Is it me or is this guy suffering from colic at 20 odd years of age. It looks that way. More importantly will he stop giving possession away so needlessly. I thought he has been quite poor especially in retaining possession. Gets muscled off the ball too easily. Makes a fair few poor choices when passing. Likely to kill a fast counter attack with a backwards pass than help with a forward pass. Am I being too hard on him? I fail to see what he brings to the team other than a weak link in midfield. We need all of our midfielders to be able to hold the ball under pressure.
dont know to be fair. havent seen much from him to be honest, but he may be a dif player with confidence who knows, probably the same hope we all have for Aspas now he has scored a goal though lol he may just need time, not sure, i dont expect much from him so maybe will be pleasantly surprised.
Where did this come from? He's been out the last 2 games and he's been very good since he got back in the team.. Starting to look a bit injury prone, mind.
Yes good point, we won our last two games, and lose the two before with Allen in midfield. Not the point you intended to make You just like Allen cos you think he's cute @Jenners. I think Aspas was a terrible buy. Poor touch poor awareness and very weak physically. His stats were quite average in spain. Not sure at all why we bought him, I may be proved wrong, I hope I am proved wrong but if we plan to qualify and compete in the CL Aspas is NOT the answer.
Allen is doing my head in, he did okay just before his latest injury but I feel we really need better than him in the middle of our team Not his fault he got injured obv but like I say, we need better
really? i may be thinking of a dif player then but i swear his stats was only bettered by Messi and Ronaldo and thats some company to keep.
Thought I'd read that somewhere, most goal scoring opportunities created but couldnt find it again so wondered if Id dreamt it!
Leave. Allen. Alone. You batards He played great against both Norwich and West Ham, then followed that up for once by playing good against Spurs (his best performance to date), he was superb that day, the way he shielded our defence and kept the ball moving really gave us a platform to how we played that day.. His performances largely go unnoticed due to lack of assists or goals, yet players like Fernandinho and Modric get praised due to what they bring to midfield. He's a ball carrier rather than a ball mover, in the pass and move style of play he's an effective player. Again, had a good game and against City, and when he came off injured against Chelsea we lost any sort of control we had of the game. Can we do better? Of course. We can do better than Sturridge too, and Henderson, but you got to give the lad credit where it's due, he has done well since his return and it's unfair if any one else says differently. He still has a long way to go mind, his recent performances should at least buy him some time. Joe Allen
Sorry Magic I'm not trying to break your little heart but.... As a team we were actually pretty average against Norwich.....he played fairly well against WHU but when needed he went completely missing. We only regained control of that one due to Nolan going off. Spurs were an shambles but he did play well, Cardiff he played reasonably well but again went missing when the pressure was on. City was actually the performance that impressed me most but we still lost that and Chelsea I think you watched a different game to me as we had absolutely no control of that game for the whole of the first half. What I do agree with you on is that he absolutely has a long way to go
I cant remember how he played in all of those games, you lot have great memories! I just know that im not impressed with him and the fact he's getting injured a lot now cant be bothered with him We need better in the heart of our team and hopefully we can sort it this window
This pretty much sums it up for me, he's OK, I have nothing against the lad but he is injured a lot and is prone to disappearing in games, especially when the game is physical. Against Chelsea he gave the ball away and put us in danger doing so several times, what good is it to have a player that can play well if allowed by the opposition to play well and not play well when a midfield battle occurs. He is not top 4 quality atm. He is midtable avoid relegation quality where one can afford 10 bad performances a season but we need him to play well every other game
He's done well in the last few game he's played in and is young enough to improve. I agree that we need better right now but the lad works hard and deserves a bit of patience.
Not wishing to sound too hard on him as he has played better the last few games but he's been here 18 months with a manager who's style he already knew...he needs to up his game a lot further over the coming 6 months, I suspect he'll have even more competition around him by the end of the summer window.
Some harsh comments on Allen IMO. I think he has made a difference to our team since he came back from injury. One thing is for sure, is that he, Lucas and Hendo can maintain a pressing game for 90 mins. I think it all depends on personal tastes - some people prefer the direct, lung busting style whilst others appreciate the simple, technical, intelligent style. Allen is always on the move, in space, providing an option for his teammates, and does the simple things. In a crowded and congested area of the pitch, the simple ball is sometimes needed. Providing an outlet for teammates under pressure is just as important as being as able to ping a ball 60 yards. As I say, I appreciate his style but some may not and I think that's down to natural attitudes towards the different styles we see in football - he may not be the answer and I do feel we need better players but that can be said about Lucas and Gerrard as well.
Whether Allen as done well as an individual or not matters little when the team have been performing better with him in the side. Yes, we lost the last two with him in the side but they were our two hardest fixtures of the season and we actually deserved four points from them too. Obviously, we got nothing.
still dont see him as a player in a team that wants CL football, maybe ok a squad player, but for top 4 we have to do better surely.
