Sideways Sammy

After enjoying a productive campaign last time out, picking up on the scraps left behind by Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer to notch an impressive six goals and two assists from midfield, this season looked set to be a test of how good Jamie Allen could be in his own right. Missing the opening weeks of the campaign, Jamie Allen’s return initially lifted the team, providing someone who could show for possession further up the pitch and keep attacks moving in a forward direction. However, Allen hasn’t really built on that initial burst of form, not aided by a change in formation that has seen him deployed in a deep midfield role that doesn’t lend itself to his strengths.

Jamie Allen’s game is all about energy, looking to close space down with his head up and make an impact with a minimal amount of time on the ball. As part of a midfield three, Allen is free to do just that, with team-mates around him to look after the ball and get him up the pitch. Some of the key issues that Allen has faced since the switch to a 4-2-3-1 that has seen him pushed closer to his own penalty area are that he is forced to take greater care of possession than he is accustomed, and probably suited, to and leaves space in behind when he pushes forward. Just what the idea has been in having him as the first-choice midfield partner for Ben Sheaf of late hasn’t been quite clear, perhaps he is there to provide energy to get the team on the front-foot, but he has spent large portions of games in areas he is unable to make an impact in – culminating in a recent costly error against Swansea City, where he dallied on the ball in under pressure in his own penalty area with no apparent clue what to do with it, before being robbed of possession for a goal.

With another central midfielder seemingly on the shopping list for either this January or next summer, Jamie Allen has some work to do to stay around as a valid option for the first-team squad. There remains a sense that he is someone whose efforts and tactical discipline are admired by Mark Robins, so it cannot be ruled out that the manager may find a role soon that better fits Jamie Allen’s skill-set. It has been felt before that the team may have evolved past needing Allen’s services and he has been able to prove those doubts wrong. The task for him right now is to do it all over again.