Yes his primary role is to keep things ticking over, not too dissimilar to Modric or Carrick. Against Spurs he and Lucas both shielded our defence, if I remember rightly Allen broke up play more than any other player on that day. As mentioned previously, Yaya and Fernandinho are one of the best partnerships in the league, him and Lucas more than matched them today. He's not just a ball shuffler, he's a ball carrier. It's easy to underestimate the value of that, and the influence it's having on our game as a whole, we've looked much better since he's come in to the side. He wasn't brought in as a goal scorer, but you can see him trying to adapt his games and making late runs in to the box. When you have a front three of Sterling, Coutinho and Suarez ahead of you, sometimes you need that sort of player who can spark the attacks, some one who can take the ball from Lucas or the defence and be that link in between play, but also having the presence of mind to be in the right position both on and off the ball. The same doubts people had over Henderson really. Game by game he'll show his worth.
For me, he is showing enough to keep him but I still wish we had some more physical presence in the middle and it doesn't just have to be a brute who can't play well as Toure and Fernandinho showed. M'Vila would probably help tick those boxes but I just hope this game hasn't dented the confidence as we really need to be at our best to beat Chelsea at Chelsea.
Some harsh comments on Allen. He isn't better than Gerrard as an individual, but he suits our midfield and provides a better balance. Not saying Allen is the answer but he's not the problem. The problem is DM. Lucas needs an upgrade - M'Vila/Fernando.
Surely he's proving that he is good enough, judging by 4 wins out of 5 and two good performances against both Spurs (challenging for top four, good midfield) and City (One of the best teams in Europe).
Yeah that's true, and fair play to the lad. But for me we need someone in his position that can muscle teams out. I just have a feeling he's going through a good period of form and will fall back to the Allen we all know - I might be wrong and hopefully I am.
I'm with Sky here. Joe Allen's done well recently which is great news. He is becoming a good player to have in the squad but is he good enough to be a automatic starter for a regular top four side never mind a title (not this season) challenging team? I say the same about Lucas and Henderson although the latter just keeps getting better and better so who knows.
agree, when we have those type of players as squad players we will be some team, but Henderson keeps getting better and better,so maybe he has a chance, but Lucas and Allen i see as squad players personally.
I personally don't rate him and feel there are many more players better than him that wouldn't have cost £15m. He would be a good squad player we should maybe use in games we are winning comfortably in allowing us to rest some of our first teamers but he (IMO) is no more than that. Hoping for a few lucrative signings come next month that should put Allen on the bench.
Thanks Gerrez Joe Allen is not consistently good enough to be a starter for a top 4 team. Not even close. He could play a squad role and come on to tighten games up when we're winning with 15mins to go.
Thought he played well again yesterday, a young lad who is doing what we all wanted (surely) and that's showing signs of improvement. I'm still not sure he will keep that improvement up but he's at least shown the heart he seemed to so lack last season
I think all 3 of these midfielders are good enough for a top 4 squad and against a majority of the league's opposition but we should be looking to add a world class player (that can still travel the distance of the pitch for the full 90 minutes), then see the balance, then add another if necessary etc etc to win titles (no point buying them to achieve top 4 then say "oh! Now we need title winning midfielders!") Whether those players are available or want to come before CL football remains to be seen. So, of our existing squad, I prefer this current trio to one with Gerrard in it, because it has balance which no combination used with Stevie has had so far. We need to use Gerrard differently (I don't bloody know how) and allow this midfield to either develop as a 3 or fail as a 3 and go find the necessary replacements. Putting Gerrard in it unbalances it to such an exaggerated degree you can't judge the other two playing. We also need two FB's with brains between them and a balanced, stable CB pairing and you might give this trio the confidence to go on and just do their own bloody jobs well.
I think Enrique still has an important role to play for us, I'm a big fan of him. He can get a bit lost positionally at the back, but his ability to recover and win the ball back is outstanding. As well as that, he links up well attacking down the flank. Cissokho had a solid game when he settled so could prove a useful backup (if he stays beyond his loan). Rightback is a huge concern though. I would be playing Enricky and Flanno when both are fit.
This is Joe Allen to ground control, I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today Hereeeeeeeeeee am I sitting in a tin can, farrrrrrrrrrrrr above the world
