I don't think anyone thought Lucas and Mash was a suitable partnership last season and this year we've struggled at times with a partnership of Poulsen and Lucas. In fact it was horrible to watch. Neither player knew what their role was, who was to sit, who was to bomb forward and who was to try control the play. They seemed to shunt it backwards and sideways and Roy forced us to painfully watch Raul Meireles do a 'job' out wide when everyone and their mother cried for him to be moved infield. Poulsen had to make way, Lucas was out performing him and at least Lucas gave us 110%.
Overall you could say Lucas has had a positive first half of the season. His highlight being Chelsea at home where he and Gerrard bossed the middle of the park and his low point being a dismal performance and sending off against Stoke. He is full of energy and is showing a lot of courage in his play which can be depicted in his 50/50 with Palacios last weekend. He seems to playing a lot of forward balls and his confidence levels have risen. All encouraging signs.
Many of us have had concerns over Lucas and his inclusion in our first team . Many continued to wear their blindfolds and didnt notice his improvements but at the same time many (Rawkites) remained blind to his limitations.
I don't see many unique qualities in him that could take us forward, no clear signs of pace or power, he isn't a destroyer (Masher) nor a playmaker/quarterback (Alonso) and he doesn't show a knack of scoring goals (Gerrard). However he has formed a tidy understanding with Raul which is a great sign. Meireles is a classy player and a player Lucas has needed alongside him. Meireles seems to be able to quicken the tempo, move the ball and set up attacks. It would have been fantastic if we had Masher and Meireles last year.
I still think we can do better than Lucas in such a crucial position but I am happy he has improved and I will cheer him on each game. I don't think he can take us forward as an individual but if he keeps playing like he did against Chelsea and Villa then he may well become an asset for us which is good for our squad. I still think people are camping themselves in either extreme although the 'haters' are warming to him a lot more and rightly so. His superfans are creaming themselves with his signs of improvement but we still need to give it time before we can judge whether Lucas has really turned a corner with us. i.e. Will we see one good game followed by two mediocre games. Everyone is allowed average games, christ we've been average for most of them this season and it is nice to see Lucas go from just neat and tidy to actually trying to impact a game. Fair play to him and long may it continue. Anyone keeping Poulsen off the pitch will always have my support.
