DAVIDSON: ALLEN CAN BE GOAL HERO
Potters assistant says midfielder has quality to be regular scorer
JOE Allen is being backed to become a regular goalscorer from midfield as Stoke hit the festive period intent on turning too many draws into many more victories.
Allen netted for a second successive week in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa to make it five for the season so far.
And assistant boss Callum Davidson, deputising in the after-match interviews after boss Gary Rowett lost his voice, reckons Allen can become a familiar name on the scoresheet and underline the fact Stoke can be an attacking force with only one recognised striker on the pitch.
“We are trying to play Joe more advanced,” said Davidson, “and if you look at the stats he’s getting into areas, it’s just timing getting into the box, and every day in training he’s finishing with quality because he’s a quality football player.
“I think for Joe, he’s playing with a different front three from what he was used to, so it’s getting used to how Tom Ince plays, how James Mcclean plays and Benik (Afobe).
“It’s great to see and it was a fantastic finish for our first goal.
“He will probably criticise himself because he could have scored another one a bit later, but I would rather Joe get into those positions and get his shots off.
“People say we only play with one striker, but if you look at the clips, we get loads of bodies into the box, so when people go ‘you should go with two strikers’ we have got guys like Joe, Sam Clucas, Tom Ince and James Mcclean who are attacking as advanced midfielders and you don’t need to play with two strikers all of the time.
“We are getting players into the right positions and hopefully Joe will get goals, Sam will get goals. And James.
“I thought he was excellent second half, probably the best I’ve seen him for a wee while because he looked a real threat.
“But on the flip side, he also worked very hard.”
Stoke twice led in the second half at Villa Park through Allen and then a Benik Afobe penalty, but
Stoke city
they were twice pegged back by a Tammy Abraham penalty and a late Jonathan Kodjia header.
Villa’s first equaliser came after Erik Pieters tugged at Kodjia’s shirt, but Davidson, once a left-back himself, had some sympathy with the Stoke defender.
“The guy kept pulling him, kept pulling his jersey,” Davidson protested. “I’ve had guys who pull you and make it look as though you’ve fouled him.
“I do have a wee bit of sympathy for him, but it’s a difficult one because does he really need to be that tight?
“That’s football and it gives the referee a decision to make.”
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith felt the game was a scrappy affair and joked that the wretched climate worked more against his players.
“Out of the last seven games we should have won six and this is the first you couldn’t say we deserved to win. Both penalties were fair and both teams will say it wasn’t great defending.
“The conditions took away our advantage - because it was like a summer’s day in Stoke!”