Liverpool's Lucas Fully Deserves His New Deal and Our Respect

Every club has a player that will disappoint and frustrate its fans.

Initial excitement at a new signing turns into trepidation when they don't start right away and have no impact from the substitute bench. This, in turn, can become frustration and anger when said player just doesn't seem to be fitting in.

Relief may come when the player finally finds his feet, when he's shipped out on loan (thanks for your contribution Paul Konchesky) or out the exit door permanently.

Earlier this week, Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva committed his future to Liverpool and it was a suitable reward for a season when he has really shown some quality. Lucas has become an integral part of this Liverpool side and has thankfully kept Christian Poulsen away from the first team.

He has undergone quite a transformation and it is with great surprise that I can say I am genuinely happy to have him in Liverpool's Starting XI.

Lucas was signed by Rafa Benitez back in 2007 for around $8 million. This is $27 million less than Chelsea paid for Ramires and $20 less than Manchester United payed for Michael Carrick.

Benitez saw an energetic young attacking midfielder who had excelled in Brazil's national youth team and, at 20 years old, would be a good investment for the future.

Cue disappointment.

Ask any Liverpool fan what they thought of Lucas in his first few seasons with the club and (myself included) you'd likely be on the receiving end of a grimace and a slow shake of the head.

Simply put, he was rubbish.

It was obvious that Lucas was trying his hardest, but a combination of luck and expectations painted him as a disappointment.

He was comfortable on the ball and possessed a Premier League worthy constitution, but his lack of composure in front of goal and wayward passing let him down. The 2008/2009 season was a great one for Liverpool, and the form and brilliance of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano in midfield kept Lucas on the bench or in Cup matches.

Interestingly, Benitez was the Brazilian's biggest supporter: "People just don't know how good Lucas is," he would say.

After the departure of Alonso in the summer of 2009, Lucas partnered Mascherano in Liverpool's engine room and expectations of him skyrocketed to fill Xabi's cultured boots. He couldn't, but the majority of fans' anger was misguided, as Lucas was and never will be a deep lying play-maker in the Alonso mold.

With Alberto Aquilani in the treatment room and failing to impress Benitez enough to play him, the burden of creativity in midfield suddenly fell on Lucas' shoulders. Simply put: We were asking him to do things that he wasn't brought in to do; it would have been like asking Andrei Voronin to score goals—oh wait!

Liverpool's lackluster 2009/2010 season highlighted a dearth of intelligent passes coming through to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres and we paid for it.

Once Mascherano was shipped out to sit on the bench at Barcelona, Lucas was able to make the holding role his own, and he really hasn't looked back since. Perhaps this is the player that Benitez envisioned when he made the move for Lucas.

While not quite at Mascherano's level, the Brazilian has been the platform for all of Liverpool's forays and has been a constant under Roy Hodgson as well as Kenny Dalglish.

I will always thank Hodgson and remember him kindly because he was responsible for bringing Raul Meireles to Anfield if nothing else. With the Portuguese beside him, Lucas has turned into a key component of this side and no longer burdened with an expectation to build attacks, he can quietly go about his business.

Despite his uselessness only a few years back, during his entire time at Liverpool, Lucas has been a consummate professional and tireless worker. Despite being criticized by the press and Red's fans alike, he simply keeps his head down and improves his game.

Liverpool's central midfield is far from a finished article and the idea of adding the likes of a Charlie Adam to further bolster out attacking options would only make things better.

What's certain is that Lucas will be a mainstay of the side for years to come, showing younger hopefuls like Jay Spearing and Jonjo Shelvey what it takes to succeed as Liverpool's anchor.

I never thought I'd say it and it seemed that Liverpool would win the Premier League before this thought would enter my consciousness.

Lucas, I'm glad to have you.