Long - time for a change?

[Snowball]

Ian, I picked you because you're false.

The others are just terrible judges.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Think it's the best individual contribution we've seen in a long long while. Better than Gylfi last year IMO. Go Shane.

[Snowball]

Think it's the best individual contribution we've seen in a long long while. Better than Gylfi last year IMO. Go Shane.

I'd agree.

More goals than Gyfli, 3 less official assists, but he's had three players sent off
which must make a fair difference, plus 2 more pens taken and scored by Harte.

And there are still eight games left!

And he wears down defenders, making life easier for other RFC players,

Gets in his fair share of balls won, does great defending corners and has saved a few goals that way.


Never, ever will he be the silky ball-player that is Gylfi, but in terms of worth, all-round I would now take Shane.

As an attacking midfielder/deep striker Gylfi was great, as a defender, not very.

[Hoop Blah]

I think Sigurdsson was the better player, better prospect and the player I'd back to go on and do more. He's the player I'd rather build a team around if I were a manager. He's just got more quality about him than Long.

However, Long's individual contribution to the form of this current side is greater than Sigurdssons last season. Even Legiertwood, who has made a massive difference to the balance of the team hasn't had the impact that Long has over the last 4 months.

[Snowball]

I think Sigurdsson was the better player, better prospect and the player I'd back to go on and do more. He's the player I'd rather build a team around if I were a manager. He's just got more quality about him than Long.

However, Long's individual contribution to the form of this current side is greater than Sigurdssons last season. Even Legiertwood, who has made a massive difference to the balance of the team hasn't had the impact that Long has over the last 4 months.

As I said, we all know who's the silky one, but there's more than one way to be an important player.

Deadly striker.

Silky ball-playing, scoring midfielder.

Brilliant defensive midfielder a la Makelele (sp?) at his best.

Super-rugged "unpassable" Centre-Back





BTW, how is Gylfi doing these days?

[Ian Royal]

Meh, even if I disagreed it ain't worth arguing about because Long's been fabtabulous.

Lets all just be satisfied we've got a new 20 a season man and forget about who's better or who's given the best individual contribution to the side in the last 13.75 years.

[Snowball]

that at the moment he is our best attacking option,

But is he? Devil's advocate says how do we know he is the "best attacking option" if McD is relcutant to try anything different?

I doubt anyone on here expects us to go to Derby and win so why not take the opportunity to change things around? Who knows - perhaps a game on the bench might give Long's the kick start it undoutedly needs.

OH DEAR! We went here WON, with Shane scoring both goals.

[Snowball]

Out of interest, how many of our 28 league goals have come from open play?

Obviously having a centre forward that can't finnish doesn't help matters, but as a team we seem too devoid of ideas, which in my book has always been because we just don't have enough quality in the team.

I said a long time ago that any team looking at Church and Long for it's goals is going to struggle to score consistently but others seemed to step up to the plate earlier in the season. My gut feel is that we relied on set pieces a lot for those goals though (Mills scoring a couple of important ones for example).

Over a season you largely get what you deserve though and quality tells....

22 + 5 goals now, Hoop, scoring for fun, GD of 22, outscored the Gylfi season (and games still left to play) in fifth place...

[Snowball]

As I think someone pointed out on the back from the game thread, Long makes the wrong runs to get the flukes. The example was about him running to the front of the six yard box instead of the near/far post for a tap in.

All too often he makes that kind of mistake.

True. I think now we're suffering from Steve Coppell's refusal to loan him out in PL season 2 so he could gain experience lower down the leagues - because he came to the game relatively late and spent the majority of him time before last season sitting on the bench, he's actually played relatively little football for someone of his age.

I think we've been suffering from that problem for a couple of seasons now.

I just can't see Long changing the player he is and starting to score regularly even if he gets a couple in quick succession. Afterall, he did get three goals in 5 games earlier in the season (2 penalties admittedly) and still didn't kick on from there at all.

He's got enough quality to go on little runs of scoring. But he simply isn't good enough mentally and technically to score regularly across a whole season. He may come good, but I can't see it happening with us. He's going to need to drop a league and restart his career that way.

he's been on borrowed time here for years. He finishes seasons relatively well, but goes back to shit at the start of the next one. He didn't really seem to do anything to justify his starting place in pre-season compared to Church.

IMO McDermott's played the gamble, got it wrong and not only hurt Long & Reading, but Church as well.

[Snowball]

Nobody has answered the question I posed about whether there has ever been a striker who was a dud in his early career but became prolific later. If you ask me, it doesn't happen. I was just looking at Kevin Lisbie's stats. His strike rate went up with Colchester, but with Championship clubs he's remained consistently goalshy, young to old. This seems to me the pattern for players like that.

Never happens.

[Hoop Blah]

And I've readily accepted that Long has proven me wrong with this goalscoring run of his. I don't have a problem with admitting I'm wrong if I am, and in this case I'm happy to put my hands up and do so. I still think Long's place in the side at the time should've been under much greater pressure and if we had a viable alternative, and they were played, we might now be 4 points clear in 2nd and not chasing.

