't mean that you have the upper hand in everything and somehow he has to prove his talent and worth on the field. I'm not so worry that he's a rough diamond at the moment but by being so means Masch and Stevie would have to work doubly hard to cover Lucas, for how long, and that will take an extra toll on both players and will somehow affect the outcome of the game. Lucas being Lucas, he does not possses speed and toughness as Masc. and too lighweigh for my liking and teams in the EPL do not give you time to play and close you down fast and it's certainly no place for the weaklings. Call him a defensive midfielder, but he doesn't have the speed and competitiveness to close down the opposition fast enough, in fact the Boro midfielders just whizz past him and he never bother to track back to re-gain possession and he just continue to stroll in the middle of the park leading to Finnan giving him a verbal volley in the 52nd minute. If he had played beside Souness, he would have been slapped. Call him an attacking midfielder but he has got more back passes than necessary and does not move fast enough nor harass the opposition defenders enough. Yes, we could see the occassional flashes of brilllance in him but there'e more to it. Has he got an inflated ego now that he has played more often than Xabi? Rafa has got to do something, players given a chance to play, has to play his hearts out week in week out to keep their place in the team otherwise it's back to the bench or not featuring in the teamlist at all for the next game. I mean, no disrespect to Lucas, is he really suited to the PL. Speed, robustness, toughness, competitiveness either you have it or you don't and these are the qualities badly lacking in Lucas at the moment.

I came across an article and an excerpt from Anfield Iron Tommy Smith's on Lucas; The Brazilian is not as effective as Mascherano because he neither breaks up attacks like the Argentinian, nor do you ever see him bursting forward and providing a goal threat.”

Why? Simply he does not possess the speed, competitiveness and robustness. The old warrior cannot be too far wrong having played in the red shirt for 639 times and winning too many honours to mention. If Lucas were in the same team then as the Anfield Iron I'm afraid he has to wear a pair of ear plugs or he may get a few tight slaps here and there. But, honestly speaking I do sincerely hope that Lucas improves fast enough to complement Stevie and Masch., because we can't have too many passengers in our team.

He will progress well, he has a few things going against him at the moment, firstly his age and the pressure of being at liverpool at that age. Alot of expectation comes with joining liverpool, perhaps more than any other team there is. Our fans are quite demanding and if you dont impress early people wont take to you as well as they would at other sides and this is a good thing.

Lucas will be made into a much better player and there is no other team in the world where he could progress as well as he can at liverpool. When it comes to central midfielders no one else can touch us to be honest, we have the best all round midfielder in the world in the shape of stevie G, The best passer in the shape of Xabi, and the best Defensice midfielder in the shape of the monster Masch. Now i know when you come to a big club you know what is expected of you and that you have to perform, but i think it must be an extremely daunting thing having 3 world class players playing in your position in a team that you have just joined at 21 years of age. The trump card Lucas has is that he is so young that he has time to improve and seems like the type that is willing to learn from Stevie, Masch and Xabi. At the moment i do think he is in awe of the others but he is trying hard to prove his worth and learn well from the others.

He seems to have an element of all 3 of our other CM's in him and i think he will improve his strength aswell as his mental strength given time. If you look at the way he played in gremio you can see he has it in him and although that league is completely different you can see that given the confidence and right help, which i believe he will recieve from xabi stevie and javier, he will come good. The main problem he has at the moment is his physical strength but he will be taught how to hold off players, win the ball and tackle well aswell as improving his actual size. 

I am confident in Lucas and think rafa has picked up a gem of a player, he just needs time in my opinion. He is working in the toughest position to break into in our side which comes with pressure but i think he can handle it.

He isnt going anywhere he's already been great and will get better given more confidence to take people on, shoot, play through balls in to the front men and take control of games from the centre

sorry chap but I have totally disagree he has not been great he has been average to mediocre in my opion. Now if you had said Torres had been great that would be a correct assumption. Ive watch the lad play live (not on the tele) in nearly every game he has started this season and have to say he has some skills but is too weak to play in the middle at the moment, I reitterate what I said earlier he gets bullied off the ball fat too much.

Ok your opinion. I personally think he's been great and calling fernando great is an understatement in my opinion.

I think most of you are being a little harsh on the lad. From what I have seen , he looks a very promising player for the future and one with bags of potential. In some games he has looked out of sorts , but how old is he ? 20 ? , he is still learning his trade and he is not fully adapted to english football yet.

I would certainly keep him and see what happens with him. He is captain of Brazil under 21's , i tell you , you have to have something about you to have that status.

I think most of you are being a little harsh on the lad. From what I have seen , he looks a very promising player for the future and one with bags of potential. In some games he has looked out of sorts , but how old is he ? 20 ? , he is still learning his trade and he is not fully adapted to english football yet.

I agree Lucas hasn't set the world on fire but he's been quietly effective and just needs to develop his confidence. Fans have been constantly crying out all season for youngsters in the reserves to be given a shot, Lucas is one of the best of that bunch and we need to be patient with him. Same applies if some of the youngsters are given a shot next year or else forget the youth system and lets just buy proven.