Allen put in some eye-catching displays from January onwards.
Liverpool’s Joe Allen warms up
Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen said he would’ve been disappointed if he hadn’t shown some kind of improvement during the second half of the season, the Liverpool Echo reports.
The Welshman received many plaudits for the impact he’s had since something of a revival under Jurgen Klopp which has seen him arguably play the best football of his career at Anfield.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Notable contributions include a fine performance in the League Cup semi-final against Stoke City – where his spot-kick in the shoot-out took the Reds to the final; goals against Arsenal, Exeter City and Watford and substitute appearances in big games in the closing stages of the season – notably in the Europa League run.
Allen told the Liverpool Echo: “People have talked about the improvement in my game this year, but it’s almost a back-handed compliment in some ways.
Joe Allen scores for Liverpool
“In the first half of the season I hadn’t played.
“But I’m 26, not 36, so I am still developing and improving.
“I’d be very disappointed if I said at the end of any year that I hadn’t improved as the season had gone on.”
Allen had struggled to get into the side early on in the season, partly down to one or two injury issues as he was limited to trying to build up his fitness whenever the side was heavily rotated.
Joe Allen celebrates with team mates after scoring the first goal for Liverpool
Before the second half of this season, he was something of a maligned figure to many, though it was hard to recall when he did anything wrong in his duties whenever he played.
Competition for places in the heart of Liverpool’s midfield has been pretty tough for most of the season and Allen has been used as a rotation option. It will be interesting to see what kind of outcome his performances have had on his future.
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