Also in the first half of last season we had Dan Fox playing left back and Lallana in front of him, which left us ridiculously weak at times. Lallana's fitness levels weren't quite up to it and he was fairly regularly subbed off in the second half (still is somewhat, to be fair). I remember a couple of games of the Fox/Lallana left side combo and it was just a nightmare.
The transformation of Lallana as a player this season is incredible. He was always talented, of course. But he's added so much to his all round game now that there's no trade off to be had, he offers the skill and creativity while also putting in a bloody good shift and doing the defensive side.