He's not a defensive midfielder. He was playing instead of Lucas when he was out injured and he's not good enough defensively to win the ball back in the same way Lucas does. Allen is similar to Carrick in that he's an old fashioned CM who isn't a specialist defensive or attacking midfielder. He can be the link up man between defence and the attacking players and helps you keep possession of the ball by doing the simple things, to compliment Gerrard's 60 yard passes.
So who do you drop for him? The specialist creative attacking player Coutinho, or the specialist defensive player who can also pick a pass and keep hold of the ball in Lucas?
