Joe Allen
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That 'Welsh Xavi' tag was always ludicrous, but Joe Allen turning into a magnificent player
Scott Murray looks at Joe Allen, who has turned around his career after years of underachievement - and has finally become the magnificent player he'd always promised to be.
By Eurosport4 March 2015 10:38
There's a whole lot of over-thinkin' goin' on.
Last night, Tony Pulis sent his West Bromwich Albion team out at Aston Villa in a neat 4-4-2 formation. Whoever was in charge of the on-screen graphics at BT Sport couldn't quite bring themselves to accept this.
Craig Gardner and James Morrison were teased up the wings a bit, away from their midfield partners, while Saido Berahino was nudged back into the Nandor Hidegkuti role, presumably with a view to making Albion's team shape look a bit more esoteric, modish, progressive. And yet there really was no need. It's OK to play in a 4-4-2. It's not been outlawed quite yet. It still does a job, there's no shame in it, no need for denial.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, chances are it'll go down pretty well slathered in juniper jus and served up with a large glass of burgundy.
Another case in point: Joe Allen. Until recently, at least.
For far too long since taking the step up from Swansea City to Liverpool, Allen had, well, failed to take the step up. Sections of the support, and plenty of the commentariat, would bend over backwards in their attempts to justify his performances - usually engaging the intellectually dishonest argument that, if you can't see him doing the Simple Things Well, then hey, you don't understand football at all.
Except those arguments simply didn't hold water. Fans of rationalisation can try to dress it up, but for large chunks of his Liverpool career Allen had disappointed. He'd not been awful, but neither had he lived up to the bustling early promise of his days with Swansea and Wales.
Joe Allen - ineffective against Man City in August (FourFourTwo Stats Zone)
Injury hadn't helped, and neither did being lumbered with that ludicrous "Welsh Xavi" monicker, a dead weight not quite of "New George Best" proportions, but an unrealistic millstone nonetheless. Liverpool require a consistent standard of excellence if they're ever to achieve their goals, and Allen's displays had been, barring a couple of admirably level-headed efforts amid the meltdowns and the maelstrom of last season's run-in, average at best.
Two things belie the lie. Firstly, doing the Simple Things Well isn't a craft so subtle that only the self-appointed tactical cognoscenti can sense it going on. We could spot Claude Makelele doing the Simple Things Well. We could spot Roy Keane doing the Simple Things Well. We could spot Didi Hamann and Lucas doing the Simple Things Well. To varying degrees, they were all rather good at it, and the importance of their actions was glaringly obvious.
Allen's relative anonymity, by comparison, wasn't a function of some clever, wily, modern-day, smoke-and-mirrors hustle. Nor was he a precision cog whirring silently in the back of the clock. It was all simple enough, if you paid attention to the Duck Rule: he really was anonymous for large chunks of the time, turning in five-out-of-ten performances at an eight-out-of-ten price.
It's important to acknowledge Allen's ineffectual years to realise the second fact belying the lie - because here's the rub: the Joe Allen of today, the here and now, the one who walked around, through, and all over Manchester City's champion midfield last weekend, is a magnificent player.
This Joe Allen is the real deal. By finally taking the step up, he's outed the old version as bog standard - and inadvertently shown up those who previously talked him up as tactical pseuds or, being a little kinder, well-meaning dreamers. Allen against City - and recently against Crystal Palace, Southampton, and Besiktas, for this is a genuine, marked and sustained upturn in form - was immense. Yes, he did the Simple Things Well: pressing, harrying, breaking up play, hovering on opponents' shoulders, snapping into tackles. Which, in fairness, he's done from the get-go; he's always given his all. But in these recent matches his contribution has become tangible. With the ball won, he has begun to expedite, rather than passively laying off and drifting back into the comfort zone. He's passed forward metronomically, crisply and quickly, driven into space, dropped a shoulder to ease past challenges, a dip in his hip and a glide in his stride, showing confidence that's never been on display before - or not at Anfield anyway.
