Flight

I've spent an hour or two this morning searching the internet, to find out more about Lucas, and reading the existing threads on this and other LFC sites. I have to say, it looks like I've greatly underestimated him and I think a lot of others have too. Folks will probably have seen the compilation which is half way down this page. Probably also know that he is currently the holder of the Bola de Ouro (Brazils player of the year), in very distinguished company. What I've found surprising is how knowledgable Brazils fans are across their forums about European football (including LFC) and just how highly Lucas is rated by all of them and by folks in other countries around the world. It seems its only in this country he is somewhat anonymous. Gremio have been forced to sell him to balance their finances and it looks like we paid what they asked, without haggling, to get him quick before anyone else came in. They also seem to understand the intracasies of different formations and don't see him as a DM in the way we seem to. They have more names for different positions in CM and AM than we do. These quotes are typical of their responses and feelings about him : As to myself, I prefer the "new Falcao" and not the "Brazilian Gerrard" Most Europeans that talked to me about Lucas had the impression that he is a defensive midfielder, and did not understand the function of second volante, until i gave them some examples. i do not want to repeat myself as we discussed it in the transfers and rumors thread and everything was said there, I recommend to Canalla and European members interested to understand about Lucas, to read it there I do not agree with you, Leone, about Lucas being more defensive. he is very talented and inteligent and also gives everything of himself so he can do many things , but the thing he does best, in my humble opinion is his projection asisting the attack, and he is always better when he has a real volante de contencion behind him. At the same time he is seen as being closer to Vieira than Gerrard. It is a fact that most of you do not appreciate him, think that Xavi Alonso is better , ect. SO what shoud i say? And as to the red colour, it is the color of International, the city rival, the most hated colour in Gremio, nothing to do with you Furthermore, the Liverpool site did not even mentioned the deal. for you it is nothing, just a "prospect". For us he is everything. He is the best player of gremio, the captain of the young NT, a hero and an idol in RS and all Brasil, so what do you want? no growing up on my side will ease the frustration that we, his fans, feel I will be only too happy if you prove me wrong and he wil flourish in Liverpool, believe me . I want the best for him. If we have to lose him for money, so at least I want him to be happy and succeed, he deserves it as a person and a football player. Such persons does not grow on trees. they are rare , and should be nourished hes got tackling like mascherano,sissoko hes got passing like fabregas,guti (short defence cutting passes) not long he shoots like gerrard he dribles like kaka and lastly hes got energy like essien Falcao, Cerezo, are not Defensive Middlefield in the sense of the word. They are what was called here "medio-volantes" and not "cabeça-de-areas", Those players are responsable for organizing the middlefield, not covering the defense like DMs should do. However, people put all in the same pack this style of player and the DMs, because in europe, either you are a dm or a playmaker. They are just limited about football, what to do Anyways, Lucas is not a DM in the Mauro Silva, Gilberto Silva, etc. sense, and I think he is not Gerrard like (perhaps spirit/leadership) player either. Overall, I'm really excited about what I've found out. The prospect of Masch, Lucas and Gerrard playing together is mouth watering. It will also provide the competition for Xabi and Momo, IF they stay. really can't see both of them being ehre next term.

Big Brother has started. You won't be able to get hold of Parry until August. If there are any public sightings of him it is a blow up dummy complete with statements made up of extracts from previously recorded interviews (see article this week in which he says Rafa is still interested in Simao).

I think its fair to say Rafa has the measure of them. We have absolutely battered them twice in the recent past, only to lose to lucky last minute goals. I've never seen another team totally dominate and neutralise them in the last decade, the way we did in the game that Ferdinand scored, not even Milan. Think I'm right in saying that was their first corner and first shot on goal. in that game ?

