Liverpool: Why Brendan Rodgers Should Keep Faith with Joe Allen

One of Brendan Rodgers' first moves after taking over as Liverpool boss last summer was to complete the transfer signing of Joe Allen from former club Swansea City, a £15 million deal which many saw as the boss stamping his image on the squad early on.

After a hugely promising start to his Anfield career, Allen's good performances waned away toward the end of the first third of the season. By the turn of the year, he was in-and-out of the team, no longer a regular starter.

A shoulder injury and the ensuing required surgery ended his debut Liverpool season in mid-March, leaving some to determine that the Welsh midfielder had been underwhelming in his first campaign. However, there remain plenty of reasons for the manager to retain his faith in Joe Allen.

Changes in Position, Changes in the Team

Allen started off the season playing as the deepest of Liverpool's midfield three, operating in a holding role in front of the defence.

It was there that he showed his best form of the season, showing plenty of his attributes and helping Liverpool control their games early in the campaign. Tactically, he was of course an important asset for the manager as Rodgers sought to show his new group of players the shape and patterns of play he required, with Allen an important part of Rodgers' team at Swansea.

One of the most immediately noticeable changes in Liverpool from August to October was the high percentages of possession they were comfortable in having during matches, frequently dominating games—even against the likes of league winners Manchester City—and Allen was one of the early instigators of that change.

Later in the campaign, with the return to fitness of Lucas Leiva, Allen moved into a more advanced position in the midfield trio, and it was there that he struggled.

Allen didn't control games as much, couldn't operate in the tighter spaces quite as well and the Reds never really got to grips with Lucas-Steven Gerrard-Allen as a trio, all of whom played quite similar roles in different areas.

However, he had certainly shown enough to suggest that he can do a good job in the deep role, and arguably could in the "second midfield role" which Gerrard has been playing in, with a more attacking option in front of him as the third.

Allen's Strengths and Weaknesses

Passing, ball control, and dictating the tempo of the match. These are the big skills of Joe Allen which are important to Liverpool, and the more of these players they have in the squad, the better. The trick for Rodgers is to blend them into the side together and not lose out in terms of attacking thrust.

Allen isn't fast and his vertical movement hasn't proven to be the best so far, with it being a little alien to him to break into the opposition penalty box to be a threat—the direct opposite, in other words, to Philippe Coutinho who ended the season in that role.

The Welsh midfielder dictates play from deep areas of the pitch, where he gets a little more space to operate in and where he can get the ball, give it; get the ball, give it. Repetition and consistency is the key, and though it doesn't look as flashy or as effective as one of Coutinho's drops of the shoulders or through passes, it is every bit as important.

Allen can put in tackles too in the deepest midfield role. Though he did not make challenges as often as Lucas does, he did make more interceptions per minute, highlighting the importance of protecting the defence by stopping attacks before they begin.

He was also dribbled past by the opposition far less often than Lucas.

Depth, Value and Quality

Liverpool needs to add to their squad this summer in several key areas, and although some players will also depart, they need to start building up a better group of first-team players instead of having just 12-14 capable of being in the first XI, and then a group of reserves or kids.

Allen is definitely capable of being a Premier League starter, though he needs to maintain his better form over a far longer period of time. The Reds must work with him, technically and mentally, to help Allen find his best form whether it's coming off the bench or starting a run of games. If they do so, they've got an extra midfielder challenging for a starting spot.

As things stand, he is probably the ideal replacement for Steven Gerrard in the squad at the moment.

Gerrard isn't the powerful box-to-box or attacking midfielder of previous years, instead he operates in space and from deep, before offering the surprise extra addition to the attack when the time is right. Essentially, this is the exact job Allen wants to be doing, and is therefore part of the reason why Liverpool lacked final third presence in the first half of the season.

Plenty of control in the midfield, and not enough penetration; that was the story of the Allen-Gerrard combo, with Lucas behind them.

Liverpool's Transfer Plans

The Reds have serious work to do in the back line, with two or three central defenders likely on the agenda and left-back, defensive midfielders and goalkeepers all being looked at according to the rumours of the summer so far.

It is unclear at present how much money Brendan Rodgers will have to spend in the summer, but he could certainly do without having to also re-shape the midfield he tried to put together only a year ago. Allen, Gerrard and Lucas provide three options in the midfield, Jordan Henderson another.

If the Reds can simply add a strong competitor to the holding role, then they have themselves a good quintet of central players; thereafter the likes of Coutinho bring more attacking flair and creativity to the team.

Allen can still have a big part to play for Liverpool next season. Even if he does not re-establish himself immediately as a first XI player in either of the two deeper midfield roles, it should not be forgotten that Lucas has spent significant time injured recently and Gerrard is going to be 33 years old. Allen will get plenty of game time, and has plenty of quality on the ball to help Liverpool achieve a result in any given match.

One more year down the line there is a good chance that Allen will find himself in a similar situation to Henderson; previously derided as not good enough and suddenly seen as one of those who must be kept and nurtured over a period of time, a valuable squad player.

Liverpool needs 16 or even 18 "first-team" quality players to choose from next term to be able to get back toward the top four of the Premier League, and it is likely—and correct—that Rodgers views Allen as one of those players.

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