Joe Allen - dynamic against Man City in August (FourFourTwo Stats Zone)
Suddenly he appears a different beast, making a bid for midfield dominance, a force for the opposition to worry about for the first time. Presence. Check his pockets for Yaya Toure. Phillipe Coutinho and Adam Lallana took all the plaudits against City, of course, as fancy-dan attackers with twinkling toes tend to. And both were indeed majestic. But Allen was on a different plane, the real man of the match in Liverpool's best display of the post-Suarez era, one which might serve as a pivotal moment in this side's development should the player maintain his new level, assume a leader's role, and keep taking games by the scruff of the neck like this.
And about time too: he turns 25 this month, his peak years arriving right about now. Enjoy yourself, Joe, it's later than you think.
Allen is a shy, modest, likeable figure, so there's always a danger he might at some point shrink back into the shell he curled up in during the period between 2012 to 2014. Which is exactly why it's so important to acknowledge and accept the limited success of those early years at Anfield. Never go back.
But the current signs suggest he might be finally working things out on the big stage, which would be very much to Liverpool's benefit, especially as the new terrain of the post-Gerrard era opens out in front of them.
Let's keep things in perspective, though: Liverpool are still waiting for their Welsh Xavi, and while Allen is still getting better the Reds will probably carry on waiting a long time for a player of that stature. But a Welsh Hamann or Cymru Lucas would be more than acceptable for now.
Scott Murray looks at Joe Allen, who has turned around his career after years of underachievement - and has finally become the magnificent player he'd always promised to be.
By Eurosport4 March 2015 10:38
There's a whole lot of over-thinkin' goin' on.
Last night, Tony Pulis sent his West Bromwich Albion team out at Aston Villa in a neat 4-4-2 formation. Whoever was in charge of the on-screen graphics at BT Sport couldn't quite bring themselves to accept this.
Craig Gardner and James Morrison were teased up the wings a bit, away from their midfield partners, while Saido Berahino was nudged back into the Nandor Hidegkuti role, presumably with a view to making Albion's team shape look a bit more esoteric, modish, progressive. And yet there really was no need. It's OK to play in a 4-4-2. It's not been outlawed quite yet. It still does a job, there's no shame in it, no need for denial.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, chances are it'll go down pretty well slathered in juniper jus and served up with a large glass of burgundy.
Another case in point: Joe Allen. Until recently, at least.
For far too long since taking the step up from Swansea City to Liverpool, Allen had, well, failed to take the step up. Sections of the support, and plenty of the commentariat, would bend over backwards in their attempts to justify his performances - usually engaging the intellectually dishonest argument that, if you can't see him doing the Simple Things Well, then hey, you don't understand football at all.
Except those arguments simply didn't hold water. Fans of rationalisation can try to dress it up, but for large chunks of his Liverpool career Allen had disappointed. He'd not been awful, but neither had he lived up to the bustling early promise of his days with Swansea and Wales.
Joe Allen - ineffective against Man City in August (FourFourTwo Stats Zone)
Injury hadn't helped, and neither did being lumbered with that ludicrous "Welsh Xavi" monicker, a dead weight not quite of "New George Best" proportions, but an unrealistic millstone nonetheless. Liverpool require a consistent standard of excellence if they're ever to achieve their goals, and Allen's displays had been, barring a couple of admirably level-headed efforts amid the meltdowns and the maelstrom of last season's run-in, average at best.
Two things belie the lie. Firstly, doing the Simple Things Well isn't a craft so subtle that only the self-appointed tactical cognoscenti can sense it going on. We could spot Claude Makelele doing the Simple Things Well. We could spot Roy Keane doing the Simple Things Well. We could spot Didi Hamann and Lucas doing the Simple Things Well. To varying degrees, they were all rather good at it, and the importance of their actions was glaringly obvious.
Allen's relative anonymity, by comparison, wasn't a function of some clever, wily, modern-day, smoke-and-mirrors hustle. Nor was he a precision cog whirring silently in the back of the clock. It was all simple enough, if you paid attention to the Duck Rule: he really was anonymous for large chunks of the time, turning in five-out-of-ten performances at an eight-out-of-ten price.
