Joe Allen
Encyclopedia
Joseph Michael "Joe" Allen (born 14 March 1990) is a Welsh
international footballer who plays for Swansea City
as a midfielder
.
youth setup since he was nine years old. As a first-year scholar in the youth team in the 2006–2007 season, he featured as an unused substitute for the first team due to injury problems in a 3–0 away win over then Premiership side Sheffield United
in the 3rd round of the FA Cup
at Bramall Lane
. Just two weeks later, and still only 16 years old at the time, he was given his debut by starting in the FAW Premier Cup
away tie to local Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town
by then Swansea manager Kenny Jackett
but only played the first half as they went on to lose 2–1 in extra time. He made his league debut for Swansea as a substitute in the 6–3 defeat to Blackpool
on the final day of the Football League One
season as they missed out on a playoff place under new manager and former Swans captain Roberto Martínez
.
The following pre-season Allen played in numerous games for the club. As the 2007–2008 season got underway he started in the first round of the Carling Cup game in a 2–0 home win over Walsall
, receiving man of the match award in the process and assisting the first goal with a left footed chipped cross to scorer of the first goal Paul Anderson
. He was awarded his first professional contract by Roberto Martínez
keeping him at the club until 2010. He then started in the next round of the Carling Cup
at home to Reading
again receiving a man of the match award but the Swans lost 1–0 in extra time. He was handed his first start in the league in a 2–1 home win over Carlisle United
. He made a number of appearances in both League and cup competitions for the rest of the season and was eligible for a medal for the Swans League One title winning season.
The following season in Swansea's first season in the Football League Championship
, Allen struggled to get into the first team due to the competition of midfielders Darren Pratley
, Ferrie Bodde
,
Owain Tudur Jones
, Jordi Gomez
and Leon Britton
. On 7 October 2008 Allen joined Wrexham on a one-month loan deal, scoring a 25 yard goal on his debut for the club during a 3–1 win over York City
. He made a handful of appearances for the club but his loan spell was cut short just before it was set to end when he damaged ankle ligaments, keeping him out for a month. He returned from the injury in December going back into the Swansea squad at home to Barnsley
as regular midfielder Ferrie Bodde was ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage. With the Swans 2–0 down playing terribly prompted manager Roberto Martinez brought Allen on from the bench. The Swans went on to earn a late 2–2 draw thanks to two goals from Jason Scotland
and, despite only playing 25 minutes, Allen received the man of the match award for his performance. From then on he finally broke into the first team with his consistent performances and at 18 years of age was ahead of the more experienced Tudur Jones.
Break into the first team
On 5 April 2009, Allen came on as a substitute to score his first goal for Swansea City in a South Wales derby
during a 2–2 draw with away at Cardiff City
. At the end of the season he signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2012.Joe has since been a regular in the Swansea side. After a injury laid 2009–2010 season, Joe was back at the start of the 2010–2011 season and been involved in almost every game so far. A string of impressive performances tempted manager Brendan Rodgers to play him in the South Wales Derby on 7 November 2010 where he received the man of the match award after a convincing performance in a 1–0 win. Joe has since scored two more goals for the Swans against Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town.
, Allen signed a new four-year contract for Swansea to keep him at the club until 2015, he was previously in the last year of his contract.
on 21 August 2007. He came on as a substitute to score the winner in a 4–3 win on his debut. Despite playing in the centre of midfield for his club, he has played more on the right wing for his country as Aaron Ramsey
and Jack Collison
were usually the preferred centre pairing.
Allen made his debut for the senior Wales international team as a substitute for Collison during a friendly against Estonia
on 29 May 2009. He was called up for the 14 November friendly against Scotland to be played in the newly opened Cardiff City Stadium. As he came on to substitute Ramsey in the second half, he was met with jeers from a section of the partisan local crowd as he was from Swansea, Cardiff
's derby
rivals. He later played down the incident saying that he had expected it and was not bothered by the reception. Allen made his first start for Wales in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G
match against Switzerland at the Liberty Stadium
Swansea on Friday 7th October 2011. Allen started again 4 days later in Sofia
against Bulgaria in a 1–0 victory for Wales.
|2006–07
||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
||rowspan="2"|League One
||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2007–08
||6||0||3||0||2||0||11||0
|-
|rowspan="2"|2008–09||Championship
||23||1||2||0||1||0||26||1
|-
|Wrexham
(loan)||Conference
||2||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||2||1
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
||rowspan="2"|Championship
||21||0||1||0||0||0||22||0
|-
|2010–11||43||2||2||0||3||0||48||2
|-
|2011–12
||Premier League||10||2||0||0||1||0||11||2
|-
106||6||8||0||7||0||119||6
106||6||8||0||7||0||119||6
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
international footballer who plays for Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
as a midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
.
