QUOTE(hfi @ Sep 5 2011, 08:28 PM)
It's difficult to say what Rafa had in mind when he decided to mould Lucas into this DM type role but my guess it had something to do with Lucas's mentality. Back then we could all see his talent but one thing no one knew for certain was his personality. Maybe Rafa felt he had a certain aggresion or mental toughness that would be best suited for a DM type role. I mean if you look at players like Masc, Hamann, Makelele, Gatusso etc, they are all head strong type of characters. Lucas has the same trait, he was thrown into the deep end by Rafa, went through a shit storm and somehow got out stronger. I think Ferguson is doing the exact same thing with Anderson whos was also an attacking midfielder back in Brazil.
I agree with the Anderson comparison and that defensive mids need aggression. It's like in the good old days when players like Sounness and Smith would let you know they were around at the start of the game. They'd try to throw you off psychologically. It's unnerving for a midfielder who has just received the ball to know that his nemesis is zeroing down on him from his blindside, pressuring him into a quick pass. What I like about Lucas' attitude is he never complained despite openly receiving stick from fans during games. Reminds me of a certain Igor Biscan who just put his head down and got on with his job despite being thrust into a less than familiar role. In the case of our Croat, his report card read that he was an attacking minded midfielder but Houllier thought his height and ugly mug was best served intimidating big centreforwards at the back. Thankfully, Rafa, Hodgson and Kenny have decided to persevere with Lucas and he's adapted. Igor wasn't given that much time but if you consider how he played when thrust into Gerrard's position against Bayer Leverkusen, who knows how much better he could have been had he played there from day 1?
QUOTE(markblurberry @ Sep 5 2011, 11:40 PM)
Well, it is my personal opinion that hamann is the complete dm for me, of course he still have his weakness~ lack of pace, energy, flair etc, but if u consider his age, his competitiveness is unbelieavable...he may not provide the final killer pass, or 40 meters cross field pass, but, his crosses r good enough, n even better than masch n Lucas, so far...let not forget he heads better than masch, and also he can get the ball out from danger better after defenders head out from 18 yards..again in my humble opinion, hamann n Alonso r almost like for like, but I haven't see this in Lucas...yet. Let's hope he can develop into 1 soon
The thing about players like Hamann and Mascherano, is that you can almost forgive them for not having flair, or not being able to pass 40 yards. From a team perspective, their presence allows players with those traits more time on the ball, and the freedom to roam forward whilst neglecting their defensive duties for a bit. Most people would have thought that bringing on Hamann at half-time in Istanbul in place of a more attacking minded Steve Finnan was a defensive move, but this allowed Stevie to push further forward. No surprise then that our captain got our first goal and won a penalty for our third as he burst free in the Milan box. Of course playing a defensive role and having attacking abilities isn't mutually exclusive. It's what makes Alonso that much more special. Lucas is different entirely. He isn't expected to play long passes from deep. What he does is he provides linkup play between defence and midfield with simple, short passes.
This post has been edited by Duke Red: Sep 6 2011, 09:51 AM 
Sep 5 2011, 04:23 PM
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lucky we get rid of purslow and Lucas being choosen as best player of the year 2011.
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