It's important to acknowledge Allen's ineffectual years to realise the second fact belying the lie - because here's the rub: the Joe Allen of today, the here and now, the one who walked around, through, and all over Manchester City's champion midfield last weekend, is a magnificent player.
This Joe Allen is the real deal. By finally taking the step up, he's outed the old version as bog standard - and inadvertently shown up those who previously talked him up as tactical pseuds or, being a little kinder, well-meaning dreamers. Allen against City - and recently against Crystal Palace, Southampton, and Besiktas, for this is a genuine, marked and sustained upturn in form - was immense. Yes, he did the Simple Things Well: pressing, harrying, breaking up play, hovering on opponents' shoulders, snapping into tackles. Which, in fairness, he's done from the get-go; he's always given his all. But in these recent matches his contribution has become tangible. With the ball won, he has begun to expedite, rather than passively laying off and drifting back into the comfort zone. He's passed forward metronomically, crisply and quickly, driven into space, dropped a shoulder to ease past challenges, a dip in his hip and a glide in his stride, showing confidence that's never been on display before - or not at Anfield anyway.
Joe Allen - dynamic against Man City in August (FourFourTwo Stats Zone)
Suddenly he appears a different beast, making a bid for midfield dominance, a force for the opposition to worry about for the first time. Presence. Check his pockets for Yaya Toure. Phillipe Coutinho and Adam Lallana took all the plaudits against City, of course, as fancy-dan attackers with twinkling toes tend to. And both were indeed majestic. But Allen was on a different plane, the real man of the match in Liverpool's best display of the post-Suarez era, one which might serve as a pivotal moment in this side's development should the player maintain his new level, assume a leader's role, and keep taking games by the scruff of the neck like this.
And about time too: he turns 25 this month, his peak years arriving right about now. Enjoy yourself, Joe, it's later than you think.
Allen is a shy, modest, likeable figure, so there's always a danger he might at some point shrink back into the shell he curled up in during the period between 2012 to 2014. Which is exactly why it's so important to acknowledge and accept the limited success of those early years at Anfield. Never go back.
But the current signs suggest he might be finally working things out on the big stage, which would be very much to Liverpool's benefit, especially as the new terrain of the post-Gerrard era opens out in front of them.
Let's keep things in perspective, though: Liverpool are still waiting for their Welsh Xavi, and while Allen is still getting better the Reds will probably carry on waiting a long time for a player of that stature. But a Welsh Hamann or Cymru Lucas would be more than acceptable for now.
Look, it's been said a million times before... Joe signed two seasons ago, almost three years ago, and has not done enough in that time. If he can keep up the form he showed at the very start when he came, and the form he is showing now, then we'll have a player. But at the moment, the good games - while they're becoming more frequent which is undoubtedly pleasing - they're still in the minority in relation to his whole time with us. If he plays at the standard he's showing now for the next twelve-eighteen months then he might go some way to repaying the price tag and vindicating the Rolls Royce/Xavi comparisons. But any criticism of him before now, as long as they weren't too over the top, was justified. He could still do more, I feel.
That said, I don't want to detract from his performance tonight, and of course his performance against City. It's very promising. He, and Henderson, go to show that you cannot write young players off too early.
That said, I don't want to detract from his performance tonight, and of course his performance against City. It's very promising. He, and Henderson, go to show that you cannot write young players off too early.
15m is still shit business.
I don't remember many people saying he was shit, or horrific (eh?). He's had a run of good games now, which is great, he was outstanding last night, which is even better, but this is on the back of 2.5 years of indifferent form, injuries and some pretty abject displays.
I think there is an inconsistency within posters.
They are quick to run on here and laud their favourites after a good performance (called "doing a Modo") yet are easy to criticise other players for lack of consistency.
I like Joe and if he had been as good as he has been for the last few games all his Liverpool career we wouldn't be having this debate.
