Times have changed since the erratic Everton striker Mickael Madar was pinned to a dressing-room wall after missing an open goal at Anfield, and spent the rest of the night in a bar where an irate supporter repeated; “Ball. Goal. Ball in goal. Understand?”
But there remains nowhere to hide after a glaring error in a Merseyside derby, as Joe Allen (above) discovered last month at Goodison Park. He concedes: “A lot of people probably wrote me off the second that game finished.”
To recap, and with apologies to the genuinely decent Liverpool midfielder, the visitors were leading 2-1 when Luis Suarez beat three blue shirts on the edge of the area and the ball broke for the unmarked Allen.
Earning an earful
Time and Everton defenders stood still as he side-footed beyond Tim Howard but also wide of the post, earning an earful from Suarez, a booking and finally the hook from his manager within the next eight minutes.
The breathtaking derby ended 3-3 and with many questioning how the Wales international would recover from the latest setback in his short Liverpool career.
The answer has been brief but encouraging, two assured displays in the heavy Anfield defeats of Norwich City and West Ham United, with the 23-year-old’s resolve also demonstrated in his analysis of that Goodison moment.
“It was something that would have affected me in the past but, in all honesty, it didn’t really affect me too much,” Allen says.
"I understood the significance of it. It was a pivotal moment in a massive game and there is no hiding from that. But I understood it was a miss and it happens in football. I would have been more disappointed if it had been a terrible performance for the team.
'Only disappointment'
"The only disappointment I had was whether it would affect my chances of selection, and luckily it hasn't. I've had an opportunity to get straight back out there soon after, which was important, and it hasn't knocked my confidence in a way people probably expected."
Allen’s philosophical approach and improved confidence reveals plenty about the difficulties of swapping his boyhood club, Swansea City, for the pressures of being a player at Liverpool.
Adapting to Brendan Rodgers’ passing style was never going to be an issue for the Liverpool manager’s former charge at the Liberty Stadium. Adapting to the scrutiny, however, was a different matter.
“In the 18 months I’ve been here that is probably the side of football I have improved a lot,” the midfielder admits. “Being at a club like Liverpool you understand that the scrutiny and the pressure is probably 10 times greater than at certain other places and you have to learn to deal with that. That has been a positive thing for me and that is why I was so excited to get back out there playing straight away.
“It didn’t affect my confidence as I think it would have done in the past. That is down to myself and others at the club who help you in that regard.”
Allen particularly impressed against West Ham last weekend and heads to Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow insisting: "We are probably a run of good away results from really turning the corner and taking this team to a new level."
Gerrard injured
With Steven Gerrard injured for a demanding festive period the responsibility on Liverpool's available central midfielders will intensify.
“That’s natural when you lose an inspirational figure and the leader of the team,” Allen says. “We have to see it as an opportunity to come to the fore. We will have to show leadership amongst ourselves without Stevie out there. Obviously it is a massive blow for us to lose Stevie but this is the reason you try to build a strong squad. People have got to step up and show we are able to cope with that loss.”
White Hart Lane marks the start of three December away fixtures that could shape Liverpool’s Champions League qualification credentials, the Etihad Stadium and Stamford Bridge completing the set.
Allen’s improved self-belief extends to a top-four finish this season. “It is certainly realistic,” he states. “As players you have to set your sights right up there and believe you can do it. We do. We can beat anyone with the players we’ve got here.
“That’s enough evidence to show we can get in there. At the start of the season you would have looked at this period and thought it will be challenging.
"But we've got a base now of good performances and good victories and we have the momentum and confidence to come out of this period with some very good results."
Guardian Service
