Joe Allen [Sold]

[Shaggy]

I like Henderson but I think Allen is a good bit better than him. Played well today I thought.

[Mostar]

Interesting vid. He's almost Xabi like in the way he makes space and turns away from players. Always looking for the ball. Moves it quickly and precisely. Also looks like he likes a nice diagonal. I Thought he was one of the highlights today.

Strange but that's always how I thought Henderson would develop. I can't see how he can hope to get in now though.

He was excellent today.

Not sure about Borini but Rodgers did well with Allen.

The more I watch him the more I like him.

I think he'll be a cracking signing for us.

[ric.williams]

he looked good. the only one who did yesterday

[Fosterbloke]

I liked the way he always gave the option for a return pass by running into space and then had another pass in mind. Great stuff to watch.

[Norbs]

I like Henderson but I think Allen is a good bit better than him. Played well today I thought.

I'd like to see us risk a three of Henderson, Allen and Lucas. Push Gerrard up to the right of the front three, Suarez left and Borini in the middle. There's more chance of us holding on to the ball in midfield without Gerrard in there

[Alex]

He doesn't misplace many passes does he. Well impressed after seeing that Video

[Jaymo]

I thought he played very well yesterday. I can't really remember any loose balls of the top of my head.

He showed lots of energy, and likes to keep it simple at times, however he isn't afraid to spray the ball 30 or 40 yards to switch the play.

I think in a few years time he could be a key player for us!

[Fosterbloke]

Phil McNulty is a dickhead -

"But it was hard to agree with his (Rodgers) assertion that Allen was "outstanding" - he was relatively anonymous..."

[Neil Young]

I agree, Phil McNulty is a dickhead. Nothing I've read of his has been at all interesting and now I avoid him altogether.

Except when people quote him on here.

[Phoenix07]

I must admit, Allen was average yesterday (not in a negative way), and it's not surprising given the lack of training sessions and understanding of his new teammates.

He did the basics right and well. Nothing more, nothing less. He'll be much better in the next few weeks for sure.

[Muddled]

I'd need to see the highlights again, but there was a moment he hesitated and didn't quite get involved for the 50/50. WBA got possession and then broke. It led to either Morrison missing from 12 yards after Lukaku squared it, or the break down the left to which they got the corner and scored the third.

It was after Lucas had gone off, so there was no covering midfielder, but that could have been Rodgers sending them forward, as apposed to Allen not being aware of his surroundings. Other than that, I thought it was a great performance; he was always an outlet, always moving in to space and always wanting the ball. I'm very excited by this signing.

[danperkins]

Personally i didn't think Allen or Lucas had good game, IMO they got completely dominated by Molumbu & Morrison, out ran and out fought. In saying that i think was just too early for the partnership and in time when they build an understanding..they'll be excellent together.

As for Borini...well he looked very timid and a bit weedy yesterday. That just won't float in the premier league. In saying that i thought he looked very unnatural in a wide position, and would rather see him centrally,hanging around the box. Suarez naturally drifts all over the place so playing with on right IMO would be a good choice.

As for Downing well... we made a huge mistake buying... & Rogers is making a huge mistake every time he starts him.

[Muddled]

Personally i didn't think Allen or Lucas had good game, IMO they got completely dominated by Molumbu & Morrison, out ran and out fought. In saying that i think was just too early for the partnership and in time when they build an understanding..they'll be excellent together.

I don't think their midfield over-powered ours in any way until Agger was sent off. We were very much in the game, with only a worldie separating us.

We looked good in possession, we were creating chances but we lacked shape when we didn't have the ball. A mis-placed pass from Gerrard (not Allen or Lucas) and a high line combined with a Skrtel mistake led to the second penalty and playing with ten men.

We should have pulled the full backs back, kept Lucas and Allen centrally, pushed Gerrard wide right, Downing left and played some percentage football. Instead, we get sloppy (well, Skrtel did) and we're two nil down and chasing a game.

Our midfield was not at fault yesterday, it was our inability to consider different tactics.

[danperkins]

I don't think their midfield over-powered ours in any way until Agger was sent off. We were very much in the game, with only a worldie separating us.

We looked good in possession, we were creating chances but we lacked shape when we didn't have the ball. A mis-placed pass from Gerrard (not Allen or Lucas) and a high line combined with a Skrtel mistake led to the second penalty and playing with ten men.

We should have pulled the full backs back, kept Lucas and Allen centrally, pushed Gerrard wide right, Downing left and played some percentage football. Instead, we get sloppy (well, Skrtel did) and we're two nil down and chasing a game.

Our midfield was not at fault yesterday, it was our inability to consider different tactics.

Not saying our midfield was at fault for the loss, but their CM pairing was better. The first half was quite even (against West Brom) but they came out and controlled the second half, Agger didn't get sent off until 58 mins i think. What was most glaring to me was that at 2-0 we just gave up... and that is not right.

We didn't take some chances, same old there but IMO Allen & Lucas will take time to gel, Johnson on the left wasn't natural even though he did ok, Downing on the right was bad mistake, Borini on the left was a mistake he looked awkward and not a natural wide man.

IMO Suarez shouldn't play a central role, he is not a good finisher, naturally drifts out wide anyways and is so dangerous when he isolates defenders in those wide areas. Few things wrong with yesterday that Rogers needs to look at. Even contemplating bringing Cole on was a bad move, and fact he only got hammy injury the other week.. was schoolboy error IMO.

[Muddled]

Not saying our midfield was at fault for the loss, but their CM pairing was better. The first half was quite even (against West Brom) but they came out and controlled the second half, Agger didn't get sent off until 58 mins i think.

We didn't take some chances, same old there but IMO Allen & Lucas will take time to gel, Johnson on the left wasn't natural even though he did ok, Downing on the right was bad mistake, Borini on the left was a mistake he looked awkward and not a natural wide man.

IMO Suarez shouldn't play a central role, he naturally drifts out wide anyways and is so dangerous when he isolated defenders in those areas. Few things wrong with yesterday that Rogers needs to look at. Even contemplating bringing Cole on was a bad move, and fact he only got hammy injury the other week.. was schoolboy error IMO.

I can't agree with their midfield being better. Equally, I don't think they controlled the start of the second half; I thought we looked more than capable of getting back into the game. Perhaps we started pushing on too early as apposed to sticking to the game plan and keep doing our thing. Instead, we pushed higher and left a lot of space between our midfield and our defence and as such, WBA punished us.

I agree Downing and Borni didn't have the best performance and alongside Gerrard and Kelly, they were our worst players on the park yesterday. I also agree that Suarez needs to go left and we are in desperate need of somebody to play on the right. Cole coming on was a mistake and we should have looked to Carroll and changed the shape slightly.

As Exiled_Red has pointed out, it highlighted Rodgers' naivety when we went down to ten men, but he'll learn from it. Hopefully we can put a few past Hearts and build the team back up again for a tough game against City.