Shane Long - Official: Leaves Club

[Turkish]

3 hours ago, stevy777_x said:

Is that way he is always offside getting into good positions?

So good the other players can’t read his runs, much like Papa Waigo was 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, stevy777_x said:

Is that way he is always offside getting into good positions?

Moving to good positions, right on the edge off offside, is helped by a team who can exploit someone who does it. Not that he'd manage it every time, but doddering team mates who want an extra touch or are trained to pass sideways won't have helped him. His finishing, once getting into an inside scoring position is another matter. 🙂

[Dark Munster]

Good luck to you Shane, so long, and thanks for all the goal.

[Matthew Le God]

11 minutes ago, Dark Munster said:

Good luck to you Shane, so long, and thanks for all the goal.

[rooney]

He was a good singer too. Whatever happened to that song?

[JRM]

37 minutes ago, rooney said:

He was a good singer too. Whatever happened to that song?

I still play this every morning as my motivation for the day 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/shane-long-sings-southampton-end-7980891

[SuperSAINT]

 

[Jeremy Corbyn]

3 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

 

A forward line of Long and Gray, like an elderly porn star

[SaintBitterne]

It is done, he is gone! Best news this summer tbh

[JxgrSaint]

1 hour ago, Jeremy Corbyn said:

A forward line of Long and Gray, like an elderly porn star

Difficulty finishing as well…

[warwicksaint]

 

[warwicksaint]

Would’ve been good to see him go a few years back but oh well. Cheers Long, will always have fond memories of the anfield goal

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 minute ago, SaintBitterne said:

It is done, he is gone! Best news this summer tbh

Think that's a bit harsh. Always gave 100%, unlike some of the other wasters we have had 

[Sheaf Saint]

Can't say I'm sorry to see him go because he isn't the future of this club. But he's a true professional who might not be the most gifted technically but never gave anything less than his best, and deserves respect.

Good luck wherever you go next Shane, and thanks for that Anfield memory.

[woodsaint1]

Thanks for all the years Shane. Especially those years under Koeman where he was a key player for a period. 12.5 million in 2014 turned out to be a decent bit of business for us. Age has caught up with him the last few seasons and PL level became a stretch too far. Hope he finds a club in the Championship.

[SNSUN]

Praise first, thank the lucky stars he didn't get a new contract second.

 

Praise... despite being of limited talents he was a hard worker, quick and was a nightmare for defences to play against. Plus... he did score a few goals. Did he justify his price tag? For longevity and key goals, sure. Quickest goal and THAT Liverpool goal. 

 

I am glad we didn't give him a new contract (or he didn't sign it) as that frees up money for elsewhere and... we can do better now.

[Bad Wolf]

I can't believe it's been eight years!

[Lighthouse]

There's no questioning his character as a player and the effort he's put in on the pitch, or that he gave us one of our most prized memories at Anfield but seriously... thank f**k he's leaving. He's a bottom half Championship player at best and the soundbites around, "being a great lad in the dressing room," and, "a useful asset to bring on and see out a game," have worn through the underlay and into the floorboards.

[gsweet87]

Best 5ft 11 target man the league has ever seen. Cheers Shane.

[MarkSFC]

Never someone who scored enough but scored some important goals. No questioning his effort and his pace but glad he's off as frees up some space for hopefully two new strikers. 

[Saint Matty 76]

I do wish other players had the same level of commitment/effort that he's shown us. 

Was it Everton last year where he chased down a ball in the last 30 seconds and turned round to hype up the crowd?

A player I'll always look back on fondly, but obviously also glad that his 60k~ a week is off the books.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

18 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Praise first, thank the lucky stars he didn't get a new contract second.

 

Praise... despite being of limited talents he was a hard worker, quick and was a nightmare for defences to play against. Plus... he did score a few goals. Did he justify his price tag? For longevity and key goals, sure. Quickest goal and THAT Liverpool goal. 

 

I am glad we didn't give him a new contract (or he didn't sign it) as that frees up money for elsewhere and... we can do better now.

I'm not convinced he was ever offered a new contract. A lot of people making assumptions based on a few words in the PL retained list.

Has been a good servant for us, wish him well

[Lighthouse]

Just now, Ex Lion Tamer said:

I'm not convinced he was ever offered a new contract. A lot of people making assumptions based on a few words in the PL retained list.

Has been a good servant for us, wish him well

It's possible we said that as a favour to him, makes his position stronger when negotiating with other clubs.

[kitch]

But more importantly....who's getting the shirt?

[trousers]

Call me an old softie but I'm actually quite sad that Shane has left. He gave us one of our most memorable moments of all time, for which I salute him.... Cheers Shane.... you have a place in the Saints hall of fame....

 

Edited 1 July, 2022 by trousers

[Dusic]

We are pretty woeful at giving long serving players a good send off.

Surely we knew he would be leaving before the final game at St Marys.

[S-Clarke]

Don't have a bad word to say about Long, he's put in a great shift with us.

But the reality is that we need to move on now, we needed to move on a couple of years ago to be fair.

Thanks for the service Shane, but now we can move forward with players capable of performing at this level.

