Season › 2023-24 › News Allan: Playing for Everton was a privilege Lyndon Lloyd 24/01/2024 28comments | Jump to last Former Everton midfielder Allan has spoken of his fondness for the club, his love for the fans and his regrets that he wasn’t able to finish his career at Goodison Park. The Brazilian arrived along with James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucouré as part of Carlo Ancelotti’s overhaul of the Blues’ midfield in the summer of 2020 but was denied the chance to play before a full house at Goodison for a full season by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the team fall short of European qualification in his first year on Merseyside. He played his part where he could in helping Everton avoid relegation the following year before the financial realities at the club meant that he was sold to Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 but, as he explained in the club programme recently, he will always treasure his time as a Toffee. “[P]laying for Everton was a privilege,” he said. “Everton is a different club from anything I have experienced. When I arrived, the people were very, very welcoming and, honestly, I immediately felt at home. Also the fans and Goodison Park, they are so, so amazing. Article continues below video content “The way the Evertonians react to actions on the pitch, the way they fight with the team on the pitch was and is incredible. “My frustration when I look back is not being able to enjoy that love the Evertonians show for the club for a longer period of time. That is so frustrating, honestly. My goal was always to spend three, four or five of my best years at Everton because I loved the atmosphere that exists at the club, but we fell into a bad moment and it meant that wasn’t possible. This is football. A lot of things can change in a short space of time and I had to move on. “[My] second season was more difficult. For me, personally, I had a lot of injuries and as a team we had to fight against relegation. Of course, this was not what I wanted but this is football, no? “The most difficult injury for me was when I started to feel pain in my adductor. It made it very difficult to be myself. It was difficult to train because every time I would feel a lot of pain and at that moment we took the decision, along with the manager Frank Lampard, to stop playing and to get it sorted. “I was desperate to play and to help but the problem was affecting what I could do physically. Sometimes you have to get through tough times. Thankfully, we did enough to stay up and even though I have left the Club now, I remain an Evertonian. “I still follow every game and I am always wishing the best for the team and for the Club. I still have a lot of friends at Everton and hopefully there are much, much better times ahead now with the manager, Sean Dyche, who is doing a very good job.” Reader Comments (28) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer () Paul Ferry 1 Posted 24/01/2024 at 19:20:56 Very nicely said. Very classy. He had in spades something that we often lack now - tenacity. The warmest best luck to Allan for the time to come. Ray Roche 2 Posted 24/01/2024 at 20:03:17 Paul, I think that he made his debut in the 0-1 defeat of Spurs in the first game of the season along with James Rodriguez. They were excellent, Hjojberg (sp) had knocked us back when we tried to sign him but he had a mare and Allan completely overshadowed him. If those two, Allan and Rodriguez, had been fit and money worries hadn't existed, I wonder how our seasons would have panned out? Classy interview though. Paul Ferry 3 Posted 24/01/2024 at 20:15:36 Agree wholeheartedly Ray. If only injuries had not got in the way. Some knock him, but I valued every second James was with us and I don't really care about him hiring a nice plane to go somewhere to be honest. James and Allan are head and shoulders above anything we have right now or have had since they left us. John Raftery 4 Posted 24/01/2024 at 20:30:19 Paul (1) I disagree. Whatever the current squad's shortcomings, the one thing they have not lacked in the vast majority of games over the past year is tenacity. Steve Hopkins 5 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:04:33 I always felt that we were a poorer team without him in the side but sadly age and injuries caught up with him quickly, I imagine he was a top player at his peak in Italy. Barry Rathbone 6 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:17:19 Nice to hear players "getting" the club but, in all honesty, what I saw was another "name" past his best. Tony Abrahams 7 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:23:53 True, Barry. I'm sure Allan would have been a great player for Everton if he had arrived at the club earlier in his career but his body was probably already turning and you need to be in top shape to compete in the middle of the park in the ultra physical Premier League.Evertonians have taken a lot of stick in certain parts of the media over the last few years so it was nice to hear a player who lived through some of those times say how great the crowd was. Joe McMahon 8 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:30:01 Lovely to read, what a class bloke. If only we could have got him 4 year's earlier. But I suppose we only got him because of Carlo. Kieran Kinsella 9 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:42:18 Ray Roche,It was a strange time, that first half of the season after the Spurs game. Everything was going right. Then around Christmas it all fell apart for a variety of reasons. It's been a frustrating feature of the last 29 years. Here and there we get the makings of a good team, eg, Speed, Kanchelskis, Barmby or Arteta, Yakubu and Co, then someone gets injured or sold to settle debt. In this instance, as others, Allan was aging, James had real or imagined injury problems, Carlo couldn't quite see Doucouré's attacking attributes, and so on. Tony Abrahams 10 Posted 24/01/2024 at 21:47:27 Doucoure's injury was probably the worst thing to happen to Ancelloti's team, and came at a time when Everton were being really competitive, even though we had