He played really well from the holding role but he would be more effective further forward. In fact there was very little attempt to get behind the Arsenal defence at all.
He has made a decent start, but those stats are all well and good but also pointless if there is no killer pass, retaining possession is all well and good, but having no end product at the end of it makes it worthless. its not about how much you do it but what you do with it, and so far hes done nothing in terms splitting defenses and creating chances for strikers to score, which ultimately wins football matches.
Also Diaby and Arteta ran the show from midfield that game.
I was one of the people who thought he was an unneeded player buy he has proved me wrong, not just by the way he has played but in that we've finally got cover for Lucas. We still have the problem I spoke about in that we have fine passing percentages but no penetration. I do think it would have been papered over if we had kept Carroll and played Suarez in his preferred wide forward role.
He wasn't bought to penetrate defences though, he was bought so we could hold onto the ball and get it from one red shirt to another. Which he has done brilliantly.
Let's not expect the world from him yet either. Xavi didn't become one of the top 3 players in the world until his late 20s. Allens only 22.
Not saying he's gonna be anywhere near that, but you know what I mean .
i dont think that penetration can really be put to allen tbh... many times he does play a lovely through ball in midfield, where there isnt much danger but it relieves the pressure.
however, our strikers, mainly the increasingly frustrating suarez doesnt make a run behind cause he wants to nutmeg 5 players before he does anthing with the ball, and neither does borini, meaning that there is only really sterling that will try and get behind.
He supplies our front 4 consistently. If they dont know what to do with the ball its hardly his fault.
Awesome player
Stonafcd
Agreed, we need more players for Allen to give the ball to who going to hurt the opposition. It's incredible that Barca rely so heavily on Messi such is his genius.
We will have to split that job between a few players. Suarez was awful on Sunday and Raheem will need a fee more games before he really comes good. I think it's high time Suso was given Hendersons place on the bench and Assaidi needs to come in as well.
Suarez doesn't do lone strikers. Why doesn't BR understand that? He plays his best with Carroll in front of him or Gerrard behind him. For Uruguay he's at his best with Forlan behind him.
Predictable tripe? Check
Gag about nick? Check
Partisan pontification? Check
^
Thanks for the one star too mate
That's what I'm saying he wasn't bought to penetrate defences and we already had playerswwho don't do that, so who was bought to penetrate?
if he was called joao alleninho he wouldnt have been sold for £15M...
Gerrard was supposed to penetrate along with the other 3
But he gets slated for giving the ball away when he tries to. When you try to penetrate you're gonna lose the ball more and that's what people need to understand. Of course this takes nothing away from his poor performance on Sunday.
I've only slated Gerrard for this past Sunday's showing because it was truely awful.
Against City he tried and did lose the ball a couple of times but he didnt get as slated as much as he did for his performance against Arsenal.
Suarez has come in for a lot of criticism as well for the same reasons.
Allen made some great forwards passes as well. That run with the 3 Arsenal players should've ended with a shot from Downing but he has no confidence at all.
After watching Allen carefully during hearts game he is without doubt our most productive midfielder. between him Shelvey and Gerrard he is the only one who will recieve the ball from the defence, make space before his first touch and then turn and move forward. Other than that our midfield would happily give a one touch ball back to the defenders, which is not productive moving forward.
As for Gerrard, I think he has looked below his standards at the start of this season, however i think this style of play does not suit him. As the hearts game opened up he made a lot of surging runs forward with the ball. His passing was still off but you could see that he prefers to hold the ball and run.
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posted on 4/9/12
He played really well from the holding role but he would be more effective further forward. In fact there was very little attempt to get behind the Arsenal defence at all.
posted on 4/9/12
He has made a decent start, but those stats are all well and good but also pointless if there is no killer pass, retaining possession is all well and good, but having no end product at the end of it makes it worthless. its not about how much you do it but what you do with it, and so far hes done nothing in terms splitting defenses and creating chances for strikers to score, which ultimately wins football matches.
posted on 4/9/12
Also Diaby and Arteta ran the show from midfield that game.
posted on 4/9/12
I was one of the people who thought he was an unneeded player buy he has proved me wrong, not just by the way he has played but in that we've finally got cover for Lucas. We still have the problem I spoke about in that we have fine passing percentages but no penetration. I do think it would have been papered over if we had kept Carroll and played Suarez in his preferred wide forward role.
posted on 4/9/12
He wasn't bought to penetrate defences though, he was bought so we could hold onto the ball and get it from one red shirt to another. Which he has done brilliantly.
posted on 4/9/12
Let's not expect the world from him yet either. Xavi didn't become one of the top 3 players in the world until his late 20s. Allens only 22.
Not saying he's gonna be anywhere near that, but you know what I mean .
posted on 4/9/12
i dont think that penetration can really be put to allen tbh... many times he does play a lovely through ball in midfield, where there isnt much danger but it relieves the pressure.
however, our strikers, mainly the increasingly frustrating suarez doesnt make a run behind cause he wants to nutmeg 5 players before he does anthing with the ball, and neither does borini, meaning that there is only really sterling that will try and get behind.
posted on 4/9/12
He supplies our front 4 consistently. If they dont know what to do with the ball its hardly his fault.
Awesome player
posted on 4/9/12
Stonafcd
Agreed, we need more players for Allen to give the ball to who going to hurt the opposition. It's incredible that Barca rely so heavily on Messi such is his genius.
We will have to split that job between a few players. Suarez was awful on Sunday and Raheem will need a fee more games before he really comes good. I think it's high time Suso was given Hendersons place on the bench and Assaidi needs to come in as well.
posted on 4/9/12
Suarez doesn't do lone strikers. Why doesn't BR understand that? He plays his best with Carroll in front of him or Gerrard behind him. For Uruguay he's at his best with Forlan behind him.
posted on 4/9/12
Predictable tripe? Check
Gag about nick? Check
Partisan pontification? Check
posted on 4/9/12
^
Thanks for the one star too mate
posted on 4/9/12
That's what I'm saying he wasn't bought to penetrate defences and we already had playerswwho don't do that, so who was bought to penetrate?
posted on 4/9/12
Sahin probs. I hope.
posted on 4/9/12
if he was called joao alleninho he wouldnt have been sold for £15M...
posted on 4/9/12
Gerrard was supposed to penetrate along with the other 3
posted on 4/9/12
But he gets slated for giving the ball away when he tries to. When you try to penetrate you're gonna lose the ball more and that's what people need to understand. Of course this takes nothing away from his poor performance on Sunday.
posted on 4/9/12
I've only slated Gerrard for this past Sunday's showing because it was truely awful.
Against City he tried and did lose the ball a couple of times but he didnt get as slated as much as he did for his performance against Arsenal.
Suarez has come in for a lot of criticism as well for the same reasons.
Allen made some great forwards passes as well. That run with the 3 Arsenal players should've ended with a shot from Downing but he has no confidence at all.
posted on 4/9/12
After watching Allen carefully during hearts game he is without doubt our most productive midfielder. between him Shelvey and Gerrard he is the only one who will recieve the ball from the defence, make space before his first touch and then turn and move forward. Other than that our midfield would happily give a one touch ball back to the defenders, which is not productive moving forward.
As for Gerrard, I think he has looked below his standards at the start of this season, however i think this style of play does not suit him. As the hearts game opened up he made a lot of surging runs forward with the ball. His passing was still off but you could see that he prefers to hold the ball and run.
posted on 4/9/12
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Downing II
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