Regular contributor 'The Main (Stand) Man' has delivered his Pre Season match reports, now he turns his attention (& vast Kop knowledge) towards the positives of pre season...On paper, it would seem as though the pre-season has been almost devoid of positives for Liverpool, with a string of unconvincing results punctuated only by a large win against Singapore and injury worries to some key players particularly in defence. However, if we delve a little deeper, we can find some reasons to be cheerful in advance of the new season. I'll be running my top 5 every day this week and the first one is:
1) The form of Lucas Leiva: the Brazilian has been one of the most impressive performers throughout most of the fixtures to date. His form had shown signs of improving towards the end of last season, with good performances against the likes of Manchester United at Old Trafford and Chelsea in the Champions League Semi Final second leg at Stamford Bridge. Whilst he has still not won over most fans completely (and yes I include myself within that), he should be commended for his courage in coming through some of the criticism he has faced in the last 18 months. It seems that he is now playing the kind of game that won him the captaincy of the Brazil Under 21 side, playing the easy ball instead of looking for the perfect pass too often. This is a style of play that suits him better than an all-action outlook, a role which can be filled by Mascherano. Whilst it is unlikely that Lucas will ever be a direct replacement for Xabi Alonso, Liverpool fans can at least expect to see him provide some positive contributions to the side.
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