Shane Long - Official: Leaves Club

[Turkish]

For a long time the whipping boy the villain of the piece for what appeared to be no other reason than saints payed a big fee for him. Long was the evidence that bumbling Les didn't have a clue what he was doing paying that much for a player like him. Every mistake was jumped upon, every miss highlighted. He was a championship player and no better than Brett Ormerod.

 

So what is the view now? Has Shane Long been our best striker this season? Has His performance made him undroppable right now? Did bumbling Les make another balls up when signing him? Or is he still a rich mans Brett Ormerod a poor player who just runs around a lot.

[Tom28]

I think this is one signing you can put in the "Black Box Success" column. The famed Black Box takes some stick on here, but be honest, who thought Shane Long would be as good a signing as he has turned out to be?

 

Watching Shane Long from afar when he was at other clubs, my overall assessment was "average pro, works hard, fairly decent finisher, bit of a pest for defenders".

 

Now being able to watch him regularly, he has a number of additional attributes I wouldn't have previously associated with him, which I can only assume the black box will have identified. Things such as his ability in the air (he wins so many headers against much taller defenders), how clever his runs are, and his speed (he has to be one of the fastest in the squad). The other main perception I had that has changed is that I'd always considered him to be purely a number 9, but turns out he's a lot more versatile.

 

Great signing.

[Shroppie]

Still not the best natural finisher, but his pace and persistence make him a huge threat on the break. His strength in hold-up play is good too.

 

He's less effective when the opposition have a lead and can sit back, or just choose to park the bus, but I would say that for me he's the first choice striker at the moment. It's just a question of who his best partner is. Probably a fit Austin, or a functioning Mané.

 

Pellé and Tadić seem to be an alternative pairing. I hope Long and Tadić are speaking after Tadic's glorious non-goal.

 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

[Papa Shango]

Never really been a 'whipping boy' has he? In all the time he's been here he's had less stick from the crowd than almost any other player. Even when he's gone through bad spells he's always had his name sung loudly.

[doddisalegend]

Never really been a 'whipping boy' has he? In all the time he's been here he's had less stick from the crowd than almost any other player. Even when he's gone through bad spells he's always had his name sung loudly.

 

 

That comes down to the fans recognising a player giving it everything. Most fans love a hard worker.

 

Personally always thought Long was a decent signing. His finishing could be better at times but then if it was he wouldn't be at saints.

[Saint Charlie]

Turning point was when Koeman showed faith in Long as a starting striker rather than a Pelle understudy or wide player.

 

Since then he has been excellent. Great attitude and has showed some quality.

[Saint_clark]

I think this is one signing you can put in the "Black Box Success" column. The famed Black Box takes some stick on here, but be honest, who thought Shane Long would be as good a signing as he has turned out to be?

 

*raises hand*

[SNSUN]

Shane Long is one of those players that we should be thankful we have on our team and don't have to face as an opposition player anymore, as he's both quick and hard working, giving defences little respite. I actually think, with the right ammunition in midfield next season, that Long and Austin could form a very decent partnership given time.

[Wiggles31]

He's been sensational recently. The focal point of our attack. Player of the season has to be between him and VVD.

[Wes Tender]

Apart from goals, a player like Long brings much more to the table. He is the sort of player whose spirit and determination, never say die attitude, work-rate and character add a lot to a team. He and the likes of Davis and Fonte are lynch-pins to the way we play and how the team spirit is built upon the likes of them. They each lead by example and when any of them are absent through injury, suspension or substitution, somebody else needs to step up to the plate, or we lack a little something.

 

When Long played against us previously, we loved to hate him for being such a nuisance to us, whilst secretly admiring and respecting the way that he did things. Although he was not a natural goalscorer, he has recently done very well for us and whereas his £12 million fee seemed large at the time he signed, it now looks like a very astute bit of business. With the benefit of hindsight, Reed got this one spot on, choosing the right player who suited the way we play at the right price.

[Verbal Kint]

Turning point was when Koeman showed faith in Long as a starting striker rather than a Pelle understudy or wide player.

 

Since then he has been excellent. Great attitude and has showed some quality.

 

This. Paying as much as we did for him (both fee and wages) and to then spend an entire season with him on the bench (and when he did come on he was played out of position) was stupid. Now he's been given a run of games up front he's proving to be a great asset.

 

The only thing that's surprised me is his goals tally this year. If he'd played from the start of the season as first choice centre forward there's every chance he could have ended up with 15+ goals, which I wouldn't have thought he was capable of at this level (always thought he was more 10 a year).

