Thetownend.com

See from the Adver he's got chance down at Exeter - hope he does well there and good luck to him, interesting he had league 2 clubs looking at him as well, clear he better than pook etc who will no doubt end up at supermarine..

This article makes interesting reading tho... http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/sport/4385300.Allen_nets_chance_with_the_Grecians/

Altho its with his dad if the final part of the story is correct bit worrying...unless thats just what he tells Ifil  :D

He sounds very bitter

Where do all our players get these totally over inflated ideas of how great they are??

Daddy says Im good so I must be good!

To be fair, it doesnt say that Allen think he's any good? Thats just an article shaped round his dad?

I hope his part-time scout dad doesn't do any defensive scouting for us...

"As a centre-back, for example, all you have to do is head it and kick it to stand out."

Or maybe he's a part time scout in the Bear Grylls sense of the word...

sounds to me like his Dad is the one with the over inflated ego, tbh with an attitude like that I'm glad he no longer has any youth development role with us and some of the stuff he says suggests he must be a crap scout.

A very good move as far as he's concerned imo.

Exeter would be a fantastic move for him.

dad was relieved from his job as head of youth here,and his son released from being a squad player.both could have reason to be a bit bitter i suppose?
i dont reckon allen jnr will get many games for exeter,that's if they sign him at all.

Indeed...

Positioning, communcation and decision making are not at all needed.

 ???

the fm09 handbook tells us which attributes are important, perhaps a refresher is needed?

I dont think he was just saying thats all that is needed, just that he could be easier to be spotted...maybe jealous that Morrison is the star that he wanted Chris to be. Exeter would be a great move for him and if not maybe one of the league 2 clubs will come in for him

chris is a quiet nice lad, he hasnt bad mouthed anyone or done anything wrong, his dad on the other hand is a cock, and himself is bitter about being sacked so its any excuse to slag off the club

all you have to do is head it and kick it to stand out

Chris Allen's alright but I believe ultimately Wilson was right to release him.

I think Tisdale works under a strict £1,500 wage cap so Allen will be a decent cheap signing.

You can't get away from the fact that Allen was crap and totally out of his depth in League 1. The same could be said of Marshall when he first came but at least he showed some progress and potential, which I couldn't say about Allen.

Having said that, someone must have seen something in him to play him. Maybe in a few years he will turn in to something decent, for his sake I hope he does, but I reckon we made the right decision - I don't think we're in a position to be carrying players on pro contracts for a few seasons just in case they come good.

He was only out of his depth physically at League One level.

More than good enough with the football. Just you need both (example Morrison) to make a decent go of it.

technically chrissy was prob the best at the club along with mcgovern, but unfortunately not strong enough

I didn't see Allen show anything to suggest he could handle League 1, it wasn't just his physical strength - he was just crap. Morrison was complete and utter crap the first time I saw him play in League 1, he really turned it around though.

u couldnt be more wrong Johnathan

Whose to say allen can't? He can definatley pick a pass out, but the fact he's 3 foot tall means he cant tackle and as such, useless in the center the park unless he has someone next to him to do all of his tackling

Nice one JPD82.

Not exactly crap is he ffs

To be honest Allen is yet another in a long line stretching back years of OK but not great midfielders. Its an area we've been dire in for the best part of 15 years. Was Allen really any worse than Hewlett for example - probably not. Succesive midfeilders including our current lot have been crap to ordinary. Allen and pook have been no worse than some of the expensive shit we've played and at least they're cheap and they're ours.   

spot on dave, which is why hes only even played when we have played 3 central midfielders, 2 to do the tackling and chrissy to ping it all over the show

His supposed ability to pick a pass was never on display when i saw him... even simple 10 yard passes went out of play or to the opposition. I never saw a glimmer of talent in him...

ive been to every home game this season, and i wouldnt say that Allen was absolutely shit in any of his games. Not sayin that he played well for us, but he is still young. i think he might end up a similar style of player to Timlin.

He came on as sub quite a lot. His first pass went astray in a couple of his appearances and you could see the confidence drain out of him.

Personally I think its a great shame. Perhaps some rumours that he didnt apply himself as much as he could have?

The club did have a culture of players constanly saying 'We are a really good team, with really good players, its just we keep losing all the time'. Somehow trying to save their own reputations whilst distancing themselves from the collective failure. Now, if you dont perform then you are out. Allan falls into the category, he didnt cut it.

he didn't cut it and never will.he isn't of the right physical build,and thats the end of it.you could juggle balls and hit a sixpence all day long.but if you cannot win a 50-50,or out jump to win a header etc then its no good in a physical football league, with bigger players with equal talent.

Spot on

This whole argument about size is bollocks of course......

Nobby Stiles, Dennis Wise, Roberto Carlos and SWP are all only 5'6
Maradona, Zola, and Juninho are only 5'5
Sammy Lee's only 5'2
They all seemed to cope

Yes it's easier to be not very good and make it as a pro if you're built like a tank but decent players make it regardles of their height.

How many of them played league 1 ?

and they are all miles better than allen will ever be.small and gifted vs small and can pass a ball quite well.no comparison at all

...ah yes because physical build is all about height.

Obviously Carlos and Wisey were decently built and Maradona was a chunky little fucker but Juninho and Zola were about 8 1/2 stone wringing wet FFS!

Smallest i've seen in L1 was that Perkins of Colchester, little sod ran us ragged at their place.

Remember him Perkins...had a good engine.

Perkins was MOM by a country mile when we played Morecambe in the Cup. We should have been on to him after that game. He would be a unique signing for us as I can't remember a 5 ft 2 albino ever having played for us.

It's more about strength than build with isn't it? The issue being not so much how big a player is but how able he is to resist challenges/make his own challenges. That being that much more likely in a bigger player obviously but there are those wiry exceptions who despite being compact are stronger than they look. And having said that (and I hold to it), I'm buggered if can think of an example right now

but Juninho & Zola are not central midfielders in a physical league

IIRC Steve McMahon was released from somewhere as a youth for being lightweight.

He's still a cunt though.

But he was a good player.

"...and he sure could rap."

 Lionel Messi is a midget....and it shows when he comes up against Prem sides stocked with athletes