Alonso or Lucas?

mooks · April 20, 2008

After the Arsenal tie, I suggested Lucas should replace Xabi in the semi-final matches. I see most of us had Lucas in the top 3 today and he also did well in the second half against Blackburn.

Alonso was once again abysmal in his brief performance, nearly giving away a goal and being caught in possession on at least two other occasions.

While Lucas still has a way to go and may never have the physique to be an automatic first choice in our team, he is deceptively good at breaking up play by sticking his foot in. He shows excellent awareness in the last third - something which has deserted Alonso for two years now. He complements Mascherano extremely well and had a good game at Stamford Bridge earlier this year. He didn't dwell on the ball at all against Fulham and is a natural at keeping the ball moving quickly and intelligently.

About the only area I can think of in which Alonso is better than him is at pinging 40 yard balls out to the wings to change the direction of play - not a bad arrow to have in your quiver but one which hardly makes up for his other shortcomings.

So who to start on Tuesday - Alonso or Lucas?

McBain · April 20, 2008