Some fans through the last few years:

Before his injury he was the best on form for atleast 12 months..

" he was poor at the start of his Liverpool career"

rubbish

people wanted him to be some flair Brazilian, or a xabi or mascherano in style.

when he wasn't people were disappointed and were negative.

but over time people started appreciating what he offered. It wasn't flash stuff so it took a while to sink in.

He's been very good from the outset. If you get a chance watch him on LFCtv in an old match when he had the hair

pretty much the same player - you just didn't know it at the time

my 2p

Comment Deleted by Site Moderator

Lucas was lightweight when he started his career in England. A lot of fans also thought he should be playing as an attacking midfielder, rather than a defensive one which I never got. For much of his early career there seemed to be a question mark about where he should play and this was further muddied when getting into advanced positions he would have a nosebleed. Once that was clarified by playing as a DM he has blossomed.

Once he got stronger physically, which must have taken a bit of work in the gym, he has looked a good player. Comparisons with his competition at the time (Alonso, Gerrard and Mascherano) were understandable, but slightly unfair, because each one of those players are and certainly were, absolutely top class.

Benitez's first interview re Lucas....

"I am looking forward to seeing him score goals for Liverpool in the future and [we] believe he has the mentality and the character you need to do well in England".

it probably came from quotes like this...

But Lucas WAS sh|ite,
=============================================
I didn't think he was. He was young, and therefore not the finished article, but you could see the potential. as you can with Hendo.

The thing is, we were in danger of driving him out, before that potential was realised, which would be a bad precedent for other young players. His attitude, in response to this, was hugely impressive.

When he was on top form, just before his injury, comparisons with Masch were not far-fetched. Bolton at home, last season, sticks out in my memory. Charlie Adam kept leaving him in the lurch, by vacating the midfield when Bolton attacked, but he just coped with it on his own, sweeping up behind.
He was awesome, in that match.

" he was poor at the start of his Liverpool career"

rubbish

people wanted him to be some flair Brazilian, or a xabi or mascherano in style.

when he wasn't people were disappointed and were negative.

but over time people started appreciating what he offered. It wasn't flash stuff so it took a while to sink in.

He's been very good from the outset. If you get a chance watch him on LFCtv in an old match when he had the hair

pretty much the same player - you just didn't know it at the time

my 2p
-----------------------------
He was lightweight, gave away to many fouls and his ball retention wasn't the best!

gave away to many fouls
================================================
So did Mascherano, it’s an occupational hazard of that job. It’s true that he’s improved in that respect, but you were judging him when he was 20. Nor could I see anything all that wrong with his ball retention: the stats didn’t tend to back up this criticism of him.

Of course, all those who moaned that he was sh ite now have to rationalise it by saying that he improved out of all recognition, and that this could not have been foreseen, because otherwise they’d have to take the monstrous, unthinkable step of admitting they were wrong.

But forgive those of us who didn’t think he was sh ite in the first place for being suspicious of this. There isn’t an alchemist in the world who can turn sh ite into gold: there has to be something there in the first place, and the fact that you couldn’t see it doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.

Personally, I could never work out why, when we failed to break down a team who had “parked the bus”, we couldn’t find any words of criticism for the creative players, but still managed to blame Lucas, who was playing as a DM.

The alternative is to buy players already proven and at or reaching their peak, like City and Chelsea do. We did that with Torres, but we can’t afford to do it for the whole team, so what we need is a bit of understanding and patience from the fans, otherwise we’re out of options.

kemlyn

Kash I have to say I'm in agreement with Insert.

Your posts are very here and now, Allen has not been found out, he is out of form! It happens

He started well as Brendan and him worked at Swansea, however Brendan is implementing his new philosophy at Liverpool only this time its not built around Allen, so since Gerrards deeper role, he is caught in 2 minds - do I attack do I defend! Time is all this team needs and a bit of patience