Long - Time to go.

[Ian Royal]

Forster was a cracking player... He was even starting to form a decent partnership with the Goat before Pardew fecked off, although how well it would have lasted given his injury woes at that timeis another matter. I think perhaps he is a little over praised on here by some, but he was still brilliant for us.

Long is just about fit to lace Forster's boots IMO, but nothing more. Long doesn't have even half the footballing brain Forster had, he makes defences uncomfortable and tires them but he doesn't terrify them. Why he keeps getting hacked down is beyond me... I think we've got more chance of scoring with a penalty than we have with Long through on goal.

If McAnuff was a better goalscorer, or HRK a more finished player Long upfront alone would be fine. But they aren't and Long will be lucky to get 10 goals if he plays every game at this rate. Church may have missed as many, if not more shots in fewer games, but he is getting in the positions to have those shots and he is scoring goals in open play (even if by fluke). He just isn't likely to be able to do the grunt work that Long does nearly as well.

Long may get his head to the ball well, but I have to question whether the fault with his flick ons going nowhere is with the other players or not. I think it's as much with his direction of them as Kebe / McAnuff / HRK / Howard etcs positioning and running.

[handbags_harris]

His ability to hold the ball up, run in the channels, beat his man and (crucially here, because of the comparison with Long) create chances for himself, turned an average team into a good one.

And that is the crux of it, you stole my thunder. The amount of chances Nicky Forster created for himself is unreal, not forgetting the fact that many of his goals weren't even chances at all (Ipswich home, Wrexham away, Tranmere home, PNE home, Chesterfield away, Millwall home are just a few of the goals that were a result of self-created chances or not even chances at all). He had the ability to conjure a chance, fashion a shot, score a goal out of nothing, absolutely nothing. But it's not just the goals or assists, it's the chances created for himself and teammates that have been missed that also stand out, and you, quite frankly, don't have a clue how often he did that because it's not recorded statistically anywhere, and you didn't see him play. Yes, the cost of missing the chances he did was high, but the value he brought to the team was higher. In short, he was a legend for a reason.

[Maguire]

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis (and probably on to Wembley had he not got injured).

[AndyRFC]

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis (and probably on to Wembley had he not got injured).

It would've been @ Cardiff m8

[Negative_Jeff]

Nicky Forster has been easily the best striker I have ever seen play for Reading and these absurd comparisons with Shane Long do him no justice at all. You will rarely see a player influence a team to the degree that Forster did in 2002/3. Tremendous player.

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

Nicky Forster has been easily the best striker I have ever seen play for Reading and these absurd comparisons with Shane Long do him no justice at all. You will rarely see a player influence a team to the degree that Forster did in 2002/3. Tremendous player.

Jeff - I've heard that you've just got to get a message to Snowball...

[Still Hate Futcher!]

Nicky Forster has been easily the best striker I have ever seen play for Reading and these absurd comparisons with Shane Long do him no justice at all. You will rarely see a player influence a team to the degree that Forster did in 2002/3. Tremendous player.

I agree that the comparisons are a bit pointless - not least because we are comparing a striker well suited to the lone role to one slightly less so. To be fair to Long, Snowball's right - he is playing in a higher league than Fozzy was for much of his Royals career. I'm sure Long would be far more prolific up against the likes of Brentford and Bristol Rovers.

I certainly think Long is underrated and unfairly selected as a scapegoat. I also think Fozzy was a bit overrated. 'Easily the best'? No way, well behind Doyle, Kits and Quinn and on a par with Curo, Butler, Senior and Bremner (too young to remember Friday).

As someone else has said. I like Long and I liked Forster. That is all.

[Negative_Jeff]

Fair enough, I`ll retract the "easily" bit.

[Maguire]

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis (and probably on to Wembley had he not got injured).

It would've been @ Cardiff m8

New Wembley would've been built by then if he hadn't got injured, that's how good he was

[The Prisoner]

[floyd__streete]

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis

+ shitting 1. Remember when Jimmy Quinn scored 40 goals to win us the league in 93/94? Reading fans player of the year: the left back

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

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis

+ shitting 1. Remember when Jimmy Quinn scored 40 goals to win us the league in 93/94? Reading fans player of the year: the left back

You watch, floyde - POTS this year will be a toss up between Federici & Long

[Maguire]

Can I just say that you are all absolute mongs for voting James Harper POTS when Nicky Forster carried us to the play-off semis

+ shitting 1. Remember when Jimmy Quinn scored 40 goals to win us the league in 93/94? Reading fans player of the year: the left back

I know, tragic stuff from "No 13"

[Woodcote Royal]

Forster had no more than 2 decent seasons as a loan striker for us and always had a poor goals/games ratio even in the lower leagues. Much of what he gave in this guise has to be tempered with being a liability whenever he was asked to play with a partner.

