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Decent piece from The Anfield Wrap's Gareth Roberts whilst we're bandwagon jumping and all that.
Note: (Cringing at the headline? Thank The Anfield Wrapās Gareth Roberts. Utter genius.)
āI pass and I move, I help you, I look for you, I stop, I raise my head, I look and, above all, I open up the pitch.ā ā Xavi Hernandez Hypnotic words from the king of ātika-takaā Xavi Hernandez. Xavi embodies everything about Barcelona; he is their brain, their control centre, their soul. Yet, he is neither a significant goal scorer nor one racking up a considerable assist count. Joe Allen may be on another planet to Xavi, and there is no shame in that of course, but I believe he may be able to contribute to Liverpool in the same was as Xavi does for Barcelona.
After a long drawn out and quite frankly boring āsagaā Joe Allen has signed for Liverpool on a long-term contract. First and foremost I understand that for many when this transfer first became a real possibility it would be met with varying degrees of apprehension - and thatās okay, itās natural to meet transfers with teams beneath us with an air of caution. Why do I rate his arrival so highly? I believe he will be key to unlocking our new tactics, and ultimately, a new era under Rodgers.
Everyone in their right mind is preaching the need to appease our greatest enemy if Liverpool is to truly succeed under Rodgers, and that ā is time. Of course we all yearn for stability under this new era, though its imperative we try our best to hit the ground running under this new style.
Many say we have the right players already, an abundance of competent midfielders. The imperious Lucas Leiva was born to play this game while Steven Gerrard could play any tactic, any formation, and still look class. Then thereās the ever impressing Jonjo Shelvey who recently signed a new 5 year deal and of course the industrious yet talented Jordan Henderson. Of course, question marks still remain over the future of Charlie Adam who has been mooted for a move to London to play for Fulham in a deal which would see Clint Dempsey pass him by on his way to Merseyside. Oh and Jay Spearing, heāll be regarded as a promising youngster at 30, wonāt he?
No doubt we have some talented players who could adapt to the system, but out of Henderson and Shelvey (the likely players to play if Allen hadnāt signed) I think neither would be ready ā not yet. And with that we have signed Joe Allen, a 22 year-old modest lad from South-Wales. A lad who has been brought up through the ranks, played under managers of style such as Roberto Martinez, Paulo Souza and our very own Brendan Rodgers. Not a bad schooling when hailing from such a modest sized club. His transition from youth team player to arguably-first-name-on-the-team sheet has been superb. He took over the role of the ever-so-talented yet injury ridden Ferrie Bodde with ease. Allen played an integral role in helping Swansea to promotion in the 2008/2009 season after the second attempt. It was only then, that the world (or at least knowledgeable fans of the premier league) began to find out about young Allen.
Allenās first season the premier league was impressive, was very impressive. Though itās hard to explain how good he is until we talk about how the team performed. We need to look at collective ability of a team who defied the odds and finished 11th, re-writing the rule books by staying up with style in abundance. His ability to seamlessly fit around a team, around a philosophy is whatās most impressive.
Swansea were very impressive last year, thereās no getting around that. Though Iād be lying if I said it was simply down to Allen, or any one player. Swansea didnāt get to where they finished by individual performances, but by a mix of cohesion and discipline. When thinking of Swansea last year they very much embodied the saying: āThe sum is greater than its individual parts.ā Joe Allen was one of these parts, an important cog in the machine that is possession-based football. What Allen brought to Swansea was an ability to dictate play in a classy yet domineering fashion, ever more impressive considering his stature of 5ft 6 inches. Allen brought versatility too, an ability to win the ball back and more often than not, play the right pass whilst his attacking nature was not to be forgotten about too easily. An ability to drive from midfield was apparent, getting shots away and creating countless chances for his team-mates time after time.
This versatility caused Allenās roles to vary as the season progressed. Early on Swansea was bereft of a true attacking midfielder, resulting in Allen being left to make driving runs from midfield to create chances. And it worked, strikes at Bolton, Everton and Wolves for example show his ability to make driving runs toward and into the box to take strikes on and score goals. Though it canāt be said he is an attacking midfielder in its truest sense, nor is he a defensive midfielder like Lucas or Tiote. I see him as a box-to-box hybrid midfielder. Rarely will he seem under pressure, very rarely misplacing a pass.
Joe is a player whose ability to control and dominate the ball is an important ingredient in our attempt to gain success on the field. Be it a forward or backward, of his 2177 passes last year 91.2% were accurate, which was the third best in Europe, only trailing team-mate Leon Britton and one Xavi Hernandez. As previous stated he often makes runs from midfield linking the defence and attack; he amassed 36 successful dribbles last season; thatās 11 more than Charlie Adam (25) and 23 more than Jordan Henderson (13). His shooting accuracy (48%) is better than Charlie Adamās 35% and Jordan Hendersonās 45%. This resulted in 4 league goals compared to Adamās 2 goals and Hendersonās 2 strikes respectfully. His passing is versatile too with a crossing accuracy of 31% which again is superior to Charlie Adamās 22% and Jordan Hendersonās 15%.
As previously stated Joe Allenās versatility resulted in his role of attacking midfielder until January in which he underwent a transition to a slightly deeper role, a linking midfielder. Now allowing SigurĆ°sson to be the furthest forward midfielder Joe saw himself getting involved in the defensive side of the game more so. He made 110 successful tackles last season, more than any Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham player. Allen won 55% of his 50/50 ground duels; statistics superior to Luka Modric (48%), Charlie Adam (54%) and Jordan Henderson (41%).
Impressive his statistics may be, but what is most exciting is his potential. At 22, Joe is now surrounded by much better players ā many world class in fact, an ever-improving young manager and at a club with far better resources than Swansea could ever imagine. The road may not be easy, but if we are to unlock to open a new chapter in our illustrious history, he may just be key.
Welcome to Liverpool Joe Allen.
http://www.menofshankly.com/Latest_News/Aug-2012/w-2/allen-key