Long - Thoughts?

im Guesssing no-one saw the bit on MNF talking about our defence, where they showed how long helps us defensively as he is alsways busy running up and down the line.

I did.

For me, Shane Long has been a big part of our success, not just for his work rate but his sheer presence. Hopefully he can get a couple on Saturday our Shane. COYR

im Guesssing no-one saw the bit on MNF talking about our defence, where they showed how long helps us defensively as he is alsways busy running up and down the line.

anyone got a clip of this segment?

Looks very good to me. When he played against us he always stood out as a threat and I much prefer him on our side. A good acquisition IMHO.

Can see the job he does for the team, even if his finishing isn't perfect. The fee rankles rather though, but maybe that's the tight part of me that doesn't want us paying that much over the odds.

looked good yesterday:D.

thought he did really well, took his goal well, very busy and his work rate was superb. You know what you're going to get from him, forget the fee, i'm glad he's ours.

I don't need to say it......

I don't need to say it......

Absolutely, fee unimportant. The guy gives us options.

Given the opportunity to play in his favoured position - thoughts on his performance?

And, yes, the fee, for the commercially illiterate, is relevant to the discussion.

Given the opportunity to play in his favoured position - thoughts on his performance?

 

And, yes, the fee, for the commercially illiterate, is relevant to the discussion.

Kept the linesman busy.

Given the opportunity to play in his favoured position - thoughts on his performance?

 

And, yes, the fee, for the commercially illiterate, is relevant to the discussion.

Still a better signing that Osvaldo.

So far he's been totally rubbish.

Kept the linesman busy.

You can't judge a player when he gets that level of service. Willing runner, worked hard to find space and on the rare occasions we played him the ball to feet in space he was dangerous (i.e. In the 1st half when he ran at their defence and drew a yellow card). Too many balls played in at his throat though.

His technical ability and composure is well below par.

Still a better signing that Osvaldo.

To be fair, the catering staff were better signings than Osvaldo.

If you only have 2 strikers, the second one needs to be better than Long.

Any way you look at it, we were ripped off for him.

He is so different to Pelle that with one player banned we have to change the whole style of the team. Strange.

He's not very good at playing football.

It doesn't seem like he wants to be here. Poor, poor effort.

Nothing I have seen of him in a Saints shirt has altered the opinion of him that I held before we bought him - a limited player who's work rate far exceeds his technical ability. ( The sort of player who, when in the opposition team, is always likely to score against us, despite his limitations ).

If you only have 2 strikers, the second one needs to be better than Long.

 

Any way you look at it, we were ripped off for him.

 

He is so different to Pelle that with one player banned we have to change the whole style of the team. Strange.

He has had experience playing up front by himself but when you're making runs to stretch CBs or pulling them into the channels, it's even more incumbent on midfielders to attack the space, especially in the middle that has hopefully been vacated by the CBs. We didn't have enough support coming from central areas for Long upfront to work effectively.

He has had experience playing up front by himself but when you're making runs to stretch defenders or running the channels, it's even more incumbent on midfielders to attack the space, especially in the middle that has hopefully been vacated by the CBs. We didn't have enough support coming from central areas for Long upfront to work effectively.

FACT

I like him. He works his socks off and I get the feeling is is playing out of position slightly (or it might be that the current style doesn't quite suit him). As someone said above his work rate compensates for his lack of ability. I'm not going to roast him for that - I'd rather that than an Osvaldo type! We were ripped off - should have paid no more than 6m for him. But I can't help but like him!

He has had experience playing up front by himself but when you're making runs to stretch CBs or pulling them into the channels, it's even more incumbent on midfielders to attack the space, especially in the middle that has hopefully been vacated by the CBs. We didn't have enough support coming from central areas for Long upfront to work effectively.

Pretty much. Our attacking movement was a non-event yesterday. He had no real service or support.

It's been a similar story for Pelle over the last few weeks - lack of movement in and around him, isolation up front. The attacking third just isn't working at the moment for whatever reason. We're still not that bad defensively (minus the odd error, which was going to happen eventually), but we're pretty well organised in most cases, we just don't look likely to have any sort of opportunity right now. You can't say we were unlucky last night as I cannot remember a single clear chance we had. That is pitiful against a L1 side.

Pretty much. Our attacking movement was a non-event yesterday. He had no real service or support.

 

It's been a similar story for Pelle over the last few weeks - lack of movement in and around him, isolation up front. The attacking third just isn't working at the moment for whatever reason. We're still not that bad defensively (minus the odd error, which was going to happen eventually), but we're pretty well organised in most cases, we just don't look likely to have any sort of opportunity right now. You can't say we were unlucky last night as I cannot remember a single clear chance we had. That is pitiful against a L1 side.

