Joe Allen: Overrated or Undervalued?
It’s official. Merseyside has a new pin-up boy.
Just twelve months ago Joe Allen was embarking on his maiden voyage into the top flight with Swansea and had yet to start a game for Wales. Fast-forward to today and the midfielder has now been labelled, tagged and perhaps tainted with the title of ‘The Future’. The inexorable desire of Brendan Rodgers to bring him to Liverpool eventually paid off but not before inviting a few snide remarks relating to the cost of doing so. His pristine possession stats have been repeatedly flaunted in the national media, but does this convey the Welshman as overrated or underappreciated as a ‘complete’ footballer?
If Liverpool are to improve, evolve and indeed succeed under Brendan Rodgers then Joe Allen will undoubtedly play an integral role. He must succeed where the likes of Charlie Adam and Alberto Aquilani have failed, emerging from the shadow of Steven Gerrard in order to flourish alongside him. The early signs are promising, as his exquisite range of precision passes have all but expelled the notion that he is just another inflated British transfer.
When Allen first scuttled into the media spotlight I refused to be swept away by the unrelenting hype. Were we really meant to get this excited about a man who was good at simply ‘keeping the ball’? It struck me as an important but hardly awe-inspiring trait, which every player should possess anyway. However, it’s the speed that Allen executes his passes that make him special, along with his hunger to make himself available to receive the ball at every opportunity.
Former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders recently remarked that the Welsh midfielder’s promising start could earmark him as a future star for Catalan’s finest, Barcelona.
“Joe’s an intelligent player, has a heart like a lion and is difficult to play against. He can get even better and go on from Liverpool and end up at Barcelona.” (Star)
However I refuse to entertain the growing comparisons with the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. Allen may act in a similar fashion in his own half but he rarely ventures into the final third, unlike his Spanish counterparts who continually probe and seek to infiltrate the opposition’s penalty box.
Perhaps in the absence of Lucas, Allen could replicate the role of Claude Makelele in his twilight years at Chelsea. The Frenchman was arguably the finest (short-distance) passer of the ball in Premier League history, tasked with breaking up play and initiating the counter-attack. Yet at just 5 foot 6 inches, Allen is perhaps incapable of exerting any kind of physical dominance, especially considering his slender physique. Maybe the Anfield faithful are excited because they realise that they have finally found a replacement for the King of retention football, Jan Molby. Could Joe Allen be the lynchpin in the midfield, who dictates proceedings in the same manner as the much missed Xabi Alonso?
In spite of his instant impact at the core of Rodgers ‘tiki-taka’ transformation, there is an underlying fear that Allen could replicate Jordan Henderson’s uninspiring introduction to life on the big stage. Henderson arrived at the club after an equally impressive season in the Premier League but struggled to deal with the intensity, expectation and gulf in quality from life at his former club. However, the key difference between the two players is that Joe Allen already looks like the accomplished player Henderson promises to be. This statement from his manager optimises why he was so keen to integrate him into his masterplan.
“I think the biggest testament that you can give him is that he has come into here and he looks like he has been a Liverpool player for the last 10 years.” (Liverpool Echo)
It’s fair to say that Rodgers hasn’t been blessed with much fortune on the pitch so far, in fact this is the worst start to a season for The Reds since 1962-63. His faith or rather reliance on the likes of Allen and young Raheem Sterling has helped disguise this fact and evoke a sense of hope from the supporters. However, such inexperienced players cannot be expected to win games on their own in the same manner that gave Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard their iconic status. The young guns have set an impressive standard and now it’s up to the likes of Luis Suarez to come out of the international break firing on all cylinders.
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In my opinion Allen has the world at his feet but may never be truly appreciated unless he drifts further forward to emulate the playing styles of David Silva and Santi Cazorla, who effectively steered Arsenal to victory in last weekend’s league encounter. It’s a tall order for a 22-year-old but he has all the required attributes, the only question surrounds whether he can cope under the weight of carrying both his new club and country for the foreseeable future.
Join me on Twitter @theunusedsub where I am currently enjoying this memorable giant-killing in Japan’s version of the FA Cup.
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