I guess people get carried away with the fees too much, rather than looking at the quality of the player and what they bring overall. He's a good player but it's taken alot longer for him to come good fully, and even then you feel like he's an injury away from being back to square one, but players like Lallana, Henderson etc have all been the victims of initially being judged on their pricetag. We've invested alot better over the last few seasons than we had previously, we've bought some junk too, but overall, we have a great squad. One or two of the right additions would see us push on even more.
He had a couple of 'for fucks sake' moments last night, like the one where he ran straight and lost the ball when there were no tackles
But he's finally trying (I don't mean finally as in last night, btw) to take the game and be the difference himself. He has bags of talent but for whatever reason it's always looked like he's playing within himself. When he decides he's the fucking man who's gonna waltz through your Yayas, and does it every game we'll have a world class player. Still work in progress but he's valuable to us right now in a way few other players can offer
But he's finally trying (I don't mean finally as in last night, btw) to take the game and be the difference himself. He has bags of talent but for whatever reason it's always looked like he's playing within himself. When he decides he's the fucking man who's gonna waltz through your Yayas, and does it every game we'll have a world class player. Still work in progress but he's valuable to us right now in a way few other players can offer
I think when you've got players like him, Coutinho and Lallana in there, it helps immensely to keep the flow going through the midfield, because they're all great at dropping their shoulder and turning away from the players to get us on the attack. The biggest problem in Allen's case is that he's often done that, then opted to go safe, last night it was good to see him pushing forward more and taking the initiative, but we do suffer a bit without Lucas in there or another DM.
He was, and now he isn't. He started off looking like Alonso when he first signed and played deeper. Then for two years he was played in attacking midfield and looked retarded. Since he's been playing deeper again I'll be damned, he looks almost back to his best.
Joe Allen, the Welsh Metronome
Indeed but I also said he was an excellent signing and have always defended him so by default he must be sh*t
I think most people could see there was a footballer there but until the very recent past 5/6 games he hasn't shown this level of consistency since he came here.
Long may it continue but lets see him do it for longer than 2 months before we celebrate too much.
He was a trojan the other night. I think he's been one of our better players this season, but a lot of people just don't notice it. He gets a lot of unfair criticism just because he's not "world class", or because he "passes it sideways". To me that's a load of bollocks. Most of the time, doing the simple thing consistently for 90 minutes can be far more effective than a few flashes of absolute genius, and fuck all else.
My frustration with Allen has always been with his mentality and apparent psychological make-up. I like midfielders to have natural confidence, an ability to force their personality on the middle of the park. Allen, up until recently, has been too psychologically and physically timid to do so.
There's signs now though, that he's beginning to find his place here, he's quite simply taking up more space on the pitch. I hope it continues, he needs to keep fit. Then we might just have a player on our hands...
There's signs now though, that he's beginning to find his place here, he's quite simply taking up more space on the pitch. I hope it continues, he needs to keep fit. Then we might just have a player on our hands...
I don't understand why people don't realise that at £15 million he was a good buy. You do know that the top teams have squads full of £15-£20 million players who are there to do a job when required? Some people talk about Allen (sorry, Joe Allen) as if he's up there with Carroll as our worst, most expensive buys ever.He's a good pro, a decent player and he's part of the squad. Get over it.
8.5m bought you Coutinho - possibly the best player in the world....
It is a bit.
I said in the match thread that he'd fit in well with that Arsenal team. Some nice touches, but lacking any real balls when the team needs it. Sadly, this trait - which has been symptomatic of Arsenal - is becoming rife in our team.
He plays really well about 4 times a season, is absolute shite a bit more than that, and is utterly average for the rest of the time.
He plays really well about 4 times a season, is absolute shite a bit more than that, and is utterly average for the rest of the time.
I think, as with a lot of our squad, it's more about personality than anything else.
There's another way of looking at it .... overall he's simply not good enough and personally I doubt he ever will be.
He can look decent if we are in control of the game but he can't carry us for two secs when we are up against it. We need better. Full stop.
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