Nani isn't as unproven as some people are making out. He's got a half dozen caps for his country and is at about the same stage of his development as Rooney was at the same age. Nanis strengths versus Rooneys dictate he has more potential for faster development. I think this is a massive buy for the Mancs. More than that it points to a very different future for them. These are buys for Queiroz more than Taggart. I've said for a long time Quieroz is more important than Taggart now, with regards to the way they play. They are now building for Quieroz to take over from the jock twunt. I predict we will see even less of Taggart and a gradual take over by Queiroz of all team affairs, leading up to Taggart retiring. They are starting to show the tenacity they always had with the attacking flair of a Barca. Nobody expected them to be able to spend £50mill on three players this summer. These are massive buys for them and people are underestimating them. At the same time, f*** them. Rafa has the measure of them.

Hope for Parrys sake Nani wasn't on Rafas list of targets.

He oftens swaps position with the left back for club and country, mid game. Definitely a Rafa type of player - possibilities. It did occur to me that he might be an option for us at LB.

Some people don't play enough Championship Manager. In CM there is a hidden stat for how much a player can improve. Some players have absolutely no ability to improve after they are 21; some even go backwards. If Wayne Rooney has a small number, say a 4 or a 5, in this stat then he will not get any better. Tevez has a 19 out of 20 here and would clearly be a better signing.

Please don't let this be true.

The problem is that Xabi has only two years left on his contract and can buy himself out for about £5-6M. Tricky situation for Rafa to handle if we do decide to sell him.

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He's prepared to go to any lengths to get the contract he wants.

Was a fair question. Bascombe is clearly questioning whether the Americans will come good on the promises of investment for players. Either : i) he is looking to strengthen the managers hand and push the Americans into coming up with the goods immediately, or ii) he is s*** stirring and writing sensationally to get the fans back up, or iii) he has genuine doubts about whether the Americans will invest much in players, outside of sales. I'd bet on i) personally, with a slight hint of ii) being used to pursue it.

We're inf or some Greek lad, called Zikos Patagoniad, according to RAWK.

At the same time as they have : i) Parry rescuing the deteriorating relationship between Rafa and Hicks/Gillette and ii) Lampard and Terry leaving the Chavs. Finger on the pulse that paper, as always

I've got no axe to grind with him other than I think he isn't competent at the level he is operating. 1. When he worked at the Prem League his nickname was Mickey Mouse, because of his ability not his ties. 2. People with contacts on RAWK and TLW have consistently told stories about his incompetence when it has come to signing people or renewing contracts. On its own that could be internet myth but we know for a fact he let Owens contract run down to less than 12 months and that he nearly let Stevie leave us at a time he wanted to sign a new contract. When he solved that problem, which he created, at the very last minute he didn't tell Rafa he went to the press and milked it, while Rafa was still on the phone trying to find replacements. 3. He is responsible for admin and marketing at our club. This to me is the most obvious example of his incompetence. Our club is a joke, in this respect, and has been for years. 4. Rafa has come out publically and slated his incompetence when it comes to enabling transfers. Rafa and Parry now have no working relationship. This was obvious last week, before the CL Final, when Parry said the CL is a nice trophy to win but the league is our priority. Thats clearly a swipe at Rafa. People knock Rafa for saying some of this but Shanks did exactly the same thing a lot of time and dragged the club by the scruff of the directors neck to greatness. If he hadn't we wouldn't have had such a great history. I'm sure Rafa does what is necessary to ensure our future.

We don't need to be getting into your personal life, mate. Do you think we should consider employing him though ?

You're misrepresenting what he has said. He has not complained about how much he has had to spend. He has complained about incompetence from Parry ruining transfer deals he has arranged. We all assumed that the club only moved for Simao on the last day of the season, yet we now know Rafa was in touch with him daily for a fair time before, for example. People are happy that its nothing to do with the club that Rafa didn't have a room to sleep in the night of the Champions League Final. Thats b******s. Details like that should be checked and double checked by the club. That falls under Parys remit. Imagine how pissed off we were when we saw Zendens name on the start sheet for the Final. Multiply that by about ten and we can start to imagine how Rafa felt having to field him, rather than Simao. People aren't happy with Rafa pulling up Parry and the board about incompetence and getting what he wants/needs ? Shanks did it all the time. If he didn't we would have forever been a mid table team. Cimmitment to excellence rather than incompetence is all he wants.