Club career
Allen has been a part of the Swansea CitySwansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
youth setup since he was nine years old. As a first-year scholar in the youth team in the 2006–2007 season, he featured as an unused substitute for the first team due to injury problems in a 3–0 away win over then Premiership side Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
in the 3rd round of the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
at Bramall Lane
Bramall Lane
-Cricket at the Lane:Bramall Lane opened as a cricket ground in 1855, having been leased by Michael Ellison from the Duke of Norfolk at an annual rent of £70. The site was then away from the town's industrial area, and relatively free from smoke. It was built to host the matches of local cricket...
. Just two weeks later, and still only 16 years old at the time, he was given his debut by starting in the FAW Premier Cup
FAW Premier Cup
The FAW Premier Cup is a defunct Welsh football cup competition, organised annually by the Football Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008...
away tie to local Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town
Port Talbot Town F.C.
Port Talbot Town F.C. is a football club from Port Talbot in Wales and was founded in 1901, making Port Talbot Athletic as they were then one of the first association football clubs to be founded in Wales...
by then Swansea manager Kenny Jackett
Kenny Jackett
Kenny Jackett is a former Wales international football player, who has since moved into management. He is the current manager of Millwall, the longest serving manager in the Football League Championship and eleventh longest serving manager in England.A skilful player, equally at home in defence or...
but only played the first half as they went on to lose 2–1 in extra time. He made his league debut for Swansea as a substitute in the 6–3 defeat to Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
on the final day of the Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
season as they missed out on a playoff place under new manager and former Swans captain Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez Montoliú is a Spanish former professional footballer and is currently manager of Wigan Athletic.Martínez played as a midfielder and began his career at lower league Spanish side CF Balaguer. Two years later he went to English Division Three side Wigan Athletic...
.
The following pre-season Allen played in numerous games for the club. As the 2007–2008 season got underway he started in the first round of the Carling Cup game in a 2–0 home win over Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, receiving man of the match award in the process and assisting the first goal with a left footed chipped cross to scorer of the first goal Paul Anderson
Paul Anderson (footballer)
Paul Anderson is a footballer playing for Nottingham Forest. He plays primarily as a winger and can operate on either flank.He has been capped by England at Under-19 level.- Early career :...
. He was awarded his first professional contract by Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez
Roberto Martínez Montoliú is a Spanish former professional footballer and is currently manager of Wigan Athletic.Martínez played as a midfielder and began his career at lower league Spanish side CF Balaguer. Two years later he went to English Division Three side Wigan Athletic...
keeping him at the club until 2010. He then started in the next round of the Carling Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
at home to Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
again receiving a man of the match award but the Swans lost 1–0 in extra time. He was handed his first start in the league in a 2–1 home win over Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
. He made a number of appearances in both League and cup competitions for the rest of the season and was eligible for a medal for the Swans League One title winning season.
The following season in Swansea's first season in the Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
, Allen struggled to get into the first team due to the competition of midfielders Darren Pratley
Darren Pratley
Darren Anthony Pratley is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League.-Career:-Early career:...
, Ferrie Bodde
Ferrie Bodde
Ferrie Bodde is a Dutch footballer who plays for Swansea City.-ADO Den Haag:Bodde started his senior career with Dutch side ADO Den Haag, signing professional forms with them in July 2000 at the age of 18. Bodde spent seven years with the club, playing over 150 games and scoring ten goals...
,
Owain Tudur Jones
Owain Tudur Jones
Owain Tudur Jones is a Welsh international footballer who plays for Inverness Caledonian Thistle as a midfielder.-Club career:...
, Jordi Gomez
Jordi Gómez García-Penche
Jordi Gómez García-Penche is a Spanish footballer who plays for Wigan Athletic in England, as a central midfielder.-Club career:...
and Leon Britton
Leon Britton
Leon James Britton is an English professional football player, who plays for Swansea City following a short lived spell for Sheffield United.- Youth career :...
. On 7 October 2008 Allen joined Wrexham on a one-month loan deal, scoring a 25 yard goal on his debut for the club during a 3–1 win over York City
York City F.C.
York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...
. He made a handful of appearances for the club but his loan spell was cut short just before it was set to end when he damaged ankle ligaments, keeping him out for a month. He returned from the injury in December going back into the Swansea squad at home to Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
as regular midfielder Ferrie Bodde was ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage. With the Swans 2–0 down playing terribly prompted manager Roberto Martinez brought Allen on from the bench. The Swans went on to earn a late 2–2 draw thanks to two goals from Jason Scotland
Jason Scotland
Jason Kelvin Scotland is a Trinidadian footballer who plays for Ipswich Town as a striker.Scotland started his footballing career in Trinidad and Tobago before moving to play professionally for Scottish club Dundee United. He has also had spells with St...
and, despite only playing 25 minutes, Allen received the man of the match award for his performance. From then on he finally broke into the first team with his consistent performances and at 18 years of age was ahead of the more experienced Tudur Jones.