 

He's having a great season

[Golden Balls]

Potential player of the season. Currently my favourite player and has been a while.

[The Cat]

He's been playing well in the past few months but considering any player other than Van Dijk as player of the season is impossible.

[Badger]

e?

 

Watching Shane Long from afar when he was at other clubs, my overall assessment was "average pro, works hard, fairly decent finisher, bit of a pest for defenders".

 

Now being able to watch him regularly, he has a number of additional attributes I wouldn't have previously associated with him, which I can only assume the black box will have identified. Things such as his ability in the air (he wins so many headers against much taller defenders), how clever his runs are, and his speed (he has to be one of the fastest in the squad). The other main perception I had that has changed is that I'd always considered him to be purely a number 9, but turns out he's a lot more versatile.

 

Great signing.

 

Could now be rearranged as: " decent pro, works hard, fairly average finisher, bit of a pest for defenders".

 

Agree he brings several attributes to the team but his finishing is not one of them and lets him down.

[scotty]

Whenever we played a team and he came off their bench I always thought "oh b*llocks, that's it then." A bit like Le Fondre, you knew he'd always either score or create something.

[doc oli]

Always loved his work ethic, but has really come on leaps and bounds the past few months. The one remaining hang up is that he seems to need to miss a couple of chances before scoring- but by starting more games rather than 10 minute cameos he's getting more time to get chances.

[saint lard]

At the risk of repeating myself....Shane long is not a £12m striker....but a £12m player.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ALWAYS_SFC]

At the risk of repeating myself....Shane long is not a £12m striker....but a £12m player.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Where should we play him then?

[simo]

Id love to see a front 3 of Jrod , Austin and Long all on form and playing at their best !

[ScepticalStan]

For a long time the whipping boy the villain of the piece for what appeared to be no other reason than saints payed a big fee for him. Long was the evidence that bumbling Les didn't have a clue what he was doing paying that much for a player like him. Every mistake was jumped upon, every miss highlighted. He was a championship player and no better than Brett Ormerod.

 

So what is the view now? Has Shane Long been our best striker this season? Has His performance made him undroppable right now? Did bumbling Les make another balls up when signing him? Or is he still a rich mans Brett Ormerod a poor player who just runs around a lot.

 

He's a fairly average player who we slightly overpaid for. The fact that the man receives absolute adulation from our fanbase despite having never scored double-figures in a Premier League season is a testament to the somewhat chauvinist sectors of our fanbase who also think that JWP getting caps for the U-21s of a national team who's senior side and indeed U-21 side were knocked out in the group stage of both of their most recent competitions is remotely impressive.

 

Shane Long has done alright and he's a useful pest to have up front, but a 'runs-around-hard-worker-good-honest-player' is never the star man of any serious team in the top six or above. Or when they are, they've scored 19 goals with 9 matches still to come.

 

In fact, that's a good point.

 

Vardy does everything Long does *and* scores goals. If Long was a fair deal at £12 million, what price would you put on Vardy's head?

[scotty]

He's a fairly average player who we slightly overpaid for. The fact that the man receives absolute adulation from our fanbase despite having never scored double-figures in a Premier League season is a testament to the somewhat chauvinist sectors of our fanbase who also think that JWP getting caps for the U-21s of a national team who's senior side and indeed U-21 side were knocked out in the group stage of both of their most recent competitions is remotely impressive.

 

Shane Long has done alright and he's a useful pest to have up front, but a 'runs-around-hard-worker-good-honest-player' is never the star man of any serious team in the top six or above. Or when they are, they've scored 19 goals with 9 matches still to come.

 

In fact, that's a good point.

 

Vardy does everything Long does *and* scores goals. If Long was a fair deal at £12 million, what price would you put on Vardy's head?

 

So, when exactly did vardy offer to sign for us then? You can only buy what's available, long was an excellent buy who we probably wouldn't have had a cat in hells chance of getting if his priority hadn't have been to get back down south for family reasons.

[eurosaint]

The problem has never been Shane Long or his ability, the problem has been that some arseholes on here wrote him off immediately just because of the price tag !

You see what you get with him and you get what you see and if anyone can be bothered to research, you could find a hundred other players who cost more money and delivered a helluva lot less !

Fact is that it's best to sit back and see what develops before slagging people off, just saying like .....

[Baird of the land]

We overpaid for Long & Hull somewhat underpaid imo. Price is now irrelavent, especially with the crazy TV money.

