'Long as good as Doyle' - Hammond

[weybridgewanderer]

he is the best we have when playing with 1 up front. What is the alternative?

Noel Hunt?

[Terminal Boardom]

I will admit to forgetting about Noel Hunt. But can he play the lone striker role as effectively? I would be surprised if anyone saw more than 20 games from Hunt next season. Which goes back to my earlier comment about Shane being the best we have in that role.

[PEARCEY]

Finished at 20/21?
Blimey...

23

Yes, he is finished. If he was a good as they percive him to be he would have been given a new deal by now. instead he's got 1 year left and is playing for a new contract next season.

How can he be finished? Bizarre thing to say. Long was a handful for the opposition in the second-half of last season. He does need to perform over a full season though. If he does he will bag 20 goals and will have done the business.

[PEARCEY]

[quote="Sarah Star"]Funny reading that, I've never really thought of Long and Doyle being similar players. Doyle's got much more strength than Long and Long has far more pace than Doyle, surely.[/quote

Long doesn't run down the channels as effectively as Doyle does but they are both strong, physical and good in the air.

[Terminal Boardom]

Long certainly does not have the balance or first touch that KD has, But Shane has other quallities and attributes that KD has not got - pace and aerial ability to name 2. It is way too early to write him off.

[PEARCEY]

Long certainly does not have the balance or first touch that KD has, But Shane has other quallities and attributes that KD has not got - pace and aerial ability to name 2. It is way too early to write him off.

Yes fair point about Long's first touch. Its not great.

[Chillitsphil]

Long certainly does not have the balance or first touch that KD has, But Shane has other quallities and attributes that KD has not got - pace and aerial ability to name 2. It is way too early to write him off.

Doyle is both quick and decent in the air.

[Arch]

Hammond > Long > Long h8ers > Hammond h8ers

[Ian Royal]

I will admit to forgetting about Noel Hunt. But can he play the lone striker role as effectively? I would be surprised if anyone saw more than 20 games from Hunt next season. Which goes back to my earlier comment about Shane being the best we have in that role.

Long played it well. For a brief period. Personally I'd rather give Church the chance to do it. Or Hunt. Or someone new who is actually good at the lone role rather than just the best of a mediocre bunch at it.

[prostak]

He's not finished. You can have perfectly acceptable strikers who aren't near Doyle's quality.

But he didn't get what he needed at the crucial point in his development so he'll never now fulfill his potential.

And Long's been getting one more year to prove himself for the last 3 years. He's not managed it yet.

Everton's latest acquisition suggests it's possible to reach the top divisions without even having been a professional footballer at the 'crucial point in development' you mention. As would the career of a certain player from our own club's history, you get me?

[Sun Tzu]

Says more about Hammond than Long. What value can you place on the opinion of second rate goalkeeper who presided over the Academy during a particularly barren period as far as producing players was concerned? Just Hammond trying to big himself up when it was Eamon Dolan's brother who recommended Doyle & Long and Coppell who decided to take them on.

I think you are right.

I also think we should ignore the views of second rate (did they actually get that far ?) former players like Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Sven Goran Eriksson and Alex Ferguson !

If footballing ability was all it took to be a manager then why aren't Gazza and Pele managing teams ?

[Wax Jacket]

I'm not a habitual Hammond-basher in the slightest and i can see that he's doing this to keep the player's spirits up but in this case, he's just plain wrong

[Hoop Blah]

I'm not a habitual Hammond-basher in the slightest and i can see that he's doing this to keep the player's spirits up but in this case, he's just plain wrong

Exactly.

This is a perfect example of why it's not usually worth reading most of the guff that comes out of players and managers mouths as they always have an agenda or spin that dictates what they can and can't say.

Long has some good attributes and does have potential to go on and be better than he is, but then he has serious flaws and weaknesses that mean it's unlikely to happen. Doyle on the other hand doesn't have any obvious weaknesses and is making the best of his strengths and is by far the better player.

This PR rubbish is just so boring. Look at the last World Cup for instance, all we heard at the time (and from every squad under every manager for that matter) is that it was the most united and focused squad the players had ever been involved with for England. Now the papers are full of how divisive it was and how bad the atmosphere was.

General rule is don't believe anything you read of hear coming from a footballers mouth.

[Wimb]

Another Shane Long thread?

Doyle > Long that's why Doyle is playing in the Premier League and starting for the ROI while Long hasn't even managed a full season as a starter in the Championship.

It's up for debate as to whether Long will ever catch up or if he COULD have been as good as KD but the evidence so far is clear cut IMO.

[Spud Gun]

Haven't read the interview, can I assume Hammond was in fact comparing Long to Mrs Doyle from Father Ted ?

[Negative_Jeff]

At the moment it seems we are looking for a lone striker to play ahead of Sigurdsson and I don`t know the answer to who it should be. If we accept that Rasiak does all right but is not quite good enough, that leaves Church who has intelligence and good movement and Long who is pacey, good in the air and runs the channels. Noel Hunt held the ball up well and worked his socks off at Barnsley last season and I like Jason Scotland who specialises in the role and demands the ball into feet to develop the play.
Gylfi is a very talented player, but which type of striker from the above would bring the best out of him and also bang in fifteen to twenty goals?

[Forbury Lion]

Says more about Hammond than Long. What value can you place on the opinion of second rate goalkeeper who presided over the Academy during a particularly barren period as far as producing players was concerned? Just Hammond trying to big himself up when it was Eamon Dolan's brother who recommended Doyle & Long and Coppell who decided to take them on.

I'm sure Hammond actually bought them to the club, if picking them up from the airport and driving them to the ground counts.

[Ian Royal]

He's not finished. You can have perfectly acceptable strikers who aren't near Doyle's quality.

But he didn't get what he needed at the crucial point in his development so he'll never now fulfill his potential.

Wow, that's the biggest load of crap you've let out for quite some time!

Really?! I thought I talked crap a lot of the time, but if that's the worst in ages I must be some sort of Prophet.

[Wax Jacket]

Another Shane Long thread?

Doyle > Long that's why Doyle is playing in the Premier League and starting for the ROI while Long hasn't even managed a full season as a starter in the Championship.

he's barely managed a season's worth of goals in his career

[Ian Royal]

Another Shane Long thread?

Doyle > Long that's why Doyle is playing in the Premier League and starting for the ROI while Long hasn't even managed a full season as a starter in the Championship.

he's barely managed a season's worth of goals in his career

23 league goals would be an excellent season. Shame it's taken him 5 to get them.

Hang on... Long must be just about our highest RFC career goalscorer amongst the current players... That's depressing.

9 ahead of Gylfi and 12 ahead of Hunt. (league only of course)