Joseph Michael "Joe" Allen is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for
Liverpool and the Wales national team as a midfielder.
Club career = Swansea City=
Born in Carmarthen, Allen started his career playing in local team Tenby.
Allen was part of the Swansea City youth set-up from the age of nine. As a
first-year scholar in the youth team in the 2006–07 season, he featured as an
unused first-team substitute in a 0–3 away win over then FA Premier League
side Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup. Two weeks later, when
Allen was just 16, Swansea manager Kenny Jackett gave Allen his debut in the FAW
Premier Cup away tie to local Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town.
Allen played the first half of the match, as Swansea lost 2–1 after extra
time. Allen made his league debut for Swansea as a substitute in a 6–3 defeat
to Blackpool on the final day of the League One season, as Swansea missed out
on a play-off position under new manager and former team captain Roberto
Martínez. The following pre-season, Allen played
in numerous games for the club. As the 2007–08 season got underway, he started
in the first round of the League Cup game in a 2–0 home win over Walsall.
Allen was named man of the match for his performance, which included assisting in
the first goal by providing a left-footed chipped cross to Paul
Anderson. In August 2007, Martínez awarded Allen his first professional
contract, which kept him at Swansea until 2010. Allen started in the next
round of the League Cup at home to Reading, and again received the man of
the match award. The following season, Swansea's first in
the Championship, Allen struggled to get into the first team due to competition
from midfielders Darren Pratley, Ferrie Bodde, Owain Tudur Jones, Jordi Gómez
and Leon Britton. In October 2008, Allen joined Conference National club Wrexham
on a one-month loan deal, and scored a goal from 25 yards on his debut for the
North Wales side in a 3–1 win over York City. Allen made a handful of
appearances for the club, but his loan spell was cut short when he damaged
ankle ligaments, which kept him out for a month. Allen returned from the injury
in December, going back into the Swansea squad at home to Barnsley; regular
midfielder Ferrie Bodde had been ruled out for the remainder of the season as a
result of injury. With Swansea 2–0 down playing terribly, manager Roberto
Martínez was prompted to bring Allen on from the bench. Swansea went on to earn
a late 2–2 draw and, despite only playing 25 minutes, Allen once more
received the man of the match award. In April 2009, Allen came on as a
substitute to score his first goal for Swansea in a South Wales derby away at
Cardiff City. At the end of the season, he signed a new three-year contract
until 2012. After frequently being injured in the 2009–10 season, Allen
returned to regular first-team football at the start of the 2010–11 season. A
string of impressive performances prompted manager Brendan Rodgers to play
Allen in the South Wales derby in November 2010, with Allen receiving the
man of the match award in the 1–0 win. A few days prior to the beginning of the
2011–12 Premier League, Allen signed a new four-year contract with Swansea
until 2015. = Liverpool=
On 10 August 2012, after passing a medical at Melwood, Allen signed a
long-term contract with Liverpool in a deal worth £15 million, following
manager Brendan Rodgers to Anfield. He made his Premier League debut on 18
August 2012, starting in a 3–0 loss against West Bromwich Albion at The
Hawthorns. He started Liverpool's next game of the league campaign against
Manchester City, where he was voted man of the match on the club's official
website by fans and journalists. He went on to win the Liverpool Player of the
Month award for August 2012. Allen scored his first goal for Liverpool on
27 January 2013 in a 3–2 defeat to Oldham Athletic in the fourth round of
the FA Cup. He scored his first European goal on 21 February in a 3–1 win over
Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League. On 20 March, it was
announced that Allen would be ruled out for the remainder of the 2012–13 season,
with him requiring surgery on his left shoulder.
On 5 May 2014, Allen scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 2013–14
Premier League season with a header from a corner to give Liverpool the lead in a
3–3 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Throughout the 2014–15 season, Allen was criticised by fans for his performance
in the matches where he played and he also got injured in between. Allen was
praised when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 win against Manchester
City, where he outplayed City star Yaya Touré.
On 13 April, Allen scored the second goal in a 2–0 win over Newcastle, his
first at Anfield. Before the start of the 2015–16 season,
Allen suffered an injury during one of the pre-season matches and was ruled out
for a month. International career
Soon after receiving his first professional contract for Swansea City
in August 2007, Allen was called up for the Wales under-21 team in a friendly
match away to Sweden. He came on as a substitute to score the winner in a 4–3
win. In May 2009, Allen made his debut for
the senior Wales team as a substitute during a friendly against Estonia. In
November 2009, he was called up for another international friendly, against
Scotland, at the newly-opened Cardiff City Stadium. He made his first start
for Wales in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G match against
Switzerland at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea on October 2011. Four days
later, Allen started again for Wales in a 0–1 victory against Bulgaria played in
Sofia. He was awarded the prize for the Wales' Player of the Year for 2012 in
October of that year. Allen captained Wales for the first time in the absence
of Ashley Williams through injury on 4 June 2014 against the Netherlands.
2012 Summer Olympics Allen chose to be included in Team GB's
2012 Summer Olympics football squad. Captained by Ryan Giggs, Allen was one
of five Welsh players, but a mistake in the official Team GB programme for their
first game described Allen as English. Personal life
Allen was raised in the Pembrokeshire town of Narberth, and is a former
student of Ysgol y Preseli. He is a fluent Welsh speaker.
Career statistics = Club=
As of match played 3 December 2015. = International=
As of match played 10 October 2015. References
External links Joe Allen career statistics at
Soccerbase LFC History Profile