He's a good player, proving to be an important asset once finally played more often in his natural position. If he could hit a streak where his conversion ratio went up he'd be an even better player because let's be honest when Vardy scored 5 goals last season nobody was considering him the worldbeater.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

If it was a choice between having £12m in the bank or Long in the squad then the latter for me every day of the week. I said that when we signed him and as far as I am concerned he has already paid us back. If I had a choice between him and yesterday 2 goal hero then I would go for Long.

[SuperSAINT]

If it was a choice between having £12m in the bank or Long in the squad then the latter for me every day of the week. I said that when we signed him and as far as I am concerned he has already paid us back. If I had a choice between him and yesterday 2 goal hero then I would go for Long.

 

I'm just currently happy we have both.

[angelman]

Such a shame that the bloke who used to be in front of me has moved seats. He hated Long and that only made me like him more than I already did. We all know that Hull profited after 6months by about £5m. But things changed and look who they signed as a replacement.

 

One of the few signings of another PL player, who actually played for the first team, that we have made. He wanted to come here to play rather than a stepping stone, and I like that. Austin has done the same, so I like him as well.

[miserableoldgit]

He reminds me in many ways of Bobby Stokes. Never a great player but full of effort and a "90 minute" man. The type of player the Saints supporters have always liked. I would certainly have him playing for us rather than against us!!

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Charlie Wayman]

He has that rare quality of causing a buzz of excitement every time he gets on the ball. Who else can light the place up the way he does?

 

The only downside is his own recklessness in never shirking a 50/50 ball which on day might be his physical undoing - but without that commitment he wouldn't be Shane Long. We must just accept he will miss a few games here and there though injury.

 

He was the same at his former clubs and used to terrify me just by being in the opposition's starting line up.

[View From The Top]

Anyone how doesn't recognise what Shane Long brings to the team really isn't worth engaging in conversation with due to them being a ******* moron.

[croydonsaint]

I think this is one signing you can put in the "Black Box Success" column. The famed Black Box takes some stick on here, but be honest, who thought Shane Long would be as good a signing as he has turned out to be?

 

Watching Shane Long from afar when he was at other clubs, my overall assessment was "average pro, works hard, fairly decent finisher, bit of a pest for defenders".

 

Now being able to watch him regularly, he has a number of additional attributes I wouldn't have previously associated with him, which I can only assume the black box will have identified. Things such as his ability in the air (he wins so many headers against much taller defenders), how clever his runs are, and his speed (he has to be one of the fastest in the squad). The other main perception I had that has changed is that I'd always considered him to be purely a number 9, but turns out he's a lot more versatile.

 

Great signing.

 

I thought Shane Long was a very good signing at the time and could not understand the over reaction regarding the transfer fee. I had noticed him as an annoying player that kept niggling away at defenders and often getting late goals to win matches. Have been really pleased for him as I think he has a fantastic attitude. I think some of our players can learn a lot from him. 12 Million now looking a steal...............

[simo]

Put it this way if he was the consistent goal scorer some people moan he isn't he'd cost a lot more than the £12m we paid for him !

[Noodles34]

For a long time the whipping boy the villain of the piece for what appeared to be no other reason than saints payed a big fee for him. Long was the evidence that bumbling Les didn't have a clue what he was doing paying that much for a player like him. Every mistake was jumped upon, every miss highlighted. He was a championship player and no better than Brett Ormerod.

 

So what is the view now? Has Shane Long been our best striker this season? Has His performance made him undroppable right now? Did bumbling Les make another balls up when signing him? Or is he still a rich mans Brett Ormerod a poor player who just runs around a lot.

 

Is your next thread going to be about our L1 goalkeeper?

 

You are 'retrospect' of the highest order but got to love the way (and give you credit) people don't see you for what you really are.

I think other posters should be a little careful on this thread, otherwise some quote you might have randomly made may be used against you.

[Winnersaint]

Anyone how doesn't recognise what Shane Long brings to the team really isn't worth engaging in conversation with due to them being a ******* moron.

 

Irish lads at work really rate him as do I. One, a Liverpool fan would have him there in a shot. They reckon his GAA background is at the root of his astonishing workrate, fitness and courage. It's hard to argue against it. His goal return may not be in the £12M class but his all round contribution to the team is worth double.

[corky morris]

He's a nuisance that absolutely no defender wants to face. The timing of his jumps for headers are outstanding. He us definitely not the best finisher in the league, but you can not doubt how much of an influence he is for the better of the team.

[Colinjb]

The kind of player you do not want to face, remember the 0-3 game v West Brom on my birthday back in 2013. He's a sod, and he is our sod. 12m was a lot but you spend more on far worse, indeed, we have.