At his best he was better than Long is now but to say he was the best we've ever had has to be a contender for the most side splittingly laughable statement I've ever read on these pages. Who remembers Forster scoring in the Premiership? Who remembers Forster EVER being a contender to represent his country as a full international?

Without trying too hard, Forster wasn't fit to lace the boots of Dixon, Senior, Quinn, Kitson and Doyle.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Forster had no more than 2 decent seasons as a loan striker for us ....

What about when he signed permanently.....?

[Snowball]

Forster had no more than 2 decent seasons as a lone striker for us and always had a poor goals/games ratio even in the lower leagues. Much of what he gave in this guise has to be tempered with being a liability whenever he was asked to play with a partner. At his best he was better than Long is now but to say he was the best we've ever had has to be a contender for the most side splittingly laughable statement I've ever read on these pages. Who remembers Forster scoring in the Premiership? Who remembers Forster EVER being a contender to represent his country as a full international?

Without trying too hard, Forster wasn't fit to lace the boots of Dixon, Senior, Quinn, Kitson and Doyle.

That NOW is important. It's "conveniently forgotten" that when Forster arrived he had played more games than Long's current total, that he was experienced and close to his peak years as a player. He was 26 in September of his first Reading season and had three years in League One (one injured) to further mature and gain experience. Long is 23 and younger in football years as it wasn't his first sport. But all Long's goals have been at Championship level and from two years in the Premiership. No-one doubts that Doyle was and is a great player yet in our second year in the Prem Doyle had half his goals in barely a fifth of his starts, aged TWENTY.


34 (02) = 34.33 games for 6 goals
07 (22) = 10.67 games for 3 goals

Long has still only had 62 league starts for Reading. In his 4th/5th/6th seasons at Reading Forster had 97 starts. He had had 241 appearances BEFORE HE JOINED READING, and approximately 80 league appearances for Reading in his first three seasons for us.

People are comparing a seasoned pro who was 26-31 while with us, who played half his Reading games versus lower-quality League 1 clubs, with a player, who, despite being on our books a long time is still a relative kid, who has played four championship seasons and two Premiership seasons. This "boy" has won the FA Cup game for us at Anfield, winning a penalty and scoring in extra time, put us 2-0 up against Villa, has scored in the league at Anfield, scored v Wigan in the Prem, Sheffield United, then a Premiership side, etc etc etc... at least eight goals against Premiership sides, and in not that many starts. For me that beats a fancy 50 yard run versus Leyton Orient

[cmonurz]

Considering Long has been at the club for five years, I'd expect a list as long as my arm of achievements, but sadly that's not the case.

You are still missing the point that having never, ever, watched Forster play for Reading, you have no idea how effective he was for the team, and as such can't appreciate why many of us can see that Long will never be the player that Fozzy was for RFC; you don't suddenly find a good first touch at 23/24 years old, for example, it's something you can either do well or not, and Forster's was exemplary.

Your failure to concede on this is a bit embarassing Snowball.

And I'm still waiting to find out which of Sheringham (11 goals in 51 caps) and Defoe (15 goals in 45 caps) you consider to have been the better England striker.

[floyd__streete]

has scored in the league at Anfield

No he hasn't

I suppose with the goal-post moving specific criteria you apply to anything you wish to argue, you can 'prove' anything can't you Snowball.

[RobRoyal]

For me that beats a fancy 50 yard run versus Leyton Orient

Shameful.

You openly admit you know nothing about Forster, and then apparently decide that it's legitimate for you to belittle his contribution to the club. I'd stop with this now, if I were you.

[Millsy]

Forster had no more than 2 decent seasons as a loan striker for us ....

What about when he signed permanently.....?

Agree though that Forster wasn't our best ever striker.

But to say that he was isn't anywhere near as stupid as you suggest WR. As it happens I agree with you that he was a ballgreedy so and so who was quite good but no where near our best.

Still, the reason I threw him into the mix was simply to say that IN A LONE STRIKER SITUATION (and in fact probably in every other situation but that's another debate) he is INFINITELY better than Long and the only reason he gets a mention is because if we are playing with this lone striker system then we need someone half decent who can make it work. Forster, love him or hate him, was that man who could make it work a treat. Long, good as he is and I'm not knocking him, is NOT.

Madejski's stubborn attitude not to invest his allegedly unexpected unwanted and shock lottery windfall of 7million pounds into a striker, especially after extremely bizarrely getting rid of our main striking option is forcing poor old Brian - who much as I disliked his appointment I ahve to admit is doing a FORMIDABLE job - into playing a lone striker system with the most unsuited player on the planet to do the job (on current evidence).

Long is a good player, but he is no Forster. Lone striker system is a massive fail. WE NEED A STRIKER to give us an option other than hoping for a win only when the opposition gifts us a penalty and a red card!