[OttawaSaint]

Apparently he hasn't left yet...the door was open but he went the wrong side of the frame...

Jokes aside, thanks Shane for all the memories! 

Edited 1 July, 2022 by OttawaSaint

[Manuel]

That Liverpool goal was epic.  The seven second goal was also something else, a record in our favour for once.  And this belter on the day Mane got his hat-trick:

https://youtu.be/f-t9eOEjW4E

 

Edited 1 July, 2022 by Manuel

[Toadhall Saint]

Good luck Shane thanks for all of your effort over the years.

[SotonianWill]

30 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

There's no questioning his character as a player and the effort he's put in on the pitch, or that he gave us one of our most prized memories at Anfield but seriously... thank f**k he's leaving. He's a bottom half Championship player at best and the soundbites around, "being a great lad in the dressing room," and, "a useful asset to bring on and see out a game," have worn through the underlay and into the floorboards.

And yet still towards the end of last season i'd rather see him in the team than A Armstrong (really they're both terrible)

[OttawaSaint]

10 minutes ago, Manuel said:

That Liverpool goal was epic.  The seven second goal was also something else, a record in our favour for once.  And this belter on the day Mane got his hat-trick:

https://youtu.be/f-t9eOEjW4E

 

Ah man! Saints were so quick and decisive in those days. Miss that!

[Suhari]

I was a fan.

Yes, he wasn't the most prolific, but he did a job. Must've been a real pain to play against. Loved his effort and professionalism. Came in with some important goals to.

All the best Saint Shane!

[Sidney Fudpucker the 3rd]

He had an incredible work rate and I still dont understand why he was overlooked on the right hand side of midfield whilst Ralph persisted with some bizarre team selections.

This is the best outcome for both parties as he wouldn't have done anything for us next seaason.
 

[SW5 SAINT]

58 minutes ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

I do wish other players had the same level of commitment/effort that he's shown us. 

Was it Everton last year where he chased down a ball in the last 30 seconds and turned round to hype up the crowd?

A player I'll always look back on fondly, but obviously also glad that his 60k~ a week is off the books.

He would never have been offered 60k pw for next season, half that if he was lucky….

[SNSUN]

1 hour ago, kitch said:

But more importantly....who's getting the shirt?

Tete... 😜😏

[Saint Matty 76]

16 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Tete... 😜😏

Really hope there's something in this one! Seems a no brainer if we're able to get it over the line.

[davefizzy14]

I wish Shane all the best and thank him for some great moments for us, the top one being the goal at anfield which took us to Wembley fastest ever goal in PL history, the stunning strike against Aston Villa at home under Koeman in 14/15 and many more. Will miss his character and incredible work rate. A true Saint

Edited 1 July, 2022 by davefizzy14

[Mystic Force]

I have always thought Shane Long was suspect from the time that Les Reed used him an example in an interview explaining how they used the black box to get value for money. That was a clear indication to me that they had believed their own hype a bit to much. Shane was at best a mediocre player in mediocre teams doing a decent job, but never going to set the world alight. To see that as value for money in a magical algorithm, makes you wonder if they asked anyone to use their own eyes to evaluate potential.

Should have probably moved on 3 years back, but hey good luck shane.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Saint Matty 76 said:

Really hope there's something in this one! Seems a no brainer if we're able to get it over the line.

Hasn't he already signed permanently for Lyon ?

[Chez]

I have never rated him. He's simply not a very good striker. However, there were a couple of periods when we were on our knees and we turned to a more defensive approach with him running around a lot up front, and that approach helped us get out of our funk and turned our season around. Those two shirt periods showed the value of  a guy that had pace to burn and could turn horrible hoofed clearances into decent out balls. Pace is so important and reduces the reliance of skill.

I was at Anfield for the semi final, and it was without question one of the greatest nights in my football watching life. It was a great finish to a great move. That joy and relief will live in my memory forever. I hope we find a striker that can create a few more moments like that.

 

[Saint Matty 76]

39 minutes ago, Badger said:

Hasn't he already signed permanently for Lyon ?

Oh wow didn't notice. Signed another year on loan this afternoon.

 

[Baird of the land]

Good player for us during his peak. Goals really dried up post koeman but still a useful player 2 have round. Kept him 2 yrs too long really and it's definite right to part ways. Curious to see if he plays on. Wonder if he might head to Irish league for season like duff did.

[Bakovnetski]

The goal vs Everton at home last year...leapt like a salmon at the far post and stopped them dead. Loved that.

[swannymere]

I know many deride his playing in the last couple of seasons but i can never hate a player with a great work rate and heart. He has been a decent player for us overall.

[LVSaint]

3 hours ago, kitch said:

But more importantly....who's getting the shirt?

Retire it

[striker]

I thought Gray already has a deal to go to Aris Thessaloniki?

[beatlesaint]

Always easy to tell what kind of person someone is by the way the club announce their departure. Safe to say Shane was viewed in very high regard.

[Badger]

Decent tribute:

 

Quote

 

 

Edited 1 July, 2022 by Badger

[Wade Garrett]

Best of luck for the future.

Great professional who always gave 100% in a Saints shirt.