Long - time for a change?

[Spud Gun]

Forgetting Long for a minute.

Hunt wasn't exactly brilliant v Leeds and Brendy says he was invisible v Coventry too.

Church has looked lost for a few games now.

And we had the surprise dropping of Zurab.




Is there something wrong in the dressing room or am I reading too much into this?

Whys is Noel Hunt getting slated on this thread? He had one chance versus Coventry and hit the target, and then Karacan nearly scored from the follow up. Hunt also put a fantastic ball into the box in the first half, which any mediocre striker would have got to (of course Shane Long was nowhere near it).

Long had 5 better chances to score against Coventry and could only manage to hit the outside of the woodwork. Shane Long is not a natural finisher ... he is a poor man's Emile Heskey ...

[Snowball]

I think it's about time we had some money on this.

[Yorkshire Royal]

Money on how shit he is?

[Hoop Blah]

Stats just can't show you the ease or importance of those chances or the situation in the game that they arose. When you accept that you'll realise why Long gets the grief he does.

Like Karacan's open goals? Like Hunt passing to the keeper v Leeds?

Or like Hunts deft finishes for crucial goals? Or Karacan stunner at Preston?

Nobody is saying other players do not miss chances, or good chances, but Long is the main culprit and is the player in the side who's job it is, more than any others, to get and take such chances. A job he just isn't doing.

Karacan has had plenty of stick on here over the last two seasons for giving up possession too easily, Pearce for being too slow, Kebe for slicing crosses out of play off his shin blah blah blah.

You act like criticism isn't allowed or that Long is the only one who gets it. Live in the real world a bit and accept that he isn't doing his job as well as most people would expect. For that reason he's had criticism and you're endless barage of stats (which people who have supported Long have ended up arguing against) have not help the situation of his criticism on here!!!

[Wycombe Royal]

In the Coventry game NHunt had one very good chance and he forced the keeper in to a save.

Karacan had one very good chance (the rebound from NHunt's chance) and it was cleared off the line.

Shane Long had FOUR very good chances (plus another one he was stretching to reach) and he failed to hit the target with ALL of them.

The prosecution rests.

[Snowball]

Whys is Noel Hunt getting slated on this thread? He had one chance versus Coventry and hit the target, and then Karacan nearly scored from the follow up. Hunt also put a fantastic ball into the box in the first half, which any mediocre striker would have got to (of course Shane Long was nowhere near it).

I like Noel Hunt a lot, but the above is "interesting".

If that had been Long it would be:

"Long SHOULD BE getting slated. He only managed one chance versus Coventry and and couldn't score when really he should have.
And PLEASE don't tall me he did well oputisde the box. It's his job to score goals. END OF."

It's Noel Hunt's job to score goals too.
It's Noel Hunt's job to get into the right places and get shots on target that become goals.

He has played 7 (10) = 9 and has managed to get a shot or header away just 19 times for 3 goals. Long has had 38 chances from 19 starts, so despite all the knee-jerkers saying Hunt is a natural and gets into the right places, Long doesn't, the actual statistics tell a different tale.

Long is managing two chances per game. Hunt is managing 2 chances per game

Yes, of course, Long is not scoring enough this season. Hunt is better but only converting 1 in 6.33

Long's career stats (including this bad run) are 160 shot/headers for 33 goals, converting 1 in 4.8

Prior to this season he was 121 shots for for 29 goals, a conversion rate of 1 in 4.1

The truth is, for whatever reason, all the players are poor in front of goal this season

[Snowball]

Money on how shit he is?

Money on how many goals he will score this season

[Snowball]

In the Coventry game NHunt had one very good chance and he forced the keeper in to a save.

Translation into Long-Speak. He had a very good chance and FAILED AGAIN. Then throw in the sitter missed against Leeds.

Karacan had one very good chance (the rebound from NHunt's chance) and it was cleared off the line.

Then throw in the missed open goal against Watford.

Translation into Long-Speak. With the keeper nowhere and just one player on the line he still couldn't score.

[Wycombe Royal]

In the Coventry game NHunt had one very good chance and he forced the keeper in to a save.

Translation into Long-Speak. He had a very good chance and FAILED AGAIN. Then throw in the sitter missed against Leeds.