become incredibly boring to watch. Colin Glassar 11 Posted 25/01/2024 at 07:56:02 I was so excited when we got Allan, James and Doucoure (and Carlo of course), but we probably got the first two 2 years too late.Allan's legs had gone by the time he arrived at Goodison and James'as injury problems had finally caught up with him. Two excellent players but we never saw either of them in their prime. Jim Bennings 12 Posted 25/01/2024 at 08:10:15 We got him at the wrong stage of his career, granted, but still a more effective player in my opinion than Onana.Signs of quality were always there and I actually think Carlo didn't let him off the leash quite like the Allan I watched several times play for Napoli. Ajay Gopal 13 Posted 25/01/2024 at 08:26:45 I do remember Allan running on to the pith when Calvert-Lewin scored that goal against Crystal Palace. You could see the relief and delight on his face. It is always nice to see our ex-players talk highly about our club, even if their own impact was below our hopes and expectations. Good man, Allan, wish you all the very best for your future. Danny O’Neill 14 Posted 25/01/2024 at 08:31:01 Very honest. I don't always think we consider what happens to the body and the impact of injury.I was lambasted by a few for labelling him as the Brazilian Peter Reid.No two players are the same, but he reminded me of him.I agree, a shame we didn't get him earlier as he was a quality player and leader on the pitch.We just got him too late. Ray Roche 15 Posted 25/01/2024 at 09:05:38 Kieran @9Yes mate, when things appear to be going in the right direction something happens to derail our progress. We've been a ‘nearly' club on and off for quite a while now. Danny, you're not alone, I also likened him to Reid, even the way he ran was reminiscent of Reidy, imagine those two playing together at the peak of their powers! Dave Abrahams 16 Posted 25/01/2024 at 10:24:12 I was another who thought Allan reminded me of Peter Reid, especially in those early games under Ancelotti.Like Reid, he was a workhorse with a very good football brain, then his injuries took over. The Premier League was a much harder, not necessarily better, physical game and he couldn't cope with it.Most probably, as some have said, we got him too late, he might have done better if he'd been younger. Robert Tressell 17 Posted 25/01/2024 at 10:58:10 We got him at the wrong stage of his career because (a) we could only afford him as a deteriorating asset, and (b) no-one else would be daft enough to shell out that sort of money on a deteriorating asset.Although we spent a lot of money under Moshiri, a lot of it was generated by selling off Lukaku and Stones. It was an unbelievably thick move to shell out so much money on players who would be close to worthless after as little as 2 or 3 years. Players like Allan are great if they're available on free transfers (or nominal fees) and reasonable wage demands – otherwise, they utterly destroy a club's ability to build a side. Peter Moore 18 Posted 25/01/2024 at 20:00:25 Nowt wrong with Allan's heart or class, only the injuries let him and us down. Good on him for his support and appreciation. Dave Cashen 19 Posted 25/01/2024 at 21:28:35 I don't think he got here too late. He was only 29 when he arrived. I just don't think he had the athleticism to play consistently well in the EPL. I agree with Ray. Hjojberg had a poor debut for Spurs, but he was a much better signing than Allan. He was more skillfull. he was/is Bigger, faster, stronger, younger and cheaper. Lovely words from Allan. He was an excellent player in Italy I just don't think his game was as suited to English football Kieran Kinsella 20 Posted 25/01/2024 at 21:35:42 DaveDid he often leave a hole behind him by any chance? Neil Tyrrell 21 Posted 25/01/2024 at 21:46:18 "I remain an Evertonian", there's no escaping it! Now I'm doing the "one of us, one of us" chant from that old Freaks movie.The red he was assessed thanks to VAR (vs Wolves I think?) was one of their most ridiculous ever. One of us indeed. Bill Gienapp 22 Posted 25/01/2024 at 22:35:50 Not a particularly smart buy, given that we spent 24-million on a midfielder pushing 30 with no resale value... but he always gave 100% and remained fully committed to the club, even after Ancelotti left. I have nothing negative to say about his time here. Dean Johnson 23 Posted 26/01/2024 at 08:18:29 Another nearly player.We will always respect players who speak well of the club. Football is a cruel mistress and it's a shame we didn't get to see the best from Al.All the best, fella! Danny O’Neill 24 Posted 26/01/2024 at 08:38:14 Yes Dean,We can go back decades.The ‘70s in particular Mick Lyons, Duncan McKenzie. Nearly men. We had Bob Latchford scoring 30 goals in one season but never won a trophy.The nearly team. Barry Cowling 25 Posted 26/01/2024 at 17:05:39 I always liked Allan, he didn't get the respect he was due. We always missed him when not playing because, half the time, he had to do the job of two men, had an eye for a forward pass, and was a great ball winner. Often seen having a go at a team mate for not doing his job properly, a proper winning mentality and a leader on the pitch. It was like he took it personally if he didn't win the ball off you the first time and he would keep chopping at them till he won it back. One player that does remind me a bit of him is Luongo of Ipswich, another little terrier in the middle. Dave Abrahams 26 Posted 26/01/2024 at 18:39:00 Neil (21),I think the readdressed red was the night we came back from the dead and beat Newcastle with a very late goal from Iwobi to send the crowd wild. Andy Meighan 27 Posted 26/01/2024 at 22:16:06 Danny @14. I thought you nailed that there, saying he was like Reidy. I often thought that myself; I thought he was a cracking little player.He didn't have to say the things he said about the club but, as the great god said: "Once Everton has touched you…" Jerome Shields 28 Posted 01/02/2024 at 10:28:47 Always tried and gave of his best. Good Luck to him in the future. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. How to get rid of these ads and support TW © ToffeeWeb