Welsh Pirlo : Joe Allen Insists Criticism Over His Time At Liverpool Was Unfair

Stoke’s Joe Allen says a more advanced position is the reason for his recent burst of four goals in three Premier League games.

Allen scored seven goals in 132 appearances for Liverpool, but he says that record was down to his the position he was asked to occupy.

“At Liverpool, the role I had was to provide a platform for the special players like Coutinho, Firmino, Sturridge, Sterling and Lallana – the list goes on,” Allen told Sky Sports. “The onus was on them to score the goals.

“For that reason it’s sometimes disappointing to come in for criticism, but since I’ve come to Stoke I’ve had that role and responsibility.”


Allen also conceded that it soon became obvious that he didn’t have a long-term future at Liverpool once Jurgen Klopp arrived.

“I wasn’t in his initial team and it was clear I wasn’t going to be a first-choice player, which was disappointing,” he explained. But at a club like Liverpool, that can happen. From my point of view, I didn’t want to be sat around and be a bit-part player.

“There were no hard feelings about the situation, but it was time to move on.”

Allen has also transferred his goalscoring to the international stage. He’s netted for Wales in his last two appearances – a 4-0 win against Moldova and the 2-2 with Marko Arnautovic’s Austria.