Karacan had one very good chance (the rebound from NHunt's chance) and it was cleared off the line.

Then throw in the missed open goal against Watford.

Translation into Long-Speak. With the keeper nowhere and just one player on the line he still couldn't score.

If you say so, but unfortuntely we don't have to translate's Long's in to Long speak because he didn't hit the target.

[Snowball]

I don't judge players over a few games.

Church had a sudden burst of goals-as-a-sub and was the Second Coming. Yet the last few games he has looked quite poor. So is he The second Coming or rubbish, or last year's very good prospect with 12 goals from 29.5 games?

Hunt had a brief flurry too, but before that looked way off touch, and since is not exactly Mr Fantastic. And last year a crock. But then he matched Doyle, bettered him in goals for minutes on the pitch, back in 2008-09. Which Hunt should I consider?

Long has not been great in front of goal this year, but in every other season he has been VERY solid and an accurate finisher, MORE deadly than Doyle. He still has good overall figures. Which Long should I consider? The one on a relatively poor run playing "solo" when it doesn't suit him, a run that could turn round with 1-2 goals in a game followed by a couple more goals, just like has happened in the two previous seasons?

Most listers here just have to blame an individual. Long does loads of good work running in the channels, making chances, chasing down lost causes. He's been actively involved in a third of our league goals. The energy of Long and Karacan combined is probably not far off the rest of the team put together.

Of course he's mis-hitting, but take him out of the side, and replace him with for example, Rasiak. Yes, MAYBE we'd have had more finishing, but how many minutes less would we have had the ball, how many times would opposition defenders have had time to look up and find a better pass because Rasiak was ambling around?

[Gordons Cumming]

Maybe someone, other than Snowball, should come up with some statistics saying Long is a good player and then we'll see him scoring goals again.

Worth a try........

[Wimb]

Maybe someone, other than Snowball, should come up with some statistics saying Long is a good player and then we'll see him scoring goals again.

Worth a try........

Long is a good player just not a great goalscorer.

[Alan Partridge]

Maybe someone, other than Snowball, should come up with some statistics saying Long is a good player and then we'll see him scoring goals again.

Worth a try........

Long is a good player just not a great goalscorer.

Long time for a change...of position.

I nominate centre half. He's got stronger, he's quick, and as most of his headers and shots end up in row z, might be better used as clearances?

[Wycombe Royal]

Most listers here just have to blame an individual. Long does loads of good work running in the channels, making chances, chasing down lost causes. He's been actively involved in a third of our league goals. The energy of Long and Karacan combined is probably not far off the rest of the team put together.

Of course he's mis-hitting, but take him out of the side, and replace him with for example, Rasiak. Yes, MAYBE we'd have had more finishing, but how many minutes less would we have had the ball, how many times would opposition defenders have had time to look up and find a better pass because Rasiak was ambling around?

THis is what I wrote on a diferent topic earlier today, it is not about blaming Long, hating Long, etc......

We need a consistent striker and not one who only scores consistently for two months of the season. I would like to see this striker play ALONGSIDE Long as he provides so many other attributes to the team.

[Mr Angry]

^ hopefully - although I fear an avalanche of pro-Long stats when he finally gets round to reading this thread.

And there they are..................................................



I repeat; why does every oxf*rd thread on here became a Snowball stat-wank???

[Snowball]

You call this a stat fest?

You probably think your dick is six inches long.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Christ Long even gets mentioned in dick size.

[Snowball]

^ hopefully - although I fear an avalanche of pro-Long stats when he finally gets round to reading this thread.

And there they are..................................................

I repeat; why does every oxf*rd thread on here became a Snowball stat-oxf*rd???

Six PAGES and six stats posts. The first stats post was cmonurz. The second was T.R.O.L.I.
The third and fourth were mine citing Henry's goals and Shearer's goals after facaldaqui asked.

Yeah stat-overload

[Ian Royal]

And 26 posts of your usual drivel in 4 pages - out of about 80 posts, that's more than 40% why don't you just STFU before you wear your fingers down to bloody stumps.

Edit: 28 in 5 pages. Me 6 in 6. Yeah, I'm definitely the one with the problem there.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Send him out on loan.