Joe Allen plays for Liverpool on Thursday night against Borussia Dortmund, finally free of one of the heaviest pieces of baggage any Welsh footballer has ever had to carry. Dai Sport’s Ross Tyson (Twitter @rosstyson) looks at the way Extraordinary Joe has dropped a weight from his shoulders.
Perhaps it was the pressure of being the main character in Being Liverpool, that ill-advised fly-on-the-wall TV documentary that portrayed Brendan Rodgers as a little too much like David Brent.
Or, maybe it was simply the surge of excitement at capturing his first big money signing.
But something made Rodgers say those words when he introduced Joe Allen to the media – the words, which must have felt to Rodgers like a blessing, that became a curse to Joe Allen’s Liverpool career . . . “The Welsh Xavi”.
The tongue-in-cheek nickname, which was maybe mooted around Swansea City’s training ground, was now in the public eye. In fact, it may as well have been branded on Joe’s forehead. During the Rodgers years, no matter how good or disappointing his performance was, he was ‘The Welsh Xavi’.
A quite unfair and seemingly unbreakable link to the manager seemed to cloud the vision of fans and pundits alike. During the better days of Rodgers’ reign, Allen was viewed by many as a controlled, authoritative midfield presence – much as he is currently viewed by Wales fans.
But in the darker days, some Liverpool supporters were left asking, ‘What does Joe Allen actually do? What is he for? He doesn’t score and he doesn’t get many assists.” (6 goals and 4 assists in 122 appearances)
And then, the worst assessment of all – “He’s just here because of Rodgers”. Despite picking up a player of the month award in August 2012, his Liverpool career has been marred by injuries and inconsistencies, both in his own performances and those of his teammates.
So when Rodgers was shown the door in October, many felt Allen would suffer the same fate. Rumours of a new contract completely dried up, and many thought his Liverpool career would meander into a January exit (Swansea, among others, were reported to have enquired about a move).
Yet, in recent weeks, and under football’s rock star current manager Jurgen Klopp, Allen has looked a new man (not least because of his beard and locks). It seems he immediately bought into Klopp’s philosophy and was determined to fight for his Liverpool future.
Klopp, though, didn’t seem immediately convinced. False dawns presented themselves in the form of a last gasp equaliser against Arsenal, a winning penalty against Stoke, and the captaincy against Exeter in the FA Cup, but up until very recently Allen has had to make do with appearances from the bench.
It is in these cameos, however, that he has shown what he can offer; he was excellent from the bench in both legs of the Europa League tie against Manchester United and in the first leg against Borussia Dortmund.
He’s shown Liverpool fans he is not a ‘Cymraeg Catalonian’ or ‘Carmarthen’s answer to Pirlo’, he is simply Joe Allen; a measured, sensible footballer, capable on the ball and hard working off it.
Due to an unfortunate injury to Jordan Henderson, it now seems Allen will essentially have a make or break, last stand, sort of month at Liverpool. He seems a shoo-in for a starting berth in midfield and now has a chance to show Klopp why he should be a prominent feature in his future plans.
Allen is unlikely to stay as a squad rotation option, so even if this is his last month as a Liverpool player, he will want The Kop to remember him as his own man, An Extraordinary Joe, and not The Welsh Xavi.