Would say the problem is more serious with a Long-type player. Pelle basically occupies the two CBs in the middle but has the option to get the ball wide. With Long making diagonal runs or working the channels, the wide players need to cross more and come inside. Under Koeman, the wide players tend to occupy more rigid positions which makes that interchange more difficult for Long. Of course, in the case of Pelle and Long, there's a question of whether the CM three are adventurous enough, especially the Davis/JWP role but it's a difficult juggling act as they provide such effective defensive cover.

It doesn't seem like he wants to be here. Poor, poor effort.

Jesus. He put in more effort than anyone else yesterday and showed 10 times more passion.

He won more than his fair share of headers and lead the line well but got absolutely no support.

Change the way we play to get the most out of a 7 goal a season striker? No thanks. Shane Long isn't good enough for us to change the way we play to suit him.

Whilst I agree he has qualities we need, his overall game is not up to scratch. He's busy, he gets into the right positions, but he hasn't got a touch and can't finish. Both of those things really let him down and drastically impact his usefulness to a team like us. He's better off in a more direct team where he can play with a partner up front. We need our strikers to be a part of our play where we move up the pitch as a team, so they need to hold up the ball and bring others into play. Not run around like a headless chicken overrunning the ball and flicking on the ball to no-one.

You can't defend the signing right now, it just looks like an epic waste of money. He won't get better, he is what he is - I don't blame him whatsoever he's been exactly as advertised when he arrived but just a peculiar signing altogether as it has emerged how Koeman likes to play.

He cost £12.5 million has two goals and we're almost halfway through the season.

But he tries hard.

With regards to his goals, he has played out wide nearly all season, so that is slightly misleading.

For me, not as good as £12.5m, nowhere near as bad as some on here suggest - somewhere in between.

To say he doesn't want to be here is ludicrous as well, the one thing you will always get with him is a good (if quite often this season, not hugely productive) shift.

With regards to his goals, he has played out wide nearly all season, so that is slightly misleading.

 

For me, not as good as £12.5m, nowhere near as bad as some on here suggest - somewhere in between.

 

To say he doesn't want to be here is ludicrous as well, the one thing you will always get with him is a good (if quite often this season, not hugely productive) shift.

Perhaps he's the 7 million £ player that Hull bought him to be eh. Perhaps the transfer fee is overquoted as well.

Looked like he got a knock first half and seemed to be hobbling a bit - I thought they were going to sub him at half time but he came out second have

It doesn't seem like he wants to be here. Poor, poor effort.

He was one of the 4 players who came over to the crowd after the game to apologise. I'm guessing that shows he cares.

Why did we keep pumping long balls to him last night? He's never been a 'target man' striker. His biggest asset is his pace and we should've been trying to play the ball down the sides or at worst over the top into the corners for him to run onto and stretch their defence.

Why did we keep pumping long balls to him last night? He's never been a 'target man' striker. His biggest asset is his pace and we should've been trying to play the ball down the sides or at worst over the top into the corners for him to run onto and stretch their defence.

Who knows, perhaps our tactical experts wrongly assessed Utd's weaknesses. Players don't just do whatever they fancy on the pitch, they have a set plan, if we were doing that then it's what they'd been told to do.

If you only have 2 strikers, the second one needs to be better than Long.

 

Any way you look at it, we were ripped off for him.

 

He is so different to Pelle that with one player banned we have to change the whole style of the team. Strange.

I dont doubt his commitment but when he is faced with a scoring chance he will always miss even when it seems easier to score

Torres suffers from this. It s a mental health issue. He will never deliver despite all his hard work

I wish it were different

To me his signing still doesn't make sense. I could tell before we signed him that he wasn't particularly good. His scoring record at this level is poor and he isn't exactly velcro-boots when it comes to hold up play and bringing those in around him.

I just don't see how professional football scouts, coaches and managers can think he is worth £12m when any casual Saturday afternoon fan can tell he isn't.

Please don't give me the 'he offers something different' argument either. Running around a lot and not scoring is different but it isn't good. It's like saying Mane is good because he is 'unpredictable'. Just because he has toblerone feet and half of his crosses get spooned into the car park.

To me his signing still doesn't make sense. I could tell before we signed him that he wasn't particularly good. His scoring record at this level is poor and he isn't exactly velcro-boots when it comes to hold up play and bringing those in around him.

 

I just don't see how professional football scouts, coaches and managers can think he is worth £12m when any casual Saturday afternoon fan can tell he isn't.

 

Please don't give me the 'he offers something different' argument either. Running around a lot and not scoring is different but it isn't good. It's like saying Mane is good because he is 'unpredictable'. Just because he has toblerone feet and half of his crosses get spooned into the car park.

Long is a journeyman professional, we paid 12 million £ for him apparently so we've been stupid there, guess we must have been desperate or paid less than is reported. Then again Hull have saddled themselves with Gaston for a season, bit of a fee and a couple of million in salary so perhaps Nemesis caught up with them. We should not have paid as much for Long, they shouldn't have taken Gaston off our hands so we're sort of even'ish.

