In praise of Shane Long...

[Ian Royal]

I reckon that's probably a spot on criticism of me Fac. I haven't been one to run away from a battle when someone's put my back up for a very long time now.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

That's just it though Ian, it is not a battle, you can have a view, but would you argue the toss week after week in a pub about the same thing, people do, and there are a few on here who think that talking the loudest makes them even more right, it doesn't. So in the end you would stop talking to them in real life, which is what IMHO you do on a message board too.

[Avon Royal]

Top murking by the boy long - has made the usual suspects on here look like the grade A muppets that they are.

[Hoop Blah]

To be fair, probably 75% of the 'snowball discussions' on here revolve around his inaccuracies, his mis-use of stats and his general inability to accept when he's wrong or his arguements don't line up.

His defence of Long was a case in point.

I'm happy to be proven wrong that Long could carry our attack in a way I didn't think he was capable. I'm still not convinced he's the player a lot of people think he is or can be. Like Kebe before him I think there are parts of his game that will hold him back but I can't fault the way he has improved this year.

I stand by everything I've said about him in terms of how he was playing though, and not just his scoring rate. Anyone who says the only difference between how he's playing now and how he was playing from Aug to Dec is that he's taking chances is just blind to how much he's turned things around. I also stand by my opinion that McDermott got it wrong when he stood by him for so long when he wasn't playing well or scoring goals.

Snowball hides some good thoughts and opinions within his poorly gathered, applied and presented stats. It's a shame really as at times he's stiffled good debate on here through it.

[brendywendy]

Tip top murking there for Ian.

FWIW it seems we almost all got it wrong, most here at some time thought that Long would not make it, however the people that mattered believed in him, knew he had time on his side,
.

i can confirm that i got it right. therefore i must be people that matter

[Maguire]

I still think Long is shit tbh and that we'll see a regression to the mean sooner rather than later.

[brendywendy]

Good quoting there.

I did always say however, that Long had great potential and could have been a top player if he'd gone out on loan in his first three seasons. After that didn't happen I thought that he would never realise that potential, certainly without moving on. Clearly I was wrong. And I've repeatedly put my hands up, although I'm sure my normal detractors will claim me acknowledging when I'm wrong and changing my opinion is something I never ever do.

It may not have been in every single post but it was there from the first season back in the chumpionship. I'm not going to waste my time searching through 243 pages of threads many of which were 70 odd pages long to prove it though.

I slated Long when he was poor, which he was. I happily admit I went overboard and kept slating him, being blinded to his emerging quality when he did get better through frustration and his previous shitness. But the situation, or evidence, has changed now, and therefore so has my opinion.

you slated him when he was playing very well in the first half of the season, just not scoring, mainly as he wa son his own up front.

[RobRoyal]

I still think Long is shit tbh and that we'll see a regression to the mean sooner rather than later.

'Greed.

Like him though, he's a hell of a tryer.

[brendywendy]

Surely any vitriol aimed at individual players has to be frustration does it not? Long has come into his own now- I only go to around 5-6 matches a season due to other commitments, but if I were a paying season ticket holder going week in week out, I would want results straight away.
Now that Shane Long has knocked a few in is there any point in having a go at people who were frustrated by his below par performances?

just dont think this kind of "reasoning" applies to a 24 year old kid who didnt start playing till very late who cost us 73 p.


and his "below par" performances basically consisted of him working tirelessly for the team and generally playing well, but playing up top on his own and not scoring as many as we needed.this resulted in peopl;e spouting off about how he was never going to be a good enough for this team/league, that he was a league 1 striker at best, that he was lazy(?!)that he would never have a good first touch, etc

so in the face of that sort of criticism, id say its absolutely fine to be dragging those people forward to take their medicine.
those who only mildly stated that they were a bit frustrated by shane at the moment will be left alone.

[Ian Royal]

Good quoting there.

I did always say however, that Long had great potential and could have been a top player if he'd gone out on loan in his first three seasons. After that didn't happen I thought that he would never realise that potential, certainly without moving on. Clearly I was wrong. And I've repeatedly put my hands up, although I'm sure my normal detractors will claim me acknowledging when I'm wrong and changing my opinion is something I never ever do.

It may not have been in every single post but it was there from the first season back in the chumpionship. I'm not going to waste my time searching through 243 pages of threads many of which were 70 odd pages long to prove it though.

I slated Long when he was poor, which he was. I happily admit I went overboard and kept slating him, being blinded to his emerging quality when he did get better through frustration and his previous shitness. But the situation, or evidence, has changed now, and therefore so has my opinion.

you slated him when he was playing very well in the first half of the season, just not scoring, mainly as he wa son his own up front.

I did indeed slate him early on, because he was missing easy chances and on the whole I believe only his work rate was particularly good. We needed a goalscorer, not a workhorse and we wasn't delivering. As I've said, I probably judged him more harshly than he deserved because of the two false dawns he'd already had. My patience had well and truely run out.

I agree with a lot of Hoops post above.

Just look at Long's touch these days, several of his goals have shown unbelievable confidence and finesse in the way he's controlled the ball on the run and bounce before sliding it past the keeper with insolent ease.

His one touch lay offs and close control have also improved a great deal.

[Snowball]

ACTIM


1 Danny Graham Watford Striker 759.00
2 Max-Alain Gradel Leeds United Midfielder 646.00
3 Adel Taarabt Queens Park Rangers Midfielder 636.00
4 Jonathan Howson Leeds United Midfielder 629.00
5 Shane Long Reading Striker 627.00
6 Wesley Hoolahan Norwich City Midfielder 592.00
7 Jay Bothroyd Cardiff City Striker 579.00
8 Russell Martin Norwich City Defender 574.00
9 Grant Holt Norwich City Striker 568.00
10 Luciano Becchio Leeds United Striker 553.00
11 Scott Sinclair Swansea City Midfielder 542.00
12 Patrick Kenny Queens Park Rangers Goal Keeper 532.00
13 Robert Snodgrass Leeds United Striker 523.00
14 Albert Adomah Bristol City Midfielder 519.00
15 Andrew Crofts Norwich City Midfielder 519.00
16 Andy King Leicester City Midfielder 510.00
17 Nathan Dyer Swansea City Midfielder 507.00
18 Kaspars Gorkss Queens Park Rangers Defender 500.00
19 Martin Taylor Watford Defender 492.00
20 John Ruddy Norwich City Goal Keeper 490.00
21 Dorus De Vries Swansea City Goal Keeper 489.00
22 Peter Whittingham Cardiff City Midfielder 486.00
23 Chris Cohen Nottingham Forest Midfielder 475.00
24 David Nugent Portsmouth Striker 474.00
25 Wes Morgan Nottingham Forest Defender 471.00