The Welsh Xavi. The Welsh Pirlo. The nicknames designed to mock Liverpool's No.24, his ability and his current look.
Joe Allen has had an and up-and-down career since moving to Merseyside, where he has split opinion ever since he arrived for £15 million in the summer of 2012, but the current opinion of many is that he deserves a place in the Liverpool first-team.
The Welsh international followed manager Brendan Rodgers from Swansea City and given their ‘relationship’, whether it be father and son or whatever else, Allen was very much branded as Rodgers’ favourite. It certainly hasn’t helped during his bad performances, in which he was always one of the first to come under fire after a defeat.
A career that started very well with performances like the 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City, the first league game under Rodgers, has since seen the midfielder come under fire on countless occasions during his time on Merseyside, because he has been seen to be nowhere near the standard required.
Allen was heavily linked with a move away from Merseyside pretty much straight from the get go because of the arrival of Jürgen Klopp. His ‘romance’ with Rodgers being one of the more comical ideas coupled with the ineffective performances early in the season meant his time on Anfield seemed to be coming to an end. An offer from Swansea was reportedly quickly rejected in the window just gone however, showing he may still have a future under Klopp.
Midfielder's rapid improvement is clear to see
I suppose you have to use a cliché such as ‘what a difference a month makes’ when you consider the improvement we have seen in Joe Allen in the last month and a half. He has emerged from written off and warming the bench to Liverpool captain against West Ham and fans becoming increasingly vocal about their want for him to start in the league.
The equaliser in added on time against Arsenal, superbly putting away the winning penalty against Stoke to send Liverpool to Wembley and that no look pass (who cares if he didn't mean it) against Stoke in the first-leg of that Capital One Cup tie have been the main highlights.
In the centre of the park you could argue a case against all of the current players occupying those positions as to why Allen should be in their ahead of them. Lucas Leiva is having a torrid time at the moment. His performance levels have become a shadow of what they were when Klopp initially came to the club. At the start he was brilliant in providing a solid base at the base of the midfield. Now, however, he is struggling in every game, his ball movement too slow and him being deployed as the defensive midfielder is really not fulfilling the point of that role.
Emre Can and Jordan Henderson can’t be blameless either with both struggling for form. Can seems to get slower on the ball every time you see him and Henderson clearly isn’t fully fit. The dynamic, high intensity style he normally brings to the team has been restrained.
Allen has offered something different compared to those three, in that he has been dynamic when attacking, with his goals being an example of that, and also, he has been able to pull the strings from the midfield.
Allen has earned his chance for a starting spot
The Welshman was brilliant off the bench against Stoke in the second-leg as he restored some control to a Liverpool midfield that had been largely second best to Stoke that night. He gets Liverpool playing at a quicker pace and is much more forward thinking when in possession. He seems to be playing much more freely now that Rodgers has gone with the labels and association of the Northern Irishman all in the past and his sole focus can now be on football without the same level of scrutiny.
Again, against Leicester City, Liverpool were lacking a creative spark from the middle of the park and whilst the work rate in the centre was not in doubt the defensive protection of the back four was also lacking. No midfielder covered themselves in any sort of glory as they went down to the Foxes, but it is not working in the engine room and something needs changing. Allen could easily provide that missing link.
Let’s not get ahead ourselves however, we know that Allen is no saviour and things aren’t going to turn around just based on him possibly coming into the team. What is for sure is that he should be well in contention for a starting place and Klopp, who named him as “a first team player” recently, may well feel it is time for him to become that and not just a 20-minute substitute at the end of a game.
The 25-year-old deserves a chance to show everybody what he can do otherwise the move which didn’t materialise in January may come about in the summer.
The Welsh Xavi he may not be, but what is for sure is that Joe Allen should be starting for Liverpool at the moment and the sooner Klopp realises this, the better.