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Signed! But Is Joe Allen Worth £15m?

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WITH Joe Allen (virtually) confirmed as Liverpool’s second signing of the summer, his transfer to Anfield has been discussed and debated heavily by Reds fans.

From what I’ve seen and heard, the debate has been more about the fee than about Allen’s ability; he’s good, but is he worth £15m?

After Liverpool overpaid for British players last summer, Reds fans are wary of the club making the same mistake this summer and with good reason. We spent a lot of money last year and it goes without saying that we got a poor return for that outlay. The result was that our mistakes in the transfer market cost Kenny Dalglish and Damien Comolli their jobs.

But that does not mean we should abandon the idea of signing British player altogether; it merely means that the club needs to give more thought to the quality of the British players we are after and whether the fees required to sign them represent value for money. Allen showed last season that he is a talented midfielder and I’m sure Swansea are disappointed to be losing him. But the fact they allowed a £15m release clause in his contract shows that £15m is what he was worth to them.

A talented midfielder, Allen had one of the highest passing accuracy percentages last season – not just in the Premier League, but also in Europe. Since accurate passing is a key factor in Brendan Rodgers’ brand of football, it should come as no surprise that our new manager wants Allen at Anfield. After all, Allen was a more accurate passer of the ball last season than each and every member of the Liverpool squad. As whoscored.com pointed out, Allen was also one of the Premier League’s most frequent tacklers last year, behind only Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Dembele. With Allen, Lucas and Gerrard working together in midfield, not only will Liverpool improve our passing, we will also do a better job of winning the ball back when we do lose possession.

Allen’s greatest strengths are his passing and tackling; however he only scored four Premier League goals for Swansea last season and managed just two assists, so his attacking contribution is something the Welshman needs to improve on. After Liverpool’s poor chance conversation rate last season, the last thing we need is another player who struggles to find the back of the net. But Liverpool had no trouble scoring against Gomel on Thursday night, so let us hope that Rodgers has already got the team improving their shooting accuracy and that Allen can improve with the rest of the squad. Allen is also weak in the air, as you would expect from a footballer who is just 5’6″. However since Rodgers prefers his players to play the ball to feet, Allen’s lack of height will not hinder him at Liverpool.
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The problem with player price tags in football is that countless factors contribute to how much a player is worth. Whenever I think of the fact that Liverpool paid £35m for Andy Carroll, I am reminded of the adage that a hungry man will pay more for a Mars Bar than a man who is not hungry – Liverpool paid over the odds for Carroll last January because it was transfer deadline day and we were desperate for a striker to replace Fernando Torres. Are we desperate for a central midfielder? Absolutely not; we have an abundance of them. But I would rather see Allen in the starting XI for Liverpool than Charlie Adam, Jay Spearing or Jordan Henderson. We may have too many central midfielders but it is better to sell and replace the players who aren’t good enough than keep mediocre players in order to avoid spending money. I’m sure the signing of Joe Allen has caused Adam and Spearing to question their futures at Liverpool.

There are other areas of the team that need strengthening – we have a poor selection of wingers and we need another left back to act as cover for Jose Enrique. So it will be interesting to see if Rodgers is allowed to spend more money or if instead he will have to secure the loan signings he mentioned as possibilities. This is another factor which makes a player’s “true” value difficult to gauge; the size of a club’s transfer budget determines how much the club is willing to pay for one player.

My personal opinion is that although Joe Allen is talented, he is not worth £15m. He is a worthy addition to the Liverpool squad, but the squad is far from ready to challenge for a place in the top four and Rodgers still has much to do before the transfer window closes.

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29 comments

  • Liverpool Fan says:

    Worth or not, that is in the release clause.

  • segun says:

    I think the addition of dempsey will probably be the end of adam because he will be going the other way round.the transfer window opens in january again and then we can fill every empty places that are nt durable on the field of play.

    • kamaiks says:

      You can say what u want to about adam, he had the most assists for liverpools last season, even after gettting injured. Why are people forgetting that? He might be slow, but that’s why you have Lucas and the rest around him. We were going well last season, then Lucas was injured. Did we really play bad football last season???? We had bad luck. Wonder where we would of ended up if we didn’t hit the post 100000 times.

  • dan says:

    Not happy with Allen addition. I would have liked to see Ramirez for that sort of money, as he got flair and creativity and goals in his game and a year younger, but i am not BR. Allen should have cost 6-8 million if Arsenal or Man U went for him, but they would never go for a player of his quality, as he is not a top 4 player. Apart from passing there is not much to look forward on Allen.

    • Fras57 says:

      To true ! I think this buy will be comparable with the waste last year of Adam from Blackpool. I would have put Allen’s price more in the £5M region with some add ons ( such as assists that would hopefully concentrate his passing in the right direction!). It was not lost on some that we were the only club seriously interested in buying him . Ah well he’s here now and I pray I am wrong about all this .

    • Rob says:

      Not a top 4 player? Well who really is a top 4 player at 22? Not many in my opinion!

      Allen will have a wonderful future in the reds, i know that. I can se him as a replacement for Stevie in a couple of years, if he’s groomed a bit and if BR can keep him off injuries. BR is a smart man, no doubt, and I think you have to se it in a bigger perspective than just what a players abilities are, se what the lad can bring to the team, ‘cos it is still a teamsport, and it takes a team effort to win. To many stars, without any heart becomes really bad footballers as a hole, individually great, but they won’t last in the long run!

