Shane Long

[papereyes]

The Academy was set up to produce players to break up into our first team when we were in Division 2. To see a success you need to see people coming through the whole academy. We are a year or two into that age group coming through and have been promoted into the top flight of English football.

Thought that was the case. Cheers Ian.

[Ian Royal]

Cox, Ashdown, Young, Henderson and Pearce have all made senior appearances as products of the academy. Hayes may have I'm not sure, he's certainly not too far off. Tyson has gone on to have a reasonable successful career elsewhere.

The Academy was set up to produce players to break up into our first team when we were in Division 2. To see a success you need to see people coming through the whole academy. We are a year or two into that age group coming through and have been promoted into the top flight of English football.

Ashdown decided to take his chances elsewhere against our wishes, Young was decided to not be good enough for the Premiership, Tyson wasn't good enough at the time for the Championship but left again against our wishes.

That is plenty of players that our academy has produced. A couple of years of stability in the prem and we will start to see players of that quality emerging. At the moment they are probably Championship quality, but then that's where we expected to be.

At worst the academy is producing players we can sell on for a fee. Ashdown, Henderson and Tyson have all made us money, thus reducing the cost of the academy. this is only likely to get better in the future now we can be a more attractive prospect than places like Saints, Palace possibly even West Ham.

I accept that there are mitigating circumstances but, not only does this not completely justify our poor return, it simply isn't true that our academy is now producing the goods that it was intended to provide.

As for Cox, Ashdown, Young, Henderson, Tyson and Pearce, 3 chose to ply their trade elsewhere and 2 (Tyson and Henderson) have shown that they were right to do so. In my view, along with Ashdown, I think these 2 stand as examples of young players we might have handled better.

As for the rest, they have only featured in weakened cup teams (unless Cox featured as a league sub?) and not our strongest league side.

I'm not suggesting that we'll never get some top players from our academy or, indeed, that this might not be just around the corner, but it is still to produce an established first team player since the days of Adi Williams and only rejects from other academies (Henderson for example) have enjoyed marginal success.

I, too, hope this is about to change but some of our fans will need to change their mind set judging by the numbers who still want Long sent out on Loan despite scoring his first Premiership goal on Saturday

If we had as little money as crewe for example and were still plying our trade in the Championship then I am positive that we'd have seen players like Tyson, Asdown and Henderson stay and break through, as well as the likes of Cox and Hayes.

Our growth has outstripped the ability of the academy on the whole so far. Happily this can no longer happen as we can no longer get promoted to any higher levels of the sport.

Going on Loan is a very useful tool to a young player. Previously we have had youngsters who had potential they never really realised which was demonstrated by less than golden loan spells at quite small clubs. Long will develop quicker playing week in week out at a decent Championship club than he will getting 20 mins here and there and playing a few reserve and cup games.

However with Doyle injured and Kitson uncertain he will probably get more experience here than you would have thought. Had Kitson not had horrific bad luck or Doyle got injured with Kitson still a bit ropey Long wouldn't have had much of a look in, in which case a loan would be best.

Players like Cox, Hayes and Pearce would almost certainly benefit from loan spells at either championship or League 1 sides as their chances here are stupidly minimal right now.

[Woodcote Royal]

I have no problem with these players going out on loan but I'm in total agreement with Coppell, given all our current circumstances, that now is the time to give Shane Long the chance to establish himself as a Premiership player in our first team.

[Gordons Cumming]

Shane has the most strange running and jogging style.

Almost trots on his tip toes.

[Uke]

Players like Cox, Hayes and Pearce would almost certainly benefit from loan spells at either championship or League 1 sides as their chances here are stupidly minimal right now.

They are close to being surplus to requirements, through no fault of their own.

However, if they get put out on loan they will probably end up moving on

[Ian Royal]

Players like Cox, Hayes and Pearce would almost certainly benefit from loan spells at either championship or League 1 sides as their chances here are stupidly minimal right now.

They are close to being surplus to requirements, through no fault of their own.

However, if they get put out on loan they will probably end up moving on

and we may well make money from them.

If they don't go out on loan they will probably end up being surplus to requirements and be released with us getting no money from them,

[Ian Royal]

Ian in good point shocker.

Seb in nothing constructive to say shocker!

[Uke]

Ian in good point shocker.

Seb in nothing constructive to say shocker!

I'm shocked

[readingbedding]

yo yo yo...

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Good dig out, so it seems that the HNA? massive were mostly behind Long all the time, except when he was having a lean spell earlier this season.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

I LOVE SHANE LONG... he will be a legend to Reading FC in years to come

I bet he isn't. We'll sell him long before he becomes a legend, I reckon.

Wew best go up then, how good is it to be a tad wrong, as this seaosn he will go down a s a alegend, whatever happens.

[readingbedding]

The character in question has been wrong for quite some time...

[Ian Royal]

Good dig out, so it seems that the HNA? massive were mostly behind Long all the time, except when he was having a lean spell earlier this season.

As I said a few weeks ago. I always thought he was a player with potential, but that we'd ruined his chances of reaching that by not giving him the chance to play 90 minutes regularly. It was only after some really piss poor performances in our first season back down combined with two false dawns that really put my back up and made me lose patience.

Had he gone out on loan in one of those two seasons in the Prem, maybe he would have stepped up sooner. Maybe we would also have signed another striker who could have kept us up.

Well done to him, he's realised his potential and is having a phenominal season.

Oh, and isn't the academy doing well.

Ashdown, Henderson, Tyson, Cox, Robson-Kanu, McCarthy, Sigurdsson, Karacan & Pearce all plying their trade at Championship level or higher. Who'da thunk it... not Woodcote obviously.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

The character in question has been wrong for quite some time...

Who are you talking about?