Leave Shane alone.

[SteveRoyal]

No. He is awful. I'll still support him as much as any other Reading player at the match but that doesn't disguise him being League 1 at best.

Funny how 2 well respected managers in Coppell and Trappatoni see him as a quality player then.

+1.
He's a quality super-sub!

[earleyroyal]

Shane Long is great until he gets the ball at his feet in the final third of the pitch. Then he doesn't have a clue what he's doing.

A great sign for a striker

hes young and learning

Surely there comes a time when there has to be some product rather than learning? (scoring against 2 Championship teams in 2 seasons and about 4 Premiership goals in 2 seasons doesn't cut it)

Shane's biggest fault is that, when he's bad he's never quite as bad as Lita has been for nearly 2 years and, therefore, he gets picked ahead of The Largely Useless Leroy......................... Lita's fan club don't like that. The end.

The Largely Useless Leroy who scored 8 goals in 8 games in 2006/07 at the top level, 13 (?) goals in our promotion season, and played for England under-21s but is 'useless' because some fans think he has a bad attitude? My mistake.

Got nothing against Long (apart from his awful, gutless performance against Fulham last year but then that could be applied to others) but still Lita > Long by an absolute mile. Lita works just as hard (whatever people say) but he has a first touch and a finish.

[Elm Park Old Boy]

i can't see him staying long if that’s all he gets.

I think he'll always stay Long.

I must admit I was delighted to see him score Saturday (and it seemed his teammates were too). Lita may - at his best - be a deadlier striker at a higher level, but give me Long any day - he may not have all the qualities but he has never failed to do his best for the club. I think Coppell is bringing him on well.

[superroyaldude]

To say hes not scoring is a tad unfair, he hasnt played that many games

just like people having a go at Doyler for not scoring for ages when he was playing right midfield ofr the majority...

and Lita is a class striker, he just misses too many oppertunities

[Rob-Royal]

I agree with the poster of this thread who comes across as a very mature individual...

I love Shane and I want to make love to him every time I see him. I would gladly give up my job, sell my house and have a 3-some with Schards & Royal Lady just to prove how much I love Shane!

That is all

[Royal Lady]

I agree with the poster of this thread who comes across as a very mature individual...

I love Shane and I want to make love to him every time I see him. I would gladly give up my job, sell my house and have a 3-some with Schards & Royal Lady just to prove how much I love Shane!

That is all

Don't bother. I'll get a message to him.

[Uke]

I wondered similarly on the Long spell of the epoch post relegation, if there was a time beforehand I think maybe Kitson. Boots are a factor I know but it's Lita sometimes not scoring the other end of the pitch it's odd really perhaps Sir Steve doesn't even know however. Nevertheless it's nothing new compared to last season when we could've detached the slightest control from set pieces in this monstrous league some call League 1 but actually isn't. There's sometimes too much of that.

Did you type this in Russian and subsequently go to freewebtranslation.com?

I think it probably came from a Hungarian phrasebook.

My nipples explode with delight.

[winchester_royal]

I agree with the poster of this thread who comes across as a very mature individual...

I love Shane and I want to make love to him every time I see him. I would gladly give up my job, sell my house and have a 3-some with Schards & Royal Lady just to prove how much I love Shane!

That is all

That is an example of quite delicious irony.

1. I don't give a oxf*rd if I come across mature to you or any of the other condescending gits on this forum, especially as, being a teenager, i'm not meant to.

2. My post was born out of frustration at the constant abuse of Long, who appears to be the new boo boy.

[skipper]

Shane's biggest fault is that, when he's bad he's never quite as bad as Lita has been for nearly 2 years and, therefore, he gets picked ahead of The Largely Useless Leroy......................... Lita's fan club don't like that. The end.

With you on that.

[winchester_royal]

No. He is awful. I'll still support him as much as any other Reading player at the match but that doesn't disguise him being League 1 at best.

Funny how 2 well respected managers in Coppell and Trappatoni see him as a quality player then.

3 consecutive england managers have played Gerrard and Lampard in the same midfield. You're point is?

You're point is......?

[skipper]

The Largely Useless Leroy who scored 8 goals in 8 games in 2006/07 at the top level, 13 (?) goals in our promotion season, and played for England under-21s but is 'useless' because some fans think he has a bad attitude? My mistake.

Got nothing against Long (apart from his awful, gutless performance against Fulham last year but then that could be applied to others) but still Lita > Long by an absolute mile. Lita works just as hard (whatever people say) but he has a first touch and a finish.

How can you say that? Lita is a lazy bastard, that if he actually stayed on his feet MIGHT ACTUALLY ACHIEVE SOMETHING!

Playing for U21's was the worst thing that happened to him. Not only that EVERYONE gets a go at the u21's... Shanes made his national teams FIRST squad.

His record may be better than Shanes, but then he played more Minutes in a team doing well. Im sure at the end of this season Shanes record wont be far behind Lita's if at all, once we are promoted.

[Pseud O'Nym]

You're point is?

You're point is......?

