Joe Allen thread

[Major Tom]

Oh, you've got a feeling.

 

I'm wrong then.

 

 

Yeah, cos you've understood the point.

 

This is a stupid discussion. I am sorry you started it and I partook in it.

[Jairzinho]

Sad news.

[Major Tom]

Ha. Indeed.

[Trucker Paddy]

Thought he played well Saturday bar the 15 minute spell that our midfield was all over the place after Gerrard went off.

 

 

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[Jay86]

If you find a post of mine in which I have said we will win the league or sack the manager please post. Unless one of them three has been hiding the fact he is messi s better twin brother then even United would fancy to get a draw against us.

On paper right now and I really hope more than anything I am wrong them three together points to the worst midfield probably to play in the same midfield together in all the time we have played in the top flight league. .

I didn't say you mate, I'm on about our fans in general. Also I was exaggerating to make my point of the difference in a win and loss.

[Jay86]

Oh, you've got a feeling. I'm wrong then.

 

So Code, and a handful of other mings will post some shite on an internet forum, who cares?

 

The statement from lfc_jay annoys me because it stifles debate.

I'm not sure how I've stifled debate? I'm just saying the difference in people's moods and opinions when we lose is vast, we have some, not everyone, who only seem to come out when we lose just to say they were right all along about Rodgers being up to the task.

[Jairzinho]

I'm not sure how I've stifled debate? I'm just saying the difference in people's moods and opinions when we lose is vast, we have some, not everyone, who only seem to come out when we lose just to say they were right all along about Rodgers being up to the task.

 

Yeah, sorry, I was a bit strong,. I meant more generically that there is often an overly defensive approach towards somebody voicing a concern. This is a forum, for discussion. People shouldn't feel that someone (not you, generically speaking again) is going to cane them simply because they thought we could have done something better. It doesn't deserve a "Get behind the team for fuck sake" in response.

 

I agree that there are some who's appearance does appear to have some correlation with our results. Which is sad, obviously, but they're few and far between. Equally depressing is the one-upmanship about specific players. You know the sort, Player A has a good game so Player B is now a shit cunt, etc. People trying to get lots of little internet wins. We're all guilty of it occasionally, I guess.

 

People are always going to be a little kneejerk. Especially so close to games finishing. Managers say the same, that interviewing them straight after the game increases the likelihood of them saying something fucking stupid.

[Jay86]

Yeah, sorry, I was a bit strong,. I meant more generically that there is often an overly defensive approach towards somebody voicing a concern. This is a forum, for discussion. People shouldn't feel that someone (not you, generically speaking again) is going to cane them simply because they thought we could have done something better. It doesn't deserve a "Get behind the team for fuck sake" in response.

 

I agree that there are some who's appearance does appear to have some correlation with our results. Which is sad, obviously, but they're few and far between. Equally depressing is the one-upmanship about specific players. You know the sort, Player A has a good game so Player B is now a shit cunt, etc. People trying to get lots of little internet wins. We're all guilty of it occasionally, I guess.

 

People are always going to be a little kneejerk. Especially so close to games finishing. Managers say the same, that interviewing them straight after the game increases the likelihood of them saying something fucking stupid.

No need to be sorry mate we've all got an opinion and entitled to annoyed by certain things.

 

I know what you mean about the players, we've got to the point now were nobody can say Allen, Henderson or Lucas are playing well without slating the other 2, it's madness. I don't see the hysterics with either, they all seem like decent enough lads who put the effort in but we have fans who constantly have to put 1 (or all) down.

[Jairzinho]

Agreed. They all play for us, and I think can do so well in the right system.

[Jay86]

Yea, be interesting over the next few weeks to see what happens, either way I'm just glad to have excitement back going into the Christmas period.

[aRdja]

If you find a post of mine in which I have said we will win the league or sack the manager please post. Unless one of them three has been hiding the fact he is messi s better twin brother then even United would fancy to get a draw against us.

On paper right now and I really hope more than anything I am wrong them three together points to  the worst midfield probably to play in the same midfield together  in all the time we have played in the top flight league. .

Errr.. You don't really need to exaggerate to make a point.

 

Charlie Adam was worse.

Poulsen was worse.

Spearing was worse.

 

But I agree it isn't ideal to play those teams without our most creative midfielder.

[Gnasher]

I'd feel a lot more confident with Allen, Henderson and Gerrard than I ever would with Allen, Henderson and Lucas.

 

That's how i see it. Gutted Gerrard is injured, he has started to get forward and look his old self the past two games.

[Pureblood]

Get a room, you two.

[Guest LFD]

If Henderson is out as well as Gerrard, I think Allen and Alberto, alongside with Coutinho could link up well together, as they all seem to play the same way with a possession-based game.  

 

We might not have the genius moments Gerrard can provide from Allen and Alberto, but we might have more control.

[Mathewbet1]

On current form allen's better than messi.

[KopOut]

I don't think either Allen OR Henderson have had it easy so far, at Liverpool.

 

 

Both players have had to consistantly play out of position, and adapt to roles that they previously hadn't been familiar with. Both of them have shown flashes of brilliance since arriving, but have been erratic for players that have cost larger sums of money.

 

They both seem to show good potential in a central attacking mid role.