[Turkish]

Is your next thread going to be about our L1 goalkeeper?

 

You are 'retrospect' of the highest order but got to love the way (and give you credit) people don't see you for what you really are.

I think other posters should be a little careful on this thread, otherwise some quote you might have randomly made may be used against you.

 

Why don't you offer an opinion on the topic and stop posting about me for once? Being obsessed with posters on a football forum isn't healthy pal. It's pretty odd actually.

[Noodles34]

Why don't you offer an opinion on the topic and stop posting about me for once? Being obsessed with posters on a football forum isn't healthy pal. It's pretty odd actually.

 

Why don't you offer one mate, instead of continually berating other peoples' opinions, you are so boringly predictable with your 'look what you said earlier' drivel.

Shane Long for 12 million, do me a favour, Hull bought him for 6 twelve months earlier and we doubled that on the back of 8 goals. I like Shane Long, a lot, at the very least he is the most committed player we have and when I watched ****ing Mane stroll about when he came on yesterday, not chasing any balls down etc. it made Shane Long look even better. But from a business point of view, Hull must have come in their pants when Les Reed said, "we'll give you 12 million".

heres an opinion, this Les Reed that you rate so highly, how about he keeps players when they prove to be good. How about he manages to convince the likes of Lovren, Lallana, Chambers, Shaw, Snederlein, Clyne, Lambert..... To actually stay and buy into the ambition of this club. But no, they all want to get off at the first opportunity and it will be the same this summer again, because they see what our ambition is, mid table mediocrity, even RK has alluded to it. So sorry for not buying into your great Les Reed, frankly I'm unsure if what he actually offers? It's all very well buying players and they work out but how about keeping them?

[scotty]

Why don't you offer one mate, instead of continually berating other peoples' opinions, you are so boringly predictable with your 'look what you said earlier' drivel.

Shane Long for 12 million, do me a favour, Hull bought him for 6 twelve months earlier and we doubled that on the back of 8 goals. I like Shane Long, a lot, at the very least he is the most committed player we have and when I watched ****ing Mane stroll about when he came on yesterday, not chasing any balls down etc. it made Shane Long look even better. But from a business point of view, Hull must have come in their pants when Les Reed said, "we'll give you 12 million".

heres an opinion, this Les Reed that you rate so highly, how about he keeps players when they prove to be good. How about he manages to convince the likes of Lovren, Lallana, Chambers, Shaw, Snederlein, Clyne, Lambert..... To actually stay and buy into the ambition of this club. But no, they all want to get off at the first opportunity and it will be the same this summer again, because they see what our ambition is, mid table mediocrity, even RK has alluded to it. So sorry for not buying into your great Les Reed, frankly I'm unsure if what he actually offers? It's all very well buying players and they work out but how about keeping them?

 

That's the point though, isn't it. We'd just been comprehensively raped of the core of our squad, but managed to get decent money for it. It didn't matter what we paid for Long, the price was completely irrelevant at that stage. We needed a competent match-ready premier league striker, and he fitted the bill perfectly. I don't get this whinging about forking out 12m for him, he's paid it back in spades already.

[SaintBobby]

It turns out that (a) Shane Long was worth £12m and (b) that people paid very large amounts of money to decide these things know much, much more than fans on a website.

 

Neither of these things are particularly surprising. Lock thread?

[pangy]

Let's not kid ourselves he is showing great form at the moment,when he is not on form he is usually garbage,hopefully RK has now worked out the best way to utilise his strengths

[doddisalegend]

Let's not kid ourselves he is showing great form at the moment,when he is not on form he is usually garbage,hopefully RK has now worked out the best way to utilise his strengths

 

Like all players then.....

[shurlock]

"The price doesn't matter" (not to mention he's supposedly among the club's top three earners).

 

Only in this bizarre forum neverland, it seems.

Edited 14 March, 2016 by shurlock

[The Cat]

I agree, lock the thread. There's absolutely no need to discuss our players on a Southampton FC football forum.

[angelman]

"The price doesn't matter" (not to mention he's supposedly among the club's top three earners).

 

Only in this bizarre forum neverland, it seems.

 

 

The thing about the price is to me purely down to the amount Hull paid 6 months earlier. What was our first offer - £8m? The club decided not to faff about and just get him. I guess what with the exits and press saying we were in free fall, there was a danger that things could get out of control. But.....we wanted a forward who had PL experience. Who else, taking price and ability, was available and was a better prospect? I suspect also that a Home Grown player was also something that might have been taken into account. No one yet has come up with a better option, that's not saying that there wasn't one.