Opinion on him has not changed. He works his ass off and gives it 100%. But he has no footballing abilities, can't shoot, sloppy passing, can't dribble and take players on etc. Lacks the qualities needed at this level.

Opinion on him has not changed. He works his ass off and gives it 100%. But he has no footballing abilities, can't shoot, sloppy passing, can't dribble and take players on etc. Lacks the qualities needed at this level.

Is also caught offside a lot I think.

Long is a journeyman professional, we paid 12 million £ for him apparently so we've been stupid there, guess we must have been desperate or paid less than is reported. Then again Hull have saddled themselves with Gaston for a season, bit of a fee and a couple of million in salary so perhaps Nemesis caught up with them. We should not have paid as much for Long, they shouldn't have taken Gaston off our hands so we're sort of even'ish.

Couldn't give less of a sh*t how 'even' we are with Hull. We shouldn't have bought Long for any money IMO, he is and always has been a decent Championship/bottom half Prem player.

Started coming under pressure as soon as we brought him on today. The ball just doesn't stick with him up front in the centre-forward position, regardless of the formation.

Should put paid to the idea that we could ever conceivably drop Pelle.

Started coming under pressure as soon as we brought him on today. The ball just doesn't stick with him up front in the centre-forward position, regardless of the formation.

 

Should put paid to the idea that we could ever conceivably drop Pelle.

I don't think anyone had that idea anyway.

Opinion on him has not changed. He works his ass off and gives it 100%. But he has no footballing abilities, can't shoot, sloppy passing, can't dribble and take players on etc. Lacks the qualities needed at this level.

This is close to the truth IMO but his game against Everton was his best yet as he created space for others and hassled a slow backline. He can have an impact but his finishing and touch is nowhere some like David Connolly for example.

A player like Mane is way above his level though when on form.

Whatever people say, £12m is about double his real worth, but he has made some good contributions this season, works hard, seems a good lad and we were desparate.

This is close to the truth IMO but his game against Everton was his best yet as he created space for others and hassled a slow backline. He can have an impact but his finishing and touch is nowhere some like David Connolly for example.

 

A player like Mane is way above his level though when on form.

 

Whatever people say, £12m is about double his real worth, but he has made some good contributions this season, works hard, seems a good lad and we were desparate.

You've been banging the same drum about Long since the summer. Very tiresome. You were wrong then and you're still wrong now.

You've been banging the same drum about Long since the summer. Very tiresome. You were wrong then and you're still wrong now.

In what way? Its an opinion, his finishing is generally poor, his first touch is poor, he doesnt hold the ball up.

He is a runner and as I said he did really well versus Everton, but generally is underwhelming and not technically on the same level as most of our other players.

Can do a job though. Don't see whats wrong with that? Would you disagree?

Opinion on him has not changed. He works his ass off and gives it 100%. But he has no footballing abilities, can't shoot, sloppy passing, can't dribble and take players on etc. Lacks the qualities needed at this level.

is that what spurs new super scout and his black box said?

Long has been a great signing for us, I don't understand people slating him. Yes he has his limitations but he fits very, very well into the team and the way we want to play.

I don't think anyone had that idea anyway.

As its pantomime season; oh yes they did!

Admittedly it wasn't a mainstream view but there were a fair few posters putting quite a bit of weight behind the idea in an effort to shoehorn Long into the team.

As its pantomime season; oh yes they did!

 

Admittedly it wasn't a mainstream view but there were a fair few posters putting quite a bit of weight behind the idea in an effort to shoehorn Long into the team.

Dropping Pelle? I really doubt it.

Long has been a great signing for us, I don't understand people slating him. Yes he has his limitations but he fits very, very well into the team and the way we want to play.

Because, assuming he doesn't score against Chelsea, he will be on course for a total of 4 goals in the entire season as a wing-forward/second-striker.

He cannot beat a man, he cannot hold the ball up, he cannot finish.

If his name was Carlos Sanchez, Dkimbe Ogbonna or Yuki Takamoto he'd be slated by the fans as being another horrendously overpriced foreign signing and a colossal waste of money.

Because he's Shane Long he's viewed by the granddads in our fanbase as a hard-worker and a 'good honest player', rather than the ineffective, talentless try-hard that he is.

Because, assuming he doesn't score against Chelsea, he will be on course for a total of 4 goals in the entire season as a wing-forward/second-striker.

 

He cannot beat a man, he cannot hold the ball up, he cannot finish.

 

If his name was Carlos Sanchez, Dkimbe Ogbonna or Yuki Takamoto he'd be slated by the fans as being another horrendously overpriced foreign signing and a colossal waste of money.

 

Because he's Shane Long he's viewed by the granddads in our fanbase as a hard-worker and a 'good honest player', rather than the ineffective, talentless try-hard that he is.

Cannot hold the ball up? Assume you don't really watch him then? And can't believe you feel need to criticise him. Sums up this place that always some player someone wants to have a go at. ***t