Rafa never said that. Each time we have failed to get Rafas first choice the club have spinned it one way or another with various excuses. rather than rock the boat Rafa has said vague things to cover the club. Now he has clearly come out and said we haven't got his first choice targets in the past because of incompetence and dithering by Parry. The only question is whether you believe him or whether he is a liar.

Its uncanny how often Rafa reminds me of Shanks, the thing he does, his commitment, the things his says and his uncompromising demand for perfection. Its made me laugh a litle bit inside reading folks say how its not very Liverpool like or professional of Rafa to complain about poor perfomance of the business side of the club. Shanks did exactly the same thing so often, even threatening to leave, if things didn't get done to his demanding standards or if he didn't get what he needed. I'm certain that without it we wouldn't have such a glorious past. His recent comments about how as a club we deserve so much respect and about what he wants to build us into remind me of Shanks in so many ways and even his commitment to building Anfiend into a bastion of invincibility. What things remind you about Shanks in Rafa ? Feel free to use this thread as an excuse to repost some of Shanks or Rafas quotes, with or without reference to the other.

Well said. Exactly how I feel about it. Rafa has kept his mouth shut and backed the administration at LFC to the point we have often been led to believe its his doing. On his recent statements, none of it was.

Spotted this in the rafa thread. Jefferson Farfan is on his list of targets. 18 goals in 30 domestic games last term for PSV. They paid only 2mill euros for him three years ago, therefore only one or two years left on his contract. He is talking about offers from other clubs (Sevilla !) so he is on the move. Still only 22, incidentally. Obligatory compilation clip : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6855304001208940369 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle1845157.ece A lack of funds in the pre-American era, coupled with what Benitez sees as Parry?s less-than-dynamic modus operandi, saw the manager put a deal in place for Nemanja Vidic, only to be gazumped by Manchester United. Simao Sabrosa was so keen to join Liverpool last summer he was sending messages to Benitez until transfer deadline day, but ended up staying at Benfica. He is back on Benitez?s shopping list along with Gabriel Milito, Jefferson Farfan, David Silva, David Villa and Samuel Eto?o.

I don't think its laughable at all. The fact of the matter is hardly any of our wingers or forwards are good enough to be English or European Champions. Our keeper, defence and centre midfielders are. Thats because the seven or eight options we had for both wings and up front cost a combined £20 odd million. So our entire options up front and for the wings cost us little more than Carrick or Hargreaves cost the Mancs. Whether Rafa could have done better than those players with the funds he has spent is a separate question, which we probably also disagree about. I also think some peoples assessment of Milans players is ungracious. Their total dismantling of the Mancs was terrific football to watch, not some fluke. At the same time as playing beautiful expansive football, some of the Milan players being called ordinary had Ronaldo et al in their pocket. No mean feat. Rafas tactical genius was what made they look so ordinary and unsettled in the Final. I respect your opinion, I guess we just disagree about how good our attacking force is and how good/poor Milans players are.

Its largely debatable; the only one I would disagree about would be Inzaghi, even though I don't like him. His runs were timed to perfection. Essentially what you are saying is the difference between us and them is a small number of players like Kaka. I don't disagree with you - but then the small numbers of players capable of winning games is what we are short of at the moment. We need wingers, forwards and game winners. I agree with you that our defence, keeper and central midfield is fine. From Bascombes article : In the early hours of the morning, as Benitez pondered what to say at Thursday’s press conference, he was strolling the streets around the team hotel because he had no room to sleep in. http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpo...-name_page.html But theres nothing wrong with adminstration at our club; honest. If we did leave it to EUFA, there is no excuse for not checking things out for ourselves.