 

Anyway, that's in the past.

 

Now, he scores a few. He's never going to be a 20 a season man. But I look at what he offers and how he makes the defence of the opposition shape themselves. Play too high a line and he is likely to punish you either himself, or with Tadic's non-goal at Stoke. Dither on the ball a bit too long and you're likely to have him in your face.

 

He also offers something different, so we actually have a Plan B now.

[View From The Top]

Why don't you offer one mate, instead of continually berating other peoples' opinions, you are so boringly predictable with your 'look what you said earlier' drivel.

Shane Long for 12 million, do me a favour, Hull bought him for 6 twelve months earlier and we doubled that on the back of 8 goals. I like Shane Long, a lot, at the very least he is the most committed player we have and when I watched ****ing Mane stroll about when he came on yesterday, not chasing any balls down etc. it made Shane Long look even better. But from a business point of view, Hull must have come in their pants when Les Reed said, "we'll give you 12 million".

heres an opinion, this Les Reed that you rate so highly, how about he keeps players when they prove to be good. How about he manages to convince the likes of Lovren, Lallana, Chambers, Shaw, Snederlein, Clyne, Lambert..... To actually stay and buy into the ambition of this club. But no, they all want to get off at the first opportunity and it will be the same this summer again, because they see what our ambition is, mid table mediocrity, even RK has alluded to it. So sorry for not buying into your great Les Reed, frankly I'm unsure if what he actually offers? It's all very well buying players and they work out but how about keeping them?

 

And that sums up, perfectly, why you're an idiot.

[Donatello]

And that sums up, perfectly, why you're an idiot.

 

:thumbup:

[saintwbu]

I feel like one day we will move out of the mindset from the era where Rory Delap was our record signing at £4million, and realise that £12million is not a great deal of money and does not buy you much in football anymore. Yes at the time I thought the fee for Shane Long was over his value, but not because I thought it was a lot of money but more because I didn't rate him particularly highly. Last year at Stoke at home I think it was, I was crying out for us to bring him off the bench, which I didn't think I'd ever be doing when he signed! But his run in the team this year has really shown his worth, yes his finishing is hit and miss but he creates a hell of a lot purely through his exceptional work rate, the guy just does not stop. Steven Fletcher, Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll - 3 British players that cost over £10million and I would not want anywhere near our team, that money really does not get you a lot (and was worth more when those three signed for their clubs at that price).

[Fan The Flames]

The moaning about the fee is a product of the Football Manager generation, who equate the video game (are they still called that?) to real football. People would have been really happy if he cost £6m but we as fans should judge what a player can offer in absolute terms not relative terms against what his fee.

[Mattio]

The moaning about the fee is a product of the Football Manager generation, who equate the video game (are they still called that?) to real football. People would have been really happy if he cost £6m but we as fans should judge what a player can offer in absolute terms not relative terms against what his fee.

 

This. In any case who are we to know that we actually paid £12m straight up for him? It's probably based on a tonne of clauses which would mean he'd 'earnt' the value we gave him.

[Lallana's Left Peg]

The moaning about the fee is a product of the Football Manager generation, who equate the video game (are they still called that?) to real football. People would have been really happy if he cost £6m but we as fans should judge what a player can offer in absolute terms not relative terms against what his fee.

 

I find this approach puzzling because whilst a players transfer fee is determined by a number of things and not just his ability, the idea that you detach a players transfer fee when determining his value or worth to a club doesn't make sense.

 

Using this approach we can't say that Osvaldo or Ramirez were bad buys because the fact they both cost £12m+ and just as much in wages doesn't matter. They go down as buys that didn't work out and have to be judged in the same manner as say a Juanmi at less than half the price (and likely wages).

 

The money this spends on players is important for two reasons: 1. The cost of a player (including wages) has to be justified against their performances on the pitch, because 2. The money we invest in a player means we can't invest that money in an alternative player or another part of the club to try and improve.

 

As for Shane Long, the one thing that puzzles me is that we purchased players for a very particular system (4-2-3-1) and he doesn't really fit that in any way so to spend £12m on a square peg for a round hole was confusing however when we play 4-4-1-1 or 3-5-2 we play to his strengths and he makes a far bigger contribution. His finishing still undermines a lot of his hard work but I suppose if he could finish to a higher level he wouldn't be a Saints player. I do like the over the top threat as much as I like his hustle and workrate. That said, I would be surprised if he is a starter next season if everyone is fit.