Joe Allen [Sold]

[Mostar]

IIRC, Allen played the ball forward 30 yards, starting the move that lead to the goal. I could be wrong though and the pass I'm thinking of just lead to a good opportunity.

Can't belive his passing is even being discussed as an issue though.

+ 1

There is nothing wrong with his passing whatsoever.

He is an incredibly talented player who will only get better.

[baitman]

I think he can and does play plenty of good forward passes. Just he only does so when they are on. He plays the right ball. If we are not set up to receive in forward positions there is no point pinging it there.

it might be because the other players are just standing still with their arm up, and a defender is ready to close them down...
they should be looking to move in to space, and thats were the ball will be played to.
once you get into the final third you will be lucky to have unmarked players stood around waiting for a pass.

the movement of the free players is key to getting this system working.

[Red_Polo]

Exactly Takes two to complete a pass.

[Scratch]

In the same way that Lucas was derided by many, including some on here, for his tendancy to play the safe option the majority of the time, whilst still retaining possesion, so will some see Joe's passing game in the same light, conveniently ignoring any positive play in order to highlight the "negative" aspect of his game.

It'll pass tho, especially once Lucas (A N Other DM) is utilised, giving Joe more freedom to express himself and let someone else worry about the dirty work.

[RichC]

Allen is being played out of postion and imo is still our best player, once we have Lucas back and he is back playing where he should be we'll see even more from him.

Any criticism of his passing is ludicrous, perhaps Shearer should give management a go and pass on his footballing beliefs (oh wait he did!)

[the rev leeroy brown]

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/24685/8...riticism-wrong

Mark Holmes explains why Alan Shearer's praise for Steven Gerrard and criticism of Joe Allen was misguided, and also talks fans and handshakes.

Last Monday I moaned about England's continued use of international failures, and this week I look at the difference between Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen, praise the actions of fans over the weekend, and call for the pre-match handshake to stay.

Gerrard praise sums up English mentality

Regular readers will know I do not think much about the punditry on Match of the Day, in particular the musings of Alan Shearer.

On Saturday, however, he actually stood up off the fence to make an interesting point regarding the different passing styles of Liverpool midfielders Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard.

The former, who cost the Reds £15million in the summer, has benefited from a change in style in the Premier League. More and more teams are now playing slow, patient football that depends on keeping hold of the ball, and that has led to two of the game's most pointless statistics being given prominence: possession and pass completion percentages.

I have moaned about this previously - if Stoke or West Ham wanted to, they could pass the ball around the back and in their own half for 90 minutes to dominate possession, with every player walking off the pitch with the magic 90% pass completion ratio.

But it would count for absolutely nothing. If a player constantly makes the easy pass during games then his statistics will look great come the end of the match, but it has to be questioned how much he has offered his team. Literally any player in the Premier League could sit at the base of midfield making five-yard passes back to his defence.

That was what Shearer accused Allen of doing in Liverpool's draw at Sunderland on Saturday evening. To be fair he has a point - Allen successfully completed 93% of his passes, but over a quarter of them went backwards, while Gerrard completed only 85% of his passes, but played just 12% of them backwards.

Compare the two players over the four games so far, and Shearer's argument looks a reasonable one. Overall Allen has completed 93% of his 301 passes, playing 29% forward, 11% backwards and the rest to the left or the right. Gerrard has completed 82% of his 272 passes, but played 37% forward, albeit he has actually played more backwards passes, 14%, than Allen.

The key statistic to back up Shearer's argument, though, is that Allen has created just two chances in open play in Liverpool's four games, whereas Gerrard has created seven. Yet it is the latter that has come in for criticism so far this season.

However, what Shearer failed to mention is the very different roles played by the two midfielders. Allen is playing at the base of the midfield in the absence of Lucas in an area where he cannot afford to lose the ball. Keeping it moving and passing to other players to start attacks is exactly what Allen is told to do. Gerrard on the other hand plays in a more advanced role where he is expected to make probing passes through to the forwards.

Furthermore, the fact that Gerrard constantly looks for the forward pass is not necessarily a positive thing, as Shearer claimed.

Watch Barcelona or Spain and you will see that, no matter where they are on the pitch, their players will usually make the simple pass rather than the difficult one. It can be quite boring, but it allows them to attack in numbers until a hole in the opposition's defence eventually appears.

Gerrard on the other hand tries to force things, and that often leads to his passes going astray. I once described him as a Hollywood player - the passes you see on Match of the Day are the superb ones he completes, but you don't see the 70-yard attempts that fly into touch or straight to the opposition. However, fans of English football have always preferred players like Gerrard over the likes of Michael Carrick, for example, who I have long felt should be a mainstay in the national side.

Shearer's argument about Allen definitely holds some weight , and hopefully it'll stop people using pass completion stats alone to highlight how well a midfielder has played. However, everyone associated with English football needs to realise that the best pass is always the one which finds a team-mate.

[Mostar]

Joe Allen vs Manchester United


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuH0u2rhPI"]Joe Allen vs Manchester United - YouTube[/ame]

[dom9]

I thought he was imperious in posession again yesterday. He just seems to make more time for himself on the ball than anyone else on the pitch. He keeps it simple, and rarely makes a mistake.

[Shaggy]

He never, ever looks hurried does he. Most players would **** themselves and get rid ASAP, he just hangs on to it until he finds the right option, no matter how many men he's got closing in on him.

Suso has that about him too.

[dom9]

He never, ever looks hurried does he. Most players would **** themselves and get rid ASAP, he just hangs on to it until he finds the right option, no matter how many men he's got closing in on him.

Suso has that about him too.

Yup. The easy pass always presents itself to him. Just a few steps here or there, and he's got the pass on.

He doesn't try anything out of the ordinary very often, but when he does, even those seem to come off. The run then pass to Borini in the second half being an example.

[Captain Stu]

Joe Allen is a pleasure to watch, he really is. Effortless, works his bollocks off, useful passing whether it be a 40 yarder or a little 5 yard sideways one.

You really can see why Brendog said he'd have paid a lot more than £15M for him - he's essential for his formation. Can't wait to see him when Lucas comes back and he's pushed further up the pitch where his passing can be more deadly.

[Gingawaria]

Don't think I've seen anyone as accurate in his passing as him, he never gives the ball away. Already an absolutely vital part of our side.

[BigChief]

Those Xavi comparisons weren't as ridiculous as I first thought.

I wonder what Saj's new signature will be.

[dom9]

At the moment, I'd see he's the only that really gets the new tactics. That's to be expected of course, but he's excelling.

How is Sigurdsson doing at Spurs?

[danperkins]

Allen & Gerrard dominated the midfield. IMO we'll se Allen improve even more once we have Lucas back, will ease his workload and he can concentrate more so on dictating the game.

A fantastic signing....pray he stays injury free!!