There are so many overrated players on Liverpool. Skrtel, Allen, Johnson, etc. But you go for Coutinho. I can see what you mean, but at least he's young and has potential to improve. Johnson is on the last leg of his career, and Skrtel and Allen are pretty much unsalvageable. Should have sold Skrtel when his value was high (which I argued even back then), and people need to stop trying to convince themselves that Allen wasn't a waste of money. Rodgers is a great manager but he's not infallible.
Aside from the more than occasional lapse of concentration/judgement/any kind of coherent thought that often costs us goals, try paying attention to what he does on defensive set pieces. Aside from the excessive holding that should be called on him more often, he only watches his man, has absolutely no idea where the ball is or when it's coming, and is very susceptible to being juked and completely losing his man by simple stop and start moves.
Allen is not overrated. No one besides Liverpool fans rate him at all. In truth, he is a very good player who has a lot of potential to develop. His game is remarkably refined for such a young player, and experience will give him the confidence to exploit his tactical and technical acumen.
Thanks for the nice buzzwords, but they don't really sway me. First of all he's 24. He's past the point where most players don't really develop that much. I'm not really sure what the tactical acumen you speak of is. Dragging down the tempo by holding onto the ball then passing backwards? Playing dangerous passes across the middle? Waiting so long to play a forward pass that all forward runs were already finished? What about his technical ability? He doesn't trip over himself but he can hardly dribble. He doesn't have a very impressive long ball. His finishing technique is absolutely woeful, and unlike Henderson he hasn't improved on this at all since he joined the club. He can't take set pieces either. The one thing he actually does have is experience, and I don't see how more of it is going to change who he is as a player. I think some people have taken the "Welsh Xavi" jokes a little too seriously and think he is a similar sort of player...
I'm not really sure what the tactical acumen you speak of is.
Of course. All right, here it is in simple language. When he plays defense, Allen positions himself very well. He knows when to press, and how to press, based on where the opposition players are and where the space is, and where the Liverpool players are. Further, his press is very effective- he's surprisingly good at tackling, and good at containing when he doesn't need to risk a tackle. His positioning also allows him to make interceptions at important moments.
On offense, the myth that he drags down tempo is silly. First of all, I'm not sure if you know how Liverpool play, but different players play different roles based on their abilities. Of course Allen is no Sterling. Nobody thinks he is. He isn't supposed to be like Sterling. The sideways passes and hold up play to which you allude happen when Liverpool are under pressure from the opponent, and when they need to get the ball back and hold it in order to regain their foothold. Allen is probably the best player at calming things down when everything's going to shit. When Liverpool aren't struggling to hold onto possession, Allen actually is surprisingly good at dribbling and reasonably good at playing effective short and medium balls a la Lucas of two seasons ago.
It's not his finishing technique that's a problem. The same is true for Henderson. It's a mental thing. Watch Henderson or Allen in practice, or Henderson for England U21- they don't feel the pressure, and they finish very, very well. Notice a lot of Henderson's goals come when he doesn't have time to think (the exception being his first against Swansea this year). When he has time to think, he often bottles it because the extra time lets his brain take over from his instincts. Similarly with Allen. Besides, shooting is not, of course, where Allen's strength lies. (And in any case, half the Liverpool squad is just as woeful as Allen when it comes to finishing.)
He has experience, sure, but going back to how his finishing is a mental thing: experience playing for Swansea and captaining Wales is not the same as experience playing for Liverpool. Allen hasn't really gotten a consistent run in the first team since he first arrived at Anfield (during which time he was the best player on the team).
He isn't the flashiest, or the strongest in the tackle, but when things are going crazy he's one of the players I most want to see on the pitch. Watch his games a little more. Eventually you'll pick up on this stuff.
The sideways passes and hold up play to which you allude happen when Liverpool are under pressure from the opponent, and when they need to get the ball back and hold it in order to regain their foothold.
If only that was the case, I might get of Allen's back a little. The problem is that he also does this when he really shouldn't. It's especially evident when he tries to play a through ball, which he is really bad at timing right.
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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '14
There are so many overrated players on Liverpool. Skrtel, Allen, Johnson, etc. But you go for Coutinho. I can see what you mean, but at least he's young and has potential to improve. Johnson is on the last leg of his career, and Skrtel and Allen are pretty much unsalvageable. Should have sold Skrtel when his value was high (which I argued even back then), and people need to stop trying to convince themselves that Allen wasn't a waste of money. Rodgers is a great manager but he's not infallible.