Long to WBA

[Wimb]

fcuk not selling to the "competition" - take the most someone offers..........we're not gonna be in contention this year so why does it matter where he goes!?

We're actually showing what I would call "ambition" by refusing to sell our prized asset to competitors. So this time the club are criticized for too much ambition....

Not my definition of ambition!

I think the idea of who we sell to is academic - it's our own position we should be focussed on. Ambition would be to get top dollar (to anyone) and replace with someone capable of a first 11 slot straight away. That may or may not happen, but current form suggests not - let's wait and see though.

Not really. Our own position is dependant as much on how our opposition performs as we do. if Leicester secure 9 points more thanks to long's goals then that's 10 points we have to make up to overtake them. Will 1 player signed for £500k-£1m get us those extra 10 points? I'm not convinced.

[roadrunner]

Why are Birmingham in the title now? They wont bid anything near what they'd need to to get Longy! They might talk it up to keep their fans sweet but they're in serious financial trouble.

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

Not really. Our own position is dependant as much on how our opposition performs as we do. if Leicester secure 9 points more thanks to long's goals then that's 10 points we have to make up to overtake them. Will 1 player signed for £500k-£1m get us those extra 10 points? I'm not convinced.

All true of course. There are no guarantees of anything in football. I suspect Leicester will be 10 points above us whether they sign Long or not, so from that angle I don't think it matters much whether we sell to them or not.

[Mr Angry]

There could be another reason why we would accept a lower figure for him from West Brom than Leicester; maybe the club had an agreement with Shane/Shane's agent that if a Premier League side came in with a bid over £X Million, we would accept it, but that no such agreement was in place if a Championship team made a bid.........

[Svlad Cjelli]

Don't forget terms of payment enter into it.

£6M now >>>>> £8M in instalments (especially when you don't have great confidence in the buying club's ability to pay later instalments.)

Yes, you get everything eventually due to the Football Creditors Rule, but things get messy if a club goes into administration, and instalments for both Mills & Long from the same club could be seen as undue risk to future cash flow.

[Elmer Park]

Do we know for certain that Long would have wanted to go to Leicester even if we had accepted their bid ? He may have said he would only go to a Premier League Club.

[Svlad Cjelli]

As with so much else, we have absolutely no idea except hunches and guesswork.

[rhroyal]

What sort of player would prefer a move to Leicester over West Brom? Surely Long is happier with this, and would only have considered Leicester if he felt that no Premiership club were going to come in.

[roadrunner]

What sort of player would prefer a move to Leicester over West Brom? Surely Long is happier with this, and would only have considered Leicester if he felt that no Premiership club were going to come in.

^^ exactly.

[Svlad Cjelli]

What sort of player would prefer a move to Leicester over West Brom? Surely Long is happier with this, and would only have considered Leicester if he felt that no Premiership club were going to come in.

... or that he'd not get to play regularly in a PL team.

[KEBEISTHEGREATEST]

Reading and West Brom have offically agreed a fee now its the medical

[brendywendy]

What sort of player would prefer a move to Leicester over West Brom? Surely Long is happier with this, and would only have considered Leicester if he felt that no Premiership club were going to come in.

i 100 percent believe that unless the club wanted him out, he had no intention of going anywhere else other than the prem, if he wasnt staying here.

[roadrunner]

Reading and West Brom have offically agreed a fee now its the medical

Cracking bit of guess work playing the odds there. Hats off.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Sportsnews Ireland says

The long running (no pun intended) saga of Shane Long’s next destination appears to be coming to an end with reports emerging in England suggesting that West Brom have had a bid accepted by Reading.

Talks took place between the Baggies and Long’s advisors over the weekend with a fee believed to have agreed a fee of between £6million and £7m agreed.

The prospect of a move for Long first emerged last month and if the sums are correct the deal would surpass the £4.7m Albion paid Real Mallorca for Spanish midfielder Borja Valero three years ago.

Should Hodgson complete the deal then it will be first outlay of cash the club has made this summer with Gareth McAuley, Zoltan Gera and Billy Jones all arriving on Bosman free transfers while Ben Foster joined on loan from Birmingham.

Long, who could make his debut against Manchester United, has also been linked with Celtic, Everton and Newcastle while West Ham recently failed with a bid for the Tipperary man.

====================

The EP also confirms


Shane Long will join West Bromwich Albion this week in a deal worth more than £6million.

The Baggies and Reading are close to agreeing a transfer fee for the 24-year-old striker who has just 12-months left on his contract.

Long will become Albion’s record signing, which is no mean feat after joining Royals from Cork City for just £35,000 as an 18-year-old.

Last season’s 25-goal hero at Reading could now be in line for a return to the Premier League against Manchester City at the Hawthorns on Sunday.

A reported four-year contract, worth around £25,000 a week is yet to be finalised as Long is away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland ahead of their friendly against Croatia on Wednesday.

Baggies boss Roy Hodgson is preparing his squad for the arrival of Long by offloading a number of his strike force with Ishmael Miller set for talks with Nottingham Forest today.

And Albion have also let Chris Wood join Championship side Brimingham City on loan

================

Time for this thread to move to the Team....

[Arnie_Pie]

I wish him all the best but can see him flopping big style. Hope not though. Plus West Brom will be in the mix for relegation as well.

[Barry the bird boggler]

[M-U-R-T-Y]

It's the perfect move for him and us.

Great amount of money for a striker that is nearing the end of his contract - would be foolish to turn it down
Good Premiership club that are very unlikely to be in any trouble this season with that squad
He'll be a first team regular - they need a striker to partner Odemwingie (tantalising partnership I must admit) and him being their record transfer he's unlikely to sit on the bench
Has an old team mate in Shorey



And who knows. Maybe Simon Cox will come the other way.

Gutted if it comes off obviously, but logically it makes sense.

[roadrunner]

I wish him all the best but can see him flopping big style. Hope not though. Plus West Brom will be in the mix for relegation as well.

A yo-yo club probably suits Long though. He isn't consistant enough for the Premier League but there's a good manager there who will give him time and support. They will be back down here soon enough and Longy hopefully will be a better striker for the experience. He's somewhere between the two levels IMO.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Dunno... Think West Brom have a big oppurtunity to get rid of the yo-yo tag. Did really well last season.

[roadrunner]

Dunno... Think West Brom have a big oppurtunity to get rid of the yo-yo tag. Did really well last season.

They have the right man in charge as well.