[RedKnight]

Times have changed since the erratic Everton striker Mickaël Madar was pinned to a dressing-room wall after missing an open goal at Anfield, and spent the rest of the night in a bar where an irate supporter repeated; "Ball. Goal. Ball in goal. Understand?" But there remains nowhere to hide after a glaring error in a Merseyside derby, as Joe Allen discovered last month at Goodison Park. He concedes: "A lot of people probably wrote me off the second that game finished."

 

To recap, and with apologies to the genuinely decent Liverpoolmidfielder, the visitors were leading 2-1 when Luis Suárez beat three blue shirts on the edge of the area and the ball broke for the unmarked Allen. Time and Everton defenders stood still as he side-footed beyond Tim Howard but also wide of the post, earning an earful from Suárez, a booking and finally the hook from his manager within the next eight minutes.

 

The breathtaking derby ended 3-3 and with many questioning how the Wales international would recover from the latest setback in his short Liverpool career. The answer has been brief but encouraging, two assured displays in the heavy Anfield defeats of Norwich City and West Ham United, with the 23-year-old's resolve also demonstrated in his analysis of that Goodison moment.

"It was something that would have affected me in the past but, in all honesty, it didn't really affect me too much," Allen says. "I understood the significance of it. It was a pivotal moment in a massive game and there is no hiding from that. But I understood it was a miss and it happens in football. I would have been more disappointed if it had been a terrible performance for the team.

"The only disappointment I had was whether it would affect my chances of selection, and luckily it hasn't. I've had an opportunity to get straight back out there soon after, which was important, and it hasn't knocked my confidence in a way people probably expected."

 

Allen's philosophical approach and improved confidence reveals plenty about the difficulties of swapping his boyhood club, Swansea City, for the pressures of being a £15m player at Liverpool. Adapting to Brendan Rodgers' passing style was never going to be an issue for the Liverpool manager's former charge at the Liberty Stadium. Adapting to the scrutiny, however, was a different matter."In the 18 months I've been here that is probably the side of football I have improved a lot," the midfielder admits. "Being at a club like Liverpool you understand that the scrutiny and the pressure is probably 10 times greater than at certain other places and you have to learn to deal with that. That has been a positive thing for me and that is why I was so excited to get back out there playing straight away. I didn't affect my confidence as I think it would have done in the past. That is down to myself and others at the club who help you in that regard."

 

The "others" at Liverpool include Dr Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist involved in Britain's cycling success story, whom Rodgers hired last November to help players with their "mental tuning". Allen adds: "We are very lucky at this club to have someone like him available to us and he is someone I've looked to use. To overcome something like that miss has been 18 months in the making. Obviously I was hugely disappointed after the game, but it's happened and there's nothing I can do about it now. The best response is to get out there and show it hasn't affected me."

Allen particularly impressed against West Ham last weekend and heads to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday insisting: "We are probably a run of good away results from really turning the corner and taking this team to a new level." In the maelstrom of the derby it was overlooked that Rodgers lamented: "We never kept the ball and needed to control the game better," in the final 20 minutes – when Allen was off the pitch. With Steven Gerrard injured for a demanding festive period the responsibility on Liverpool's available central midfielders will intensify.

"That's natural when you lose an inspirational figure and the leader of the team," Allen says. "We have to see it as an opportunity to come to the fore. We will have to show leadership amongst ourselves without Stevie out there. Obviously it is a massive blow for us to lose Stevie, he is a key player for us and our leader, but this is the reason you try to build a strong squad. People have got to step up and show we are able to cope with that loss."

 

White Hart Lane marks the start of three December away fixtures that could shape Liverpool's Champions League qualification credentials, the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge completing the set. Allen's improved self-belief extends to a top-four finish this season. "It is certainly realistic," he states. "As players you have to set your sights right up there and believe you can do it. We do. We can beat anyone with the players we've got here.

"That's enough evidence to show we can get in there. At the start of the season you would have looked at this period in the fixture list and thought it will be challenging. But we've got a base now of good performances and good victories and we have the momentum and confidence to come out of this period with some very good results."

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/dec/13/joe-allen-derby-downer-worth-liverpool?CMP=twt_gu

[Adebisi]

I remember the Allen that played for Swansea against us in their first season in the PL and I thought there was a real player there. Someone who is going to develop into a quality player and not much has changed. 

Get Lucas holding, Henderson closing down and put Allen further up the pitch and things will happen.

[Ne Moe Imya]

I've only just realised that he's still 23.  Plenty of time for him to fulfill his early promise.

 

If he were 27 or so it might be a different story, but I think he can still become a useful player for our squad over the next couple of seasons.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

I think he's ace. Don't die of shock.

[kalasoma]

That miss at Everton was painful to watch. He needs a goal and I'm hoping it comes against Spurs tomorrow, along with a good performance.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

He's been getting forward quite well at times, and he's had a few decent shots from range, but a goal would definitely do him good.

[fowler9]

I think Henderson, Lucas and Gerrard is our most effective midfield 3 , but I do like an on form Joe Allen and hope he can take his chance over the next few weeks

[Judge]

Allen and Henderson have been in Gerrard's shadow until now. I think a player will show his true worth once he has to take responsibilty and not run around like a understudy for a big star like Gerrard.

 

Time for Allen and Henderson to rise to the occasition. I think they will do as I think both are brilliant and complement each other in a good way.

[J-V]

Quality again today, good lad.