That's fairly rich given that I usually see your name on other boards! It was an observation really, Carroll, Henderson and Adam immediately spring to mind as players you shelled out for on the basis of a fairly short period of form. Allen would be another.
.........................Allen..................Wee Jay............... .................................Shelvey................................... .......................Allen..............Lucas.................. ...............................Gerrard........................... ....................................Lucas................................ ..........................Allen..............Aqualani....................... Etc, options. All better than Adam. or having Gerrard in a two man midfield. Our new boss plays the possession game, Allen is **** hot at it.......
My point is for that money you could get someone who would have been good in possession but adding something going forward ( goals, assists, unlocking the defense, etc).
Allen's presence will enable Gerrard to be played further forward, with less pressure on defensive duties. He is one of the best in Europe, so we already have it. We need someone who can sit next to Lucas and dictate tempo and make lots of passes with accuracy (keep possesion.) The likes of Gerrard, Borini, Suarez, Carroll, Dempsey, Bellamy etc can cause the damage, Allen is not being bought to score goals.
I do agree that Allen would compliment Lucas. But I dont have much faith in Gerrard. People can keep on talking about Gerrard as a key member but I don't hold him in the same regard as Reina, Agger, Lucas or Suarez. Gerrard needs replacing and I find that the team is a lot slicker, quicker, more fluid and attractive to watch without Gerrard.
Gerrard is getting on, but let's not forget he was one of England's key performers. And if getting Allen means that Gerrard can be released further forward then great. Maybe Gerrard should not be used as the star of the show anymore, I feel it would be wise to use him sparingly. No more than one game a week and let him have a break now and then. He still has a lot to offer, but he needs to be kept fresh and hungry. his place should not be guaranteed. Which is another reason Allen makes sense.
I agree. I just find it annoying how some people think that he should be guaranteed a starting place in the team. I only have to look at Kenny's first 6 months and then the start of his second season (when Gerrard was out injured) and that was a period when we played some great football consistently. However, it would be good to see him with Allen and Lucas behind - I think not having the protection behind him (Alonso and Mascherano) has hampered his game as well.
Yes interesting, 10M plus Shelvey on loan. Can't see them budging for less then £15m TBH. And rightly so on there behalf.
It's a good deal tbh. As Sir_Red said on the Swans board, Shelvey has been playing very well lately and would most likely suit the way they play very well. But like you've already stated, they wont seem to budge. So what to do?
And our disastrous run towards the end of the season coincided with Gerrards return to action. Coincidence? We have seen with Carra, that when it becomes obvious the player can no longer do the job, they are dropped. As I said, think it would be nice to use Gerrard in 40-60% of the games, a bit like *nited do with Ginger and Welsh in-law shagger. The days when he won matches single handedly are over, but he should still have a role.
Pay £15M, we have had a **** load of new sponsorship money recently. Not like we are short of a bob or two. Get the deal done, before he has a blinder in the Olympics and all the other fookers come sniffing around.
I think Jonjo should be staying right where he is personally. BUT, suppose he will get a lot more minutes elsewhere and we can recall if we need to like we did when he was at Blackpool.
I dunno, I don't think they'll budge unless it's for £15m+. He has a clause and that's what it is, I'd be very surprised if they decided to sell him for less than that.