No, you're point is, and I claim my £5

[silas]

The Largely Useless Leroy who scored 8 goals in 8 games in 2006/07 at the top level, 13 (?) goals in our promotion season, and played for England under-21s but is 'useless' because some fans think he has a bad attitude? My mistake.

Got nothing against Long (apart from his awful, gutless performance against Fulham last year but then that could be applied to others) but still Lita > Long by an absolute mile. Lita works just as hard (whatever people say) but he has a first touch and a finish.

How can you say that? Lita is a lazy bastard, that if he actually stayed on his feet MIGHT ACTUALLY ACHIEVE SOMETHING!

Playing for U21's was the worst thing that happened to him. Not only that EVERYONE gets a go at the u21's... Shanes made his national teams FIRST squad.
His record may be better than Shanes, but then he played more Minutes in a team doing well. Im sure at the end of this season Shanes record wont be far behind Lita's if at all, once we are promoted.

You can hardly compare making Irelands squad to making England's.

[Millsy]

I wondered similarly on the Long spell of the epoch post relegation, if there was a time beforehand I think maybe Kitson. Boots are a factor I know but it's Lita sometimes not scoring the other end of the pitch it's odd really perhaps Sir Steve doesn't even know however. Nevertheless it's nothing new compared to last season when we could've detached the slightest control from set pieces in this monstrous league some call League 1 but actually isn't. There's sometimes too much of that.

Did you type this in Russian and subsequently go to freewebtranslation.com?

Was meant to be a response the equally nonsensical post I was quoting.

[cmonurz]

Does anyone know how many time's Long has come off the bench and scored to get us a draw or win the game?

Long's overall scoring record is 9 goals in 70 league appearances.

0809
Sub - Burnley (H) 3-1 (1 goal)

0708
Sub - Portsmouth (A) 4-7 (1 goal)
Start - Man City (H) 2-0 (1 goal)
Sub - Newcastle (H) 2-1 (1 goal)

0607
Start - Wigan (H) 3-2 (1 goal)
Start - Sheff Utd (H) 3-1 (1 goal)

0506
Sub - Derby (A) 2-2 (1 goal)
Sub - Derby (H) 5-0 (2 goals)

That's all Shane's goals in the league. In total his goals have 'earned' RFC (it's a crude measure, but how many points would we otherwise have lost?) 5 points. In 4 seasons.

How many times has Long come on a a sub and changed the game? In terms of scoring, just twice, scoring the equaliser at Derby in 0506, and the winner against Newcastle last season.

Imho, Long's 'impact' from the bench is hugely exaggerated.

[Schards#2]

The stats don't lie.

He hasn't realised his potential and doesn't seem to have improved this season though Saturday's effort was his best for a while.

He quite clearly will never achieve the Lita has.

My attitude would be spot on and i'd give 100% but it's not enough. You need quality. Lita is capable of that, Long isn't

[Alan Partridge]

No. He is awful. I'll still support him as much as any other Reading player at the match but that doesn't disguise him being League 1 at best.

Funny how 2 well respected managers in Coppell and Trappatoni see him as a quality player then.

As If Ireland have anyone else they can pick, next in line is John Aldridge then Tony Cascarino and then Dave Mooney.

When Shane Long has proven he is good enough or warranted to start 10 games in a row and produces consistant solid performances and scored goals fairly regularly re post this.

[PEARCEY]

Does anyone know how many time's Long has come off the bench and scored to get us a draw or win the game?

Long's overall scoring record is 9 goals in 70 league appearances.

0809
Sub - Burnley (H) 3-1 (1 goal)

0708
Sub - Portsmouth (A) 4-7 (1 goal)
Start - Man City (H) 2-0 (1 goal)
Sub - Newcastle (H) 2-1 (1 goal)

0607
Start - Wigan (H) 3-2 (1 goal)
Start - Sheff Utd (H) 3-1 (1 goal)

0506
Sub - Derby (A) 2-2 (1 goal)
Sub - Derby (H) 5-0 (2 goals)

That's all Shane's goals in the league. In total his goals have 'earned' RFC (it's a crude measure, but how many points would we otherwise have lost?) 5 points. In 4 seasons.

How many times has Long come on a a sub and changed the game? In terms of scoring, just twice, scoring the equaliser at Derby in 0506, and the winner against Newcastle last season.

Imho, Long's 'impact' from the bench is hugely exaggerated.

No its not. I'm not going to bother repeating my posting on the "10 games time to assess thread" which points out a number of positive impacts he has had coming off the bench. They were off the top of my head and there will be doubtless be many others. He does extremely well for us coming off the bench.

[cmonurz]

9 goals in 70 appearances. It's not good enough (I can't find your examples on that thread btw so would be good if you can repost). Twice, just twice in four seasons, Long has come on as a sub and scored a goal to earn us a point or points.

It's interesting that on the '10 games' thread you highlight Lita's scoring stats, but they are apparently invalid in the case of Long.

[Rex]

Surely minutes played would be a more accurate reflection if anyone wishes to get too anal.