EDIT: By the way, my point at the time was if we were relying on Church and Long for our goals we'd struggle. Pretty sure you'll find that Longs up turn in form came about when Hunt got back to fitness and partnered Long. Although Long has proven me wrong (it'll be interesting to see how he does over the next couple of years too), I still think a side relying on Long and Church would probably struggle, and it's to Harte's credit that he's stepped up to the plate to supplement the side with his contribution of goals.

How are you getting on with those free kicks by the way? Many games with just 1 free kick?

[Snowball]

I dont often come on this site. the reason is the utter claptrap that some of these so called
Reading supporters come up with if they had there way poor Long would be put in front
of a firing sqaud, The lad works his socks off for the club and i was so pleased he got a double
yesterday and he will go on and be our top scorer this season just give a break and support him
unless your a swindon fan

Well said, madmickb

[T.R.O.L.I.]

that at the moment he is our best attacking option,

But is he? Devil's advocate says how do we know he is the "best attacking option" if McD is relcutant to try anything different?

I doubt anyone on here expects us to go to Derby and win so why not take the opportunity to change things around? Who knows - perhaps a game on the bench might give Long's the kick start it undoutedly needs.

OH DEAR! We went here WON, with Shane scoring both goals.

Fcuk me, Smowball, you've dredged up a comment from 4 months ago. How incredibly sad

If you read the whole - yes the whole of my original post, you'll see that it was borne out of frustration with the amount of chances Long had spurned throughout November and early December (and that at the same time I endorsed his work ethic). I will happily accept that he proved me wrong at Pride Park however at the time of the post he had just missed 4 or 5 gilt edged chances against Coventry having missed a lot more in the previous games - hence the reason for the thread. At no point since have I turned round an continued to slate him - I just felt at the time of the post we would have benefitted from a change up front. I accept that, once he started scoring, there was no need for a change - but at the time of the post his season scoring record was not very good.

Now I don't understand your agenda for dredging up this post however I would like you to answer this:

When the post was made, how many points had we not gained due to Long's profligacy in Nov / Dec?


Now, and just to make it clear, I'm not after how many points he has single-handedly won up since (which I appreciate is quite a lot), nor am I after a stat-fest - just a number of points in answer to my question.

I await your response....

[readingbedding]

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkttttttttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaccccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

[Snowball]

In Jobi's case he can't cross.
In Noel's case he can't run.
In Jimmy's case he's lazy.

etc...

Long was, along with Pearce (where the fcuk have these performances come from btw? ) our best player today, and blaming him for our failings is a bit short sighted IMHO.

As far as the 18 yard box - fair enough.

Inside the 18 yard box - don't think so.

Long is a striker and strikers are paid to score goals. As I said, I can't fault his workrate outside the box, but if he isn't hitting the back of the net then it's time for a change.

Additionally, my post wasn't just about today - it was about the previous four games as well. He's had enough chances to score but, and especially today, he hasn't hit the target.

Answer me this - how many saves did his efforts cause Kieren Westwood to make today?

And for those who say "Well, he creates the opportunities so he should stay on the pitch": Fine - then stick him out on the wing where "In Jobi's case he can't cross, In Jimmy's case he's lazy" play. Because if he can't hit the target (let alone score goals) then someone else needs to be given a chance.

[Snowball]

Re winning at Derby - perhaps I should have stated "with the strike force unchanged". You're right - there's no reason why we can't win up there, but with Long as our main striker I can't see it.

Hell, I'd almost rather have Robbo up front at the moment - as clinical as Long but at least he's got the "Savage haircut" to add the comedy angle!

[Snowball]

I can only think that Long is in the side ahead of Church because his all-round play is better. As far as I see it though, a strikrs job is to put the ball in the back of the net, and Church is better at doing that from open play.

I can only hope the powers that be have now woken up to the fact that our blunt strikeforce may well result with us getting dragged into a relegation fight. We made the mistake in the Premiership of not spending and went down, it would be criminal to not learn from our mistakes and do it again. All depends if the money from the Sig has vanished into the black hole that are the finances of the club, or will they spend a small amount and give us a fighting chance. The right player would secure s in this division and mayeb even allow us to flirt with the play-offs.

I don;t hold out much hope though in the January transfer window....I fear the same old stories linking us with potential player but nothing happens and w get the same old "Happy with what we've got" quotes carted out again.

Face it, you were UTTERLY wrong.

[RoyalJames101]

But he's just admitted that he was wrong. Why the need to quote 4/5 things he's said just to get across a point which you have already made

[Snowball]

has the change been 4-4-2?

Well if it was I was even more right.

I said Shane would come good, and is better suited to 442.

I even said a regular partnership with Hunt would see them both scoring goals

26 December 2010

[Ian Royal]

because he wants to be a dick