Joe Allen = The GOAT

Maybe we're not watching the same player.

He may not be reckless, but the opposition get passed him as easy as they would Steven Gerrard for an example.

Allen can only read the game when Liverpool has possession; he has no tactical awareness when we don't have it. He's a decent back up to have, and looked like a player with huge potential when he first joined, but he's stagnated with a lack of consistent football for us.

And would you really say Shelvey's entire game at Swansea is built upon goals? Because I'm quite certain he's playing that "playmaker" role from deep / central midfield. With Siggurdson being the 10. Well, that's from what I've seen of Swansea anyway so you could correct me if I'm wrong.

Joe can play a pressing role, and kudos to him, but so could Jay Spearing... we need much more than that.

As bad as Charlie Adam was, he was quite solid before Lucas got injured. His downfall (and the whole teams really) came after that when he was atrocious in his last 6 months here playing in a position that was foreign to him. So for that, they're both in the same tier for that "impression" role. That tier being "looked the goods, but never really improved and thus didn't really do that extra something a top side would need".

Allen is posession game player. He just can not perform consistently, he performs for 3-4 games as a great player and then starts the downfall where he looks just average. Also his brain does not function when there are more than 3-4 tasks available. He can keep is simple but thats it, nothing more than that.

And it is absurd to discuss Shelvey here. Shelvey would have never made for us in AM position, given that we had Sterling an Coutinho ahead of him and neither would have Shelvey made anything special as a CM for is given we had Henderson and Gerrard. Shelvey was/is never going to be what it takes to play for us for a team who wants to finish in top 4 consistently.

RedOranje wrote:Except that none of those things apply to Allen. He's not reckless, he's can read the game, and he's demonstrated repeatedly against top opposition that he can play a role focusing largely on pressing and obstructing play. He's not physical which STILL seems to be the only element people look for in a midfield when discussing ability to play defensively for some reason, but he's miles ahead of Shelvey in the categories mentioned. It also explains the statistical differences... Allen has never really been asked to be a goal threat so its meaningless to compare his goals-scored to a player who's entire game is really built about that.

Yeah, I think that Allen is a fine little player. He still has room to grow also. Ideally he would be a squad player and not a starting XI player, but I don't mind him there really if we get a marquee player to go in the middle with him and Henderson in the summer. All you have to do is look at his game against City or Swansea to see that he can definitely bring a lot of good things to the midfield when he is on -- but he is just a complementary player not one that is going to drive the team forward.

Should have realized that he was GL jinxed to score tonight

you seriously cant make that up, can you !!

In the end its clear that Allen is getting a new contract, and one without a pay-raise of any note. He appears determined to prove himself at LFC and willing to work for the side even in a squad role. A great squad and bench option that rounds out the team's depth and if he ever kicks on and hits his early potential could be a CL-quality rotation player as well. Certainly the type of player we've lacked over the years and I'm glad to have him at LFC.

Me too !!

Yup, I like little Joe.

I still like little Joe.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/205595-klopp-i-like-allen-s-style-he-s-very-important-for-us

"For me, Joe Allen was always a first-team player," the manager told reporters. "He was not in the line-up a few times, that's true.

"But if I can go a few months back, when I came here he was with the national team, before that he was injured, he was not 100 per cent fit, but there was no doubt about quality.

Curtinho wrote:http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/205595-klopp-i-like-allen-s-style-he-s-very-important-for-us

"For me, Joe Allen was always a first-team player," the manager told reporters. "He was not in the line-up a few times, that's true.

"But if I can go a few months back, when I came here he was with the national team, before that he was injured, he was not 100 per cent fit, but there was no doubt about quality.

lets hope he gets a run of games now mate.

Klopp says that about everyone

Helmer wrote:Klopp says that about everyone

Another player who is making me eat my words/pie/thoughts

Same here, I can't believe how good he's looked this season. Outta nowhere.

Now if only people would give Lovren the lovren he deserves.

Agreed. He's been really good lately. Should be starting ahead of one of Milner or Hendo.

Curtinho wrote:

Now if only people would give Lovren the lovren he deserves.

Yes, he has surprised me as well.

Curtinho wrote:

Now if only people would give Lovren the lovren he deserves.

Shout.

Milner... Well, I refuse to acknowledge Milner as a CM.

Henderson has not looked particularly good in the 2-man midfield. He's good to very-good in a midfield 3, but for some reason, he doesn't seem to perform in a 2-man setup. That may be the impetus behind the club seemingly looking into 2 more midfielders (one of which currently being linked is Zielinski). Has anyone else noticed that Can has been tasked with the "controller" duties in midfield recently? (Henderson given the "runner" tasks...)

In any case, Allen has looked the best partner for Can in the current setup. Sure, he doesn't make the lung-busting runs that the media and pundits seem to adore, but that isn't really a mark of quality. He's been composed, positionally sound, and looked a threat when going forward; it's hard to ask for too much more.

Unfortunately, I don't think he'll be here come the start of next season. That's not my personal wish, but rather a feeling that he'll be looking to get more regular playing time. I simply can't see him getting that here once Klopp has the chance to make his changes to the squad.

Curtinho wrote:

Now if only people would give Lovren the lovren he deserves.

Please don't use the clean sheet stats that have been doing the rounds as support... It's really not a good measure of an individual defender.

That said, he has been better recently. Sakho is by far a better partner for him that Skrtel, and Lovren is a better partner for Skaho than Skrtel. The biggest issue between the pair is that Lovren isn't as used to the right-side positioning. At the moment, they're probably our best pairing.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that Lovren is the best bet going forward. I would absolutely sell him if a good offer came in, and I would at least expect Matip to start over him next season. He's continued to make errors since coming back into the team. However, they have not been as glaring and as readily punished. Being sat between Clyne and Skaho (our two best defenders) likely has a lot to do with that. He's less often exposed by Clyne's positioning going forward, and if he does err, Sakho has the pace and intelligence to get over to cover.

...what? Lovren is the one you are going to focus on making errors? He's made far less than Sakho since Klopp took over and has generally been our best defender (and between the CBs it has not been close). If this season is any indication of their ability under Klopp Lovren will be the one partnering Matip next season and not the other way around.

Art Morte wrote:

Is that you holding the magazine, Arty???

lol no. But I'd buy that magazine if I saw it lol. Having a Premier League footballer on the cover of a magazine called Chicken & Egg is pretty awesome.

Art Morte wrote:

better he has a chicken under his arm than a sheep in a head lock

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/frustrated-joe-allen-could-leave-11105533

Yeah he's not really getting a fair shake under Klopp, to be honest. He's been better than Can and Henderson right now.