Break into the first team
On 5 April 2009, Allen came on as a substitute to score his first goal for Swansea City in a South Wales derby
South Wales derby
The South Wales derby is a football local derby between Welsh clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City and is regarded as one of the most fierce rivalries in British football....
during a 2–2 draw with away at Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
. At the end of the season he signed a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2012.Joe has since been a regular in the Swansea side. After a injury laid 2009–2010 season, Joe was back at the start of the 2010–2011 season and been involved in almost every game so far. A string of impressive performances tempted manager Brendan Rodgers to play him in the South Wales Derby on 7 November 2010 where he received the man of the match award after a convincing performance in a 1–0 win. Joe has since scored two more goals for the Swans against Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town.
2011
Just days before the 2011–12 Premier League2011–12 Premier League
The 2011–12 Premier League is the twentieth season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The 2011–12 fixtures were announced on 17 June 2011 at 9:00 BST. The season began on 13 August 2011 and is due to end on 13 May 2012...
, Allen signed a new four-year contract for Swansea to keep him at the club until 2015, he was previously in the last year of his contract.
International career
Not long after receiving his first professional contract for Swansea City he was called up for Wales U21 squad in a friendly away to SwedenSweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
on 21 August 2007. He came on as a substitute to score the winner in a 4–3 win on his debut. Despite playing in the centre of midfield for his club, he has played more on the right wing for his country as Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey
Aaron James Ramsey is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for the premier league club Arsenal and is the captain of the Wales national football team...
and Jack Collison
Jack Collison
Jack David Collison is a Welsh international footballer who plays for West Ham United. Collison is a product of West Ham's youth academy and has quickly progressed from trainee to playing first team football in the Premier League since joining at age sixteen...
were usually the preferred centre pairing.
Allen made his debut for the senior Wales international team as a substitute for Collison during a friendly against Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....
on 29 May 2009. He was called up for the 14 November friendly against Scotland to be played in the newly opened Cardiff City Stadium. As he came on to substitute Ramsey in the second half, he was met with jeers from a section of the partisan local crowd as he was from Swansea, Cardiff
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
's derby
South Wales derby
The South Wales derby is a football local derby between Welsh clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City and is regarded as one of the most fierce rivalries in British football....
rivals. He later played down the incident saying that he had expected it and was not bothered by the reception. Allen made his first start for Wales in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group G
This page shows the standings and results for Group G of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying tournament.- Standings :- Results and fixtures :A meeting was held in Zürich, Switzerland, on 15 March to determine the Group G fixture schedule...
match against Switzerland at the Liberty Stadium
Liberty Stadium, Swansea
The Liberty Stadium is a purpose-built sports stadium and conferencing venue in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium is all-seated, with a capacity of 20,532 making it the largest purpose-built venue in Swansea and the third largest stadium in Wales after the Millennium Stadium and the...
Swansea on Friday 7th October 2011. Allen started again 4 days later in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
against Bulgaria in a 1–0 victory for Wales.
Career statistics
|-|2006–07
2006-07 in English football
The 2006–07 season was the 127th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* The number of divisions at Level 8 of the English football league system increased from four to five...
||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
||rowspan="2"|League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
||1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|2007–08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
||6||0||3||0||2||0||11||0
|-
|rowspan="2"|2008–09||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||23||1||2||0||1||0||26||1
|-
|Wrexham
Wrexham A.F.C.
Wrexham Football Club are a professional football team based in Wrexham, north-east Wales, who play in the English football pyramid.Founded in 1872, they are one of the oldest surviving football clubs in Britain and the oldest professional club in Wales...
(loan)||Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
||2||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||2||1
|-
|2009–10||rowspan="3"|Swansea City
Swansea City A.F.C.
Swansea City Association Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. One of the most successful clubs in Welsh football, it has won 10 Welsh Cups and led the English Football League First Division in December 1981, before finishing the season in 6th position...
||rowspan="2"|Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||21||0||1||0||0||0||22||0
|-
|2010–11||43||2||2||0||3||0||48||2
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 in English football
The 2011–12 season is the 132nd season of competitive football in England.The season began on 5 August 2011 for the Football Leagues, with the Premier starting eight days later, League Football Conference Starting one day before Premier League starts.The Championship, League One, and League Two...
||Premier League||10||2||0||0||1||0||11||2
|-
106||6||8||0||7||0||119||6
106||6||8||0||7||0||119||6
External links
- Joe Allen player profile at official Swansea City website