Lucas Leiva- Reminds of Myself Playing for Liverpool.

Sliding: It's about all he's good for.

What exactly does Lucas Leiva bring to the Liverpool set up. I feel bad criticising the guy because it's not his fault that he is patently not up to it. I'm sure if someone put me into the Liverpool team I'd look out of my depth as well and no doubt be the subject of ridicule by unscrupulous and talentless bloggers. It's more or less the same thing. Lucas neither looks nor plays like a professional footballer. If he has proven to be unpopular with the Liverpool supporters this season, it is only because he is useless and unfit to wear the shirt. Considering the amount of thrash that have worshipped the Kop since their last Championship win, it is fair to say that Liverpool supporters generally have a high tolerance for bad players. You actually need to be exceptional to incur their wrath.

One would have to assume that Rafa Benitez knows what he's doing by selecting him in the first place. It's just that I can't for the life see what his contribution is out on the field. Rafa seems to have warmed to the player in a big way. This might be just because Lucas is the type of player who keeps his head down and appears to work hard. He is a team player as long as no responsibility actually falls on his shoulders.

He was worse than useless against Chelsea tonight. I couldn't believe he started. Surely Ryan Babel should have been in the team if Albert Reira was going to be left out. Lucas brings nothing to the table. It was after all a game Liverpool had to win, Babel is an attacking player and one of Liverpool's freshest going into the closing stages of the season. He has hardly played at all this year.

Forget tonight's game though, one incident from the first leg is significant too. To me at least. I suppose in reality players do this all the time and I complain but nobody seems to think it matters. Maybe it doesn't. I think it does. I think Roy Keane has spoken about it but then Roy is a bit mental so maybe we're both wrong. With the first leg finely poised at 1-1, Alonso played a pass to Lucas shortly before half time. He had time and space and was just outside the box in front of the goals. Alonso being Alonso, the pass was inch perfect. Lucas contrived to blast the ball high into the stands when simply hitting the target would have been a disappointing outcome.

I don't mind that because I wouldn't expect anything less from him. Sometimes my technique lets me down too. What annoyed me was that as he turned to jog back to the centre circle, he had a big happy smile on his face as if to say "what a klutz I am". He was actually laughing about wasting a golden opportunity in a game Chelsea were slowly taking control of.

At least that didn't cost them a goal. Tonight Lucas showed his worth by failing to block Nicolas Anelka's cross for Chelsea's opener. That delivery should never have been made. It looked innocuous enough when Anelka picked it up. Aurelio and Lucas appeared to have it covered. Aurelio pushed Anelka out to the touchline, Lucas failed to block the cross. Chelsea scored.

For Alex's goal, Chelsea's second Lucas was the first man in the Liverpool wall. He also turned his back on the shot as it whistled past him and into the centre of the Liverpool goal. It was hit with great power but Lucas should have blocked it, instead he got out of the way. I've done it myself from time to time. It's only a game at the end of the day and I have no intention of having my face rearranged over a game of five a side. Good old Lucas, it's like seeing yourself playing for Liverpool.

I don't know what was going through his mind when he nicked the ball away from Petr Cech after Kuyt's through ball. Whatever it was, I would have executed a U-turn in an arctic in the time it took him to turn around, get his head up and try to make hay of the situation.

He did manage to dispossess Ashley Cole at least at 3-2 down. He proceeded to put his head down and run in a straight line towards the Chelsea half. I'm not sure where he expected to end up but he didn't get very far before Frank Lampard came in and took the ball off him in much the same way as I'm sure Frank would take the ball off me if he ever joined our five-a-side.

I started taking notes of how bad he was in anticipation of writing this blog, then he threatened to prove me wrong by scoring Liverpool's third. It doesn't prove me wrong. It was a pathetic, weak shot which hit off Michael Essein, wrong footed Cech and bobbled into the corner. In fact I think Essein hit it with his arm when he should have just let it run back to his keeper. Maybe he thought it was a through ball. Maybe he knew the game was over and was just been mischievous. That's what it looked like anyway.

He looks like a decent chap and I hate to criticise him. I'm sure his benevolence has rescued thousands of street urchins from the Favella's of his native Brazil. The problem is that he just doesn't look up to playing for Liverpool. In my view, he cost them the game tonight and not for the first time either.