JOE ALLEN: LIVERPOOL'S NEW XABI ALONSO?

When Brendan Rodgers dished out £15 million for the signature of JOESPH MICHAEL ALLEN, many wondered is he worth it?Ever since Xabi Alonso left the reds for real, liverpool have tried to replace him with someone equally able and have failed on every occasion.The first one was ALBERTO AQUILANI, £ 20 million of the £30 million received from alonso's transfer was spent on the italian.He never really settled in england, and his first season was plagued by injuries and the following seasons he went out on a series of loans to various italian clubs.LUCAS LEIVA was given the chance to play regularly, and he grabbed this opportunity with both hands, putting up stellar performances week in week out, and looked to be the answer to liverpool's cdm problems, but an injury early last season hampered all of those plans and it was back to square one.The next one was JORDAN HENDERSON, another £20 million spent, but the england international looked the shadow of the player he was at sunderland and never really established himself.JONJO SHELVEY was one player who looked to have the potential which could be harnessed to make him a world class player, but again he was sent out on a number of loan spells and never really got the opportunity to grow at anfield.So, it comes down to liverpools latest acquistion, which brings me back to my earlier question,is allen worth it? The answer is he certainly is.

Allen a product of the swansea youth academy,he made his debut at the tender age of 16! Later on though he did find first team opportunities hard to come by and went out on a loan spell to wrexham, but when regular midfielder Ferrie Bodde had been ruled out of the season due to an injury, allen was recalled and finally got his chance! he came on as a substitute with his side trailing 2-0 and only 25 minutes remaining.They ended up drawing the game 2-2 and allen went on to win the man of the match award and this was just the beginning.He was one of swansea's best players of 2010/11 season, which saw them earn promotion to the top flight.In the 2011/12 season, allen showed everyone just why he is regarded to be one of the best talents to come out of wales, putting in stand out performances everytime he went out on the pitch.His passing ability, awareness and ball control were just immaculate and saw him being compared to XAVI.Another thing to be noted is his defensive ability and the dirty work that he is ever so ready to do.He ended up being the highest passing midfielder in the premier league last season and swansea's player of the season.

So when Rodgers made the switch to anfield, many expected him to take his main man with him, and he did! he has been rodgers best signing so far, and liverpools best player this season.If this is how allen is going to continue playing,and grow as he has been the past few years, then liverpool can put away their cdm problems away, because in allen they have someone who can glue the team together and has the awarness to always make the right pass. He might not be as good as xabi right now, but he is still young and with a player of steven gerrard's quality around, i am sure he can reach those heights!

WHY THE SAINTS CAN AVOID THE DROP

With the start of the new premier league season, the three newly promoted teams are the favorites among the bookmakers to make the drop back into the championship.
Southampton go into the international break without a point from their first 3 outings back in the top flight!Their fans and some pundits did expect them to get something out of their game against wigan, but they weren't given a hairs chance of troubling last seasons champions and runners up.

Despite the fact that they are rock bottom right now, they have shown that they have the players with the skill, guile and heart to suggest that they might still be around for the 2013/14 season.Manager NIGEL ADKINS has instilled a hardworking and yet attractive footballing philosophy into his squad, and this has definitely translated into their performances, under ADKINS the saints have a 1.97 points per game average,which isn't too bad at all.And they have shown that they are not afraid of facing the big teams and can trouble them, and results against the top teams is what will ensure survival in the end.

In ADAM LALLANA, they have a young, dynamic leader who fought through hear problems to get to where he is now and this is the fighting spirit that epitomise's through his team.Rickie Lambert's finishing is what propelled southampton into the top flight and he has showed that he can continue his excellent form at the very big stage as well.The club record signing of Uruguyan GASTON RAMIREZ, who was a target for many of the top clubs,gives a signal of the clubs intent, that they are here to STAY!The exciting winger will definitely add another dimension to their game and could be the x-factor that they need.
The only area of concern is their defense, who seem to put up a good performance upto the 75th minute, but end up losing their concentration and thus costing them the match in the end, a few tweaks in the centre back positions could be the solution to their defensive problems.
So all hope isn't lost yet, they maybe lying at the bottom now, but don't be surprised if they end up avoiding the drop come may!

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