Joe Allen [Sold]

[Baracus]

i have to say that i think joe can look very good in a midfield three but would struggle in a two.

He looks like a player bought for a particular system and to do a very specific job. If the system is changed or his job is altered then he looks less impressive.

i still think he's superb but has to handled very carefully.

I agree with it all except the He is Superb

[Red_Polo]

24 metres?

Or 7.78 × 10^-16 Parsecs

[dom9]

Or 7.78 × 10^-16 Parsecs

Finally some sense.

[Neil Young]

The team with the most points wins the league. Henderson not the same person as Allen. Will the revelations never stop.

[Buzzo]

The team with the most points wins the league. Henderson not the same person as Allen. Will the revelations never stop.

Did we ever establish how far behind United we are? Someone said miles, but that has been met with caustic criticism. I think probably a furlong at most.

[little dave hedgehog]

If we sold Allen tomorrow because its "not working out" like we did with Sahin, what would people's opinions be?

depends very heavily on the fee.

[Lecter]

Brendan Knows best which ones against.

He is a young lad with big potential. Hamann was not physically imposing but shielded the ball exceptionally well to the point of falling over. Allen will learn just like Xavi did with the physically aspects of playing for a top side that is pressed for the ball. He has the techincally ability. In defense of his case he has yet to consisentley play in his position. Even throughout most games and since the start of the season he is being asked to switch from one role to the other to cover mainly for Lucas and when he is not on the pitch.

His awareness and ability to find space,movement with or without the football on pitch is far better standard then Adam or Spearing.

I think he is mentally shattered.

Hamann was a giant compared to Allen both physically and as a player

Allen is what 5'6" / 5'8" max but Hamann was over 6ft

Equally Allen is not built solidly and although Hamann was not massive he was physically bigger than Allen

As for playing, Hamann was probably one of the best holding players in Europe and Allen would not come in the top 5 holding players in the North West of England

Sorry the lad doesnt impress me in the slightest, he totally unbalances the midfield

For me Allen is a player who you bring on when you are comfortably winning a match and want to close it out because when its nip and tuck and you are fighting for things hes ineffective because hes easily bullied and out-muscled

[Lecter]

Just like Downing can have a purple patch, Allen can have a bad one. He's atrocious at the moment but this is not his default setting. He'll bounce back soon enough.

What if his purple patch was those 4 or 5 games early on in the season and that was as good as it ever gets and what we see now is his general level

I'm not as convinced as some on here that we will see this major upsurge in Allen

[Norbs]

He played well when deputising for Lucas and when we were struggling, there's no reason why he can't recapture that form. It has far more to do with Lucas's presence but I'm not sure why

[RichC]

He played well when deputising for Lucas and when we were struggling, there's no reason why he can't recapture that form. It has far more to do with Lucas's presence but I'm not sure why

At present both him and Lucas have been poor! Allen probably from being over played and Lucas from coming back from a long term lay off.

[Norbs]

Let's hope it's something temporary! My only criticism of him so far would be that it seems he needs perfect conditions to perform and is not very adaptable. If he was a world beater then that's fine but I'm not completely sure where his true value lies. We seem to improve when changes are made, Brendan is obviously a great tactician, and have improved in games when Joe's remained on the field. It's not all doom

[Nick77]

But you said he has yet to consistently play in his position...which is?

In Swansea's midfield - that is where I think he will play his best football...

[BigChief]

What if his purple patch was those 4 or 5 games early on in the season and that was as good as it ever gets and what we see now is his general level

I'm not as convinced as some on here that we will see this major upsurge in Allen

Fair point. But in the 6 or so games at the beginning of the season when he was virtually MOTM in nearly all of them he didn't have a pelvis injury, a baby and wasn't in the overplayed state he is now.

Factor that in with his form at Swansea and the peak/trough picture becomes clearer.

[Lecter]

Not convinced of that myself but each to their own

[danperkins]

What if his purple patch was those 4 or 5 games early on in the season and that was as good as it ever gets and what we see now is his general level

I'm not as convinced as some on here that we will see this major upsurge in Allen

Maybe alright, Meireles had similar patch, people waxed lyrical....and was a non event apart from that.

Not convinced of Allen thus far, maybe he has been over played a bit too. Regardless he needs to be benched & IMO we need better than him and Henderson in the midfield.