      WELCOME ALLEN! As a devoted Redsfan, i know you will be great, I trust Brendans judgement and can really se LFC bringing home the thing that belongs to us more than any other club, in the years to come!

      BTW, Mr Rodgers looks great in that nice LFC suite and tie!/Robbie the swede!

      • rodnie says:

        i really don’t know how old you are or what knowledge you have of football, but there are more than a handful of players that are world beaters at 22. hazard,mata,sanchez,neymar,wilshere…well these not players that im crying to be bought here, but by the age of 22 a player should have almost hit his peak. what the guy above suggested was that allen is not a top 4 club’s player. he is just good enough for swansea. and i’m really starting consider if BR is really smart, he made a mess out of the sigurdson deal and now paying 15 mill for a one season wonder,laughable

  • Jack says:

    Lets get behind the boy, we dont know he is going to be like Adam, Henderson, Downing. He looked a good player last season and done well for Team GB. He is young and could develop into a long term excellent player. £15m is the release clause, we dont meet it , we dont get him. I also think Adam will go. Spearing again last night was awful for the time he was on the pitch. Totally outshone by Lucas.

  • Jon Bach says:

    Nothing pleases me more than home grown players coming through the academy …but sadly in my opinion Spearing is not a premier league player ..a good player and a nice kid …YES…premier league …sadly NO .

  • Alan says:

    Oh no! 15mil on another one season wonder, what a waste of money, don’t forget Adam, Downing and Henderson all looked good until joining Liverpool. I fear this means the end for Agger

  • red fact says:

    That was the price tag in the release clause. It was obviously no subject for negotiation that is why our first bid was rejected. However, if since BR is paying it instead of walking away like he did with Guffy, then Allen must be worth it. Since BR has moved Gerard up front, then he is obviously looking at strengthening the defensive midfield rather than attacking options. What is the point of scoring if you cannot defend? And by the way Ramirez is next. Every structure demands a specific kind of material. Only (knows what he wants to build and the material needed, which unfortunately some of us will not agree with. So let the builder do his job, because our preferences and opinions are merely self comforting. They won’t change anything. Players we want may be bought, but are they suitable material for the builders plan?

  • Effect says:

    Allen is a world class player. Believe me, you’l love him more than any liverpool player. He’s got pass (modric, silva, iniesta, xavi), great tackles (mascherano). Infact, he is our best buy.

  • Nelson says:

    If we can pay £15m for allen i honestly think £15.9m for gaston ramirez who has more flair wouldnt be a problem. (thats my opinion though)…

  • Gary says:

    I seem to remember a lot of people on here slagging off Lucas not so long ago. I for one would like to wait and see how he develops. The price is the price not long ago fans were slating the club for not going the little bit extra to land their targets. We must remember the BR managed him last season in the prem so he must have some idea what he is about. Lets wait and see him actually play for Liverpool before deciding he is not good enough

  • ed smeulders says:

    C`mon…are we LFC fans here or not????….lets get behind Brendon Rodgers and his pursuit to land Joe Allen.Just remember…Allen and Swansea played us off the park at Anfield last season…applauded by the kop at games end no less
    …BR knows who he wants,he has already said this is a long term rebuild…so be TRUE LFC SUPPORTERS and back the manager and your team!!!!

  • sulyman ope says:

    Allen signing make me feel releive dat we can finish at top 4 next seasom. And d tikitaka game is make d combination of liverpool player 2 strong. Wat we need nw is a keeper dat d only problem we wil face nw.

    • Rob says:

      Wow, finally one that agree with me when it comes to replacing Pepe!

      I really dont se the potential everybody else seem to se, What is the deal about him? Really? Sopa hands, way too inconcistent.

      I really do believe LFC should be looking for a Goalie somewhere in between 23- 27 Years old, who is still someone that they can develop and really se great potential in. The dream signing between the post would be Hart/Neuer, but I’m smart enough to realise the impossibility of that, but what do you guys think of John Ruddy, Michel Vorm, Jack Butland or maybe Thibaut Courtois??

  • Good bargain that’s a warning †?? Adam †?? look for another club

  • joshua says:

    pls br, get a us a striker or a winger dat can score goals for us dis coming season

  • branco25 says:

    So stupid! Like Dalglish! If Agger leave for 22 milions, he will bring Wiliams for 12 milions. Stupid managers!

  • Melvin says:

    Whose next to LFC????
    Dempsey to LFC,Charlie Adam to Fulham?
    Gaston Ramirez to LFC for 16 mil pound?
    Daniel Agger staying at LFC or leaving to Man City and Joleon Lescott+Adam Johnson+10 mil pound?
    Jack Butland or Dorus de Vries(1 mil pound) to LFC?then Gulacsi,Brad Jones and Doni to???????

  • Melvin says:

    Adny Caroll to NUFC or West Ham for 2o mil pound?

  • Melvin says:

    Sell Jay Spearing and get Sulley Muntari on free transfer

  • branco25 says:

    He failed to sign Sigurdsson for 7 milions, and now he sign Allen for 15. WTF??? You want to sign a better player for 7, then, after you failed, you sign Allen for 15. I wish Rodgers to be fired!

  • Peckerpoolhoxton says:

    Scoring goals is the name of the game apart from Gerald and Suarez who have we bought in who is a proven goal scorer at every level I pray we don’t struggle in front of goal all over again add a couple of players BR who can stick the ball in the…..? Net

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