Blog with a Brogue:: For Wales!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

For Wales!

M: Because I'm ill and couch-bound, and because Jenna said I could, here follows my small tribute to the great country of Wales.

By which, of course, I just mean a rambling, photo-laden blog post about Little Joe Allen! Frankly, the man could use some good 'press' at the moment...

Who is Little Joe Allen, you ask? Allow me to enlighten you!

According to Liverpoolfc.com:

little Little Joe Allen, making his debut at Swansea

Born in the Welsh town of Carmarthen, [Joe] Allen spent his childhood growing up on the coast in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire....

Mmm, Fishguard. Anyways, he now plays midfield for the famed Liverpool FC, after he was acquired from Swansea City for a reported £15 million at the start of the 2012 season. More importantly:

Joe is among the one in five Welsh citizens who speak the native language, known as Cymraeg, and can be included in the 10 per cent who are able to converse fluently in the traditional dialect.

Proof? You betcha!! This is a blog about brogues and such, after all. At minute 1:25, we hear from young Joe Allen in the video below. And while I myself don't speak Cymraeg, I'm willing to bet that, "so, um, yeah," is an authentic phrase...

Yr Iaith Cymraeg - 'Beth Yw Pwynt?' from Spill Media on Vimeo.

Watch for a moment more and hear Mr. Matthew Rhys, star of the film Fakers, at minute 1:37!

Ok, so he can definitely chat Cymraeg with the best of them, but what about footballing? I'm glad you asked. Liverpoolfc.com goes on to brag:

HA!

Allen can boast an impressive set of statistics from the last Barclays Premier League season. The midfielder completed 91 per cent of his passes for Swansea, a higher rate than Barcelona and Spain star Andres Iniesta, and created a chance for a teammate once every 63 minutes, providing four assists. Joe also made 110 tackles, the third-highest in the division.

Now, I'll concede that his first season with Liverpool (just his second year in the Premier League) has not been without its share of setbacks, but I think anyone would agree that holding your ground in the Premier League while standing only 5'6" tall is no small feat!

Sr. Nando vs. Joe

In any case, the untimely injury of Lucas Leiva this season surely put quite a kink in the Liverpool lineup straight from the get-go. I'm quite confident things will soon turn around for Mr. Allen and the 'Pool, however.

Because they must. Because they could sooo make it back in to Champions League.

But honestly, I'll still keep watching and cheering them on either way, because professional football/soccer is incredibly addictive. Like, alarmingly so.

Speaking of, I'm off to watch the replay of Liverpool's FA Cup match from this morning. Until next time, I leave you with these little gems of the lovely Welshman, Joe Allen: