QuoteWill probably face better defending at the the Euros, I was going say Long made him look bad, but he just looked bad.
Yeah but he wouldn't get a reaction if he said that. That Walters routine is hardly going to be scrapped now.
Steven Taylor actually made an effort to get out of Long's way, one of the few guys you'd think actually cares.Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Will probably face better defending at the the Euros, I was going say Long made him look bad, but he just looked bad.
Some interesting comments from Koeman. Could be interpreted as taking a large share of the credit for Long's blinding form this season. Maybe it's warranted, maybe not.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/sai...mpton/?ref=mac
Himself and Pelle are showing great understanding, his link-up play with Tadic, Mane, Davis is immense atmo, he is a nightmare to play up front on his own for any defender, he is immense out wide.
Yet up until Germany he has been third choice at best.
I think he's a better player than Walters in any position. He's certainly a better player than Murphy. In the past Simon Cox and Andy Keogh have been entrusted more in competitive games.
Crying shame really. So many wasted years, just like Hoolahan.
At least MON is capable of seeing the light, unlike Trap.
Perhaps he's a better player now than several years ago?
Yeah, Koeman's comments probably ring true when he speaks about the technical development in Long's game. Maybe it was a stroke of luck but Shane, a couple of years ago, might have lost the control of Randolph's pass for the goal against Germany. It bobbled off his shin but I think he managed to put a good cushion on it. Southampton have a Dutch influence and that influence brings technical and attacking football, accompanied by appropriate coaching. Long definitely needed to work on his control and finishing and they've improved, thankfully.
His pace doesn't look like waning for now. I think he can stay at PL level as long as that holds up as he'll be 30 halfway through next season.
I think that's blindingly obvious. He's come into his own as an international player at last and it's great to see.
Interesting to note, if he can bag one more goal in the next 5 matches then he'll have achieved his best in a PL season i.e. 9. His current best is 8 (from his first 2 seasons at WBA).
So, he's equalled his season best of 8 goals in 23 appearances (only 18 of which were starts). In those two afore-mentioned seasons at WBA he had 32 and 34 appearances with 24 and 25 starts.
For his style of play, a 1/3 goal to game ratio would be very respectable. Their last 5 games are against Everton, Villa, Man City, Spurs and Palace. Don't know why I even mentioned the opposition because the opposition against which Long scores follow no pattern. This season he has bagged against:
Chelsea
Man City
Arsenal X2
Watford
Swansea
Newcastle X2 (home and away)
Yeah, but Andy Carroll can score 3 against Arsenal, rendering any goal against them meaningless
I don't think he's come into his own as an Intl player so much as he's finally been given a proper chance, and a little bit that he is playing at a club that utilizes his attributes better and likes to play football.
He scored some cracking technical goals at his previous clubs too: x Chelsea, x Sunderland, x Villa twice off the top of my head.
And has always had a good return and some of his best performances against the bigger teams.
I always said it would be far more productive playing him out wide than Cox, Keogh or Walters as well - though I can understand the reasons Walters plays there.
I'd say the way Koeman - and I've criticized him in the past - uses him is getting the most out of him at the moment. Yeah maybe he's made him a better player a little bit, but I'd say it's marginal. It's still the same Shane that has turned games for us in the past in the cameos he had to settle for - Russia in Dublin, Kazakhs away etc...
I think he's a little bit more clinical and a little more composed. Shane always had the attributes and talent, he showed enough previously but was inconsistent.
No wonder that side's developed, I'm stuck thinking he's forever young even though he's nearly 30.
Ou-est le Centre George Pompidou?
I think that he's more clinical and composed because he's more confident in his technical ability and in goal-scoring opportunities he's willing to take that extra touch instead of trying to knock it by the defender and use his pace or take a snap shot.
Yeah, his 30th has really crept up on us. Let's hope he has a good Euros.
He's been used pretty much the same way Trap used him.
It was Doyle who turned the Kazakhstan game. A fairly soft penalty turned the Russian game, obviously Long's goal helped after that but I can't really remember how good he was otherwise.
Last edited by DeLorean; 11/04/2016 at 10:52 PM.
I don't think even you could deny he's playing better for club and country now. He had plenty of chances before and was outperformed by other players. Now he's deservedly the main striker and I hope it continues for a long time.
I think it remains to be seen if he's now considered the main striker for us, I don't think there's much evidence yet to support that.
The Times (subscription only) had an interesting piece on Koeman this morning. He was saying how social media, headphones etc. have led to a decline in communication skills since his day, when players used to chat and play cards on long away trips. As a consequence he has drills and techniques such as passing a ball with feet while juggling a ball with hands and talking at the same time. It might be Clive Woodward-style hocus pocus but I like what I know of Koeman as a manager. I'd love him to replace Wenger.
As for Long being considered main striker? I agree that the evidence doesn't support it. Not being fit for Bosnia away and not being fully match-fit for the home leg don’t help, nor does Walters being suspended for the first game.
But I think he has done enough to put down a strong marker and is quite a bit higher up in MON's thoughts than last September or October.
He'd be my main man for sure, and it's a no brainer to start him against Sweden at least. They'd only love for us to go for the brute force approach with Walters and Murphy. Long's pace gives the extra dimension obviously, even though they coped okay with it in the WC qualifiers. He should have scored in Stockholm though, and should have put Keane in for a second in Dublin if I remember correctly, in which case we'd probably be saying they couldn't live with him.
Yes, I meant that for me it's a no-brainer but the evidence isn't there that MON sees it that way - but his unavailability and Walters' unavailability in recent games only confuse things. For me Hoolahan is a no-brainer too, yet what MON thinks is a long way from being clear. My guess is that both players have won him over.
He's a main man waiting to happen, trust me.
Eventually, after his coin ends heads up, 5 tosses in a row, MO'N shall realise certainty on the matter.
Last edited by geysir; 12/04/2016 at 2:20 PM.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks