Shane Long

[DeLorean]

Has equalised for Southampton in their cup replay at Spurs.

[tetsujin1979]

right place at the right time
1225153346320969736

[tetsujin1979]

Second league goal of the season, takes him above Damien Duff as the third highest Irish goalscorer in the Premier League

[John83]

Makes the better half of football365.com's weekly winners and losers article:

Shane Long and Southampton
Danny Ings has been the headline story of Southampton’s redemption this season, and it’s pretty clear why. Since the shambolic 9-0 home defeat to Leicester City, no player has scored more Premier League goals than Ings and no player with five or more goals has a better conversion rate over the same period.

But Ings’ success is only part of a process, albeit the final, defining part. After that miserable November run left Southampton facing likely relegation, Ralph Hasenhuttl changed the system from a back three to a 4-4-2 that gave Ings more support. That also brought Shane Long back into the team.

Long came on after 57 minutes of the fixture against Watford on November 30 when Southampton were 1-0 down; they won 2-1. He then started his second league fixture of the season, which Southampton also won. The Irishman has rarely scored goals regularly across his career, but has three and an assist in his last seven matches.
More important than the goals is Long’s impact off the ball. He has always been a willing runner, stretching the game with sprints beyond the last defender and forever prepared to hassle opponents in possession. It is this high-intensity pressing that has transformed Southampton’s season.
“He showed again that he can score for us and that he works hard for us,” said Hasenhuttl after the victory over Aston Villa that took Southampton to the verge of safety. “He is a guy who is going quick behind the last line and this is what you need against this opponent. This is why it’s so important to have a player like him. It’s so important to have players that are focusing on the game plan we have, and he did that in a fantastic way.”

And that sums up Long, the selfless team player who will never be the one to take the headlines or adoration. Don’t be surprised if Hasenhuttl pushes for a new contract for a 33-year-old who doesn’t ever seem to lose his dependability. He’s in love.
https://www.football365.com/news/premier-league-winners-losers-bruno-fernandes-newcastle

[irishfan86]

Really happy that Long has been able to fight his way back into the team. Hope he gets a nice final three year deal -- will probably be his last decent pay day.

[seanfhear]

I have always been a fan of Shane Long but he is probably a championship player at this stage ; certainly next year , he ain’t getting any younger. Will Southampton go down this year ? ?

[ColourfulPeanut]

I have always been a fan of Shane Long but he is probably a championship player at this stage ; certainly next year , he ain’t getting any younger. Will Southampton go down this year ? ?
Long can still do a job in the Premier League. Southampton are flying, there's no chance they go down, sat in 12th on 34 points and 6 points from Europe.

[John83]

Long has agreed a new contract with Southampton [rte (https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2020/0604/1145405-long-agrees-new-southampton-contract/)]

[brine3]

Nice to hear the manager acknowledging what Shane Long does: he creates chances for others. His off the ball movement is brilliant. Ireland are better when he is on the pitch.

[tetsujin1979]

back on the bench tonight, with Smallbone, for Southampton V Arsenal. Obafemi starts

[Bielsa´s irish]

Very livid when introduced even though the saints had lost the midfield by then

[seanfhear]

Very livid when introduced even though the saints had lost the midfield by then
Did he mellow ?

[Bielsa´s irish]

Did he mellow ?

sorry I meant proactive and involved in the match, but Cavani was decisive. Should have been brought 10 min earlier

[John83]

sorry I meant proactive and involved in the match, but Cavani was decisive. Should have been brought 10 min earlier
I guessed you meant "lively", which is commonly used in this context.

[Bielsa´s irish]

I guessed you meant "lively", which is commonly used in this context.

Yeah thats what I meant, the game at 2-0 was screaming for Long just before the scored that 2-1.... then you catch on tv their austrian coach, he was hurrying up Long to come on at 68 minutes, when the saint had lost the midifield zone and were psicologically under pressure.
That couch is a guy I rate but I notice a flaw he has got , he usuallly makes the substitutions too much late, if Long came ten minutes earlier they would have won it

[seanfhear]

Yeah thats what I meant, the game at 2-0 was screaming for Long just before the scored that 2-1.... then you catch on tv their austrian coach, he was hurrying up Long to come on at 68 minutes, when the saint had lost the midifield zone and were psicologically under pressure.
That couch is a guy I rate but I notice a flaw he has got , he usuallly makes the substitutions too much late, if Long came ten minutes earlier they would have won it
Its no wonder he was Livid !

[tetsujin1979]

Overtakes Denis Irwin as the Irish player with the tenth most appearances in the Premier League today
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[Bielsa´s irish]

And the best of their front 3 players as well. A nuissance for Fulham defenders so far

[Fixer82]

When is the last time he scored?

[samhaydenjr]

When is the last time he scored?

February 22nd, against Villa - last of his three goals last season, scored over six games. Pity he was offside today, it was a cracking finish and could have kick-started his season

[Fixer82]

February 22nd, against Villa - last of his three goals last season, scored over six games. Pity he was offside today, it was a cracking finish and could have kick-started his season

Watched the highlights but they didn’t show that but, just Walcott’s disallowed goal

[John83]

Overtakes Denis Irwin as the Irish player with the tenth most appearances in the Premier League today
He has by far the lowest fraction of starts of anyone on that list. By minutes played, he must be way behind.

[Trequartista20]

Long's a forward, so you'd kinda expect that over a defender. A list of starters would be good too though.

Whilst I'm usually loath to link to Balls.ie, they've currently got a quiz asking you to name the top-50 Irish PL appearance-holders here:

https://www.balls.ie/football/premier-league-quiz-4-428267

[seanfhear]

Which manager got the most goals out of Shane Long at Club Level ? Would he be better off football wise in the upper reaches of the Championship where he would have been knocking ( well hopefully ) in more goals ?

He strikes me as a player we did not get enough out of but there was a few managers that gave it a try !

[Trequartista20]

Which manager got the most goals out of Shane Long at Club Level ? Would he be better off football wise in the upper reaches of the Championship where he would have been knocking ( well hopefully ) in more goals ?

He strikes me as a player we did not get enough out of but there was a few managers that gave it a try !

He had his best goalscoring season in 10/11 where he scored 25 in all competitions when Reading were in the second tier.

It has to be remembered that he's played a lot of his career up front on his own, wide on the right or coming on as a late sub. I always thought playing on the right of a front 3 was his best position, that making the most of his athletism, work-rate, pace and fantastic attitude as a chaser of lost causes.

This is his eleventh season in a row as a top-flight player in England - his thirteenth overall.

[seanfhear]

He had his best goalscoring season in 10/11 where he scored 25 in all competitions when Reading were in the second tier.

It has to be remembered that he's played a lot of his career up front on his own, wide on the right or coming on as a late sub. I always thought playing on the right of a front 3 was his best position, that making the most of his athletism, work-rate, pace and fantastic attitude as a chaser of lost causes.

This is his eleventh season in a row as a top-flight player in England - his thirteenth overall.
Could we have got more out of him ? Bar Robbie Keane he was probably one of our higher level players ( attacker anyway ) for most of those years. Playing against some of the lower level international teams would be close enough to playing a championship team. I just don’t think we never got the best out of him for whatever reason !

He definitely suffered from being a Good Sub ~ ~ Perhaps he should have dug in and " demanded to be started "

Tis a funny one. He certainly did not overproduce at international level. Obviously a different era but it would be interesting to see how he would have played off a Niall Quinn ?

[Trequartista20]

Could we have got more out of him. Bar Robbie Keane he was probably one of our higher level players for most of those years. Playing against some of the lower level international teams would be close enough to playing a championship team. I just don’t think we ever got the best out of him for whatever reason !

I'd say so, yes. Even in the last couple of years both McCarthy and Kenny have overlooked him, for whatever reason. A lot of that is down to the (non) style of play we've had to endure over the years where Long has been reduced to running around up front on his own with little reward to show for his efforts.

The goals against Germany and England will always be remembered though.

[Bielsa´s irish]

just came on, playing really well again,

[Trequartista20]

The Irish player with the 7th greatest number of PL appearances, Rory Delap, no more than TWO competitive appearances for us.

Especially given his versatility, he must go down as one of our most underused players.

[seanfhear]

The Irish player with the 7th greatest number of PL appearances, Rory Delap, no more than TWO competitive appearances for us.

Especially given his versatility, he must go down as one of our most underused players.
Big Jack would have loved him ~ Ok, I’m guessing.

[Eirambler]

Delap would have had 50+ caps if he had been on the scene 10 years later than he was. Suffered from being a utility player at a time when we had fairly established players in nearly every position.

Mick's second stint in charge would have been mostly Delap flinging 40 yard throw ins at Shane Duffy's head if he had been around at that time.

I do wonder if Rory Delap had been a more established player in the Ireland setup would Liam Delap have been more likely to have played for us.

[seanfhear]

Delap would have had 50+ caps if he had been on the scene 10 years later than he was. Suffered from being a utility player at a time when we had fairly established players in nearly every position.

Mick's second stint in charge would have been mostly Delap flinging 40 yard throw ins at Shane Duffy's head if he had been around at that time.

I do wonder if Rory Delap had been a more established player in the Ireland setup would Liam Delap have been more likely to have played for us.
Iceland made fantastic use of their Delaps.

[Bielsa´s irish]

had a fell out with Staunton?
Then Trap vanished him

[seanfhear]

had a fell out with Staunton?
Then Trap vanished him
Did you hear this from the horse’s head ?

[nigel-harps1954]

Did you hear this from the horse’s head ?

Delap was known to holiday in Argentina.

[Bielsa´s irish]

Delap was known to holiday in Argentina.

didnt know that one. He was unused by the irish managers

he became a cult footie figure down here because of his throws-in and the whole ritual, the towel, and his missiles

[Charlie Darwin]

Was he a bigger cult figure than Frank Stapleton?

[samhaydenjr]

Could we have got more out of him ? Bar Robbie Keane he was probably one of our higher level players ( attacker anyway ) for most of those years. Playing against some of the lower level international teams would be close enough to playing a championship team. I just don’t think we never got the best out of him for whatever reason !

He definitely suffered from being a Good Sub ~ ~ Perhaps he should have dug in and " demanded to be started "

Tis a funny one. He certainly did not overproduce at international level. Obviously a different era but it would be interesting to see how he would have played off a Niall Quinn ?

I definitely don't think we made the most of his biggest weapon - his pace. I watched his seventeen goals a little while ago (still a reasonable tally) and only the Germany goal and one in a friendly against Serbia were as a result of him getting into a footrace with defenders. We should have been doing what we did against Germany time and time again - invite teams on and once we get the ball, immediately play it past the opposition backline for Long to chase

[Charlie Darwin]

Did we not try and do that? Probably an underappreciated part of that goal was that it didn't come from inviting Germany on. We were attacking and they broke quickly from it, hence why Walters was still offside. If we had been inviting them on at the time, Long wouldn't have been in a position to run in behind and the Germany defenders wouldn't have been caught on their heels trying to change direction.

[Bielsa´s irish]

best player on the pitch with ward-prowse 2best

[Olé Olé]

The Athletic reporting Josh King might be moving from Bournemouth to Southampton and they're stating Shane Long could go the other way on loan with an option to buy.

"The deal would see King join Southampton on a permanent basis for a small fee and Republic of Ireland striker Long to head the other way on loan with an option to buy."

[Trequartista20]

Loan to Bournemouth confirmed.

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[Eirambler]

Long goes on loan to Bournemouth right at the end of the transfer window. Out of the Premier League for the first time in 10 years but credit to him all the same for not just taking the easy pay cheque at Southampton.

[irishfan86]

Hopefully he can build up his fitness and form and make a case to be the tip of the spear for World Cup qualifying. The kids don’t look ready and/or are injured and it’s looking like it will be between him and Collins.

[Snapshot]

Hopefully he can build up his fitness and form and make a case to be the tip of the spear for World Cup qualifying. The kids don’t look ready and/or are injured and it’s looking like it will be between him and Collins.

You're right, unfortunately.

[Olé Olé]

Yeah, it doesn't look like there's an alternative at centre forward coming through from the younger lads at present. Idah had an injury and he's still only 19 so that is quite understandable.

With Didzy gone, a sharp Long is definitely our best option there. Far better option than Collins I think. Robinson is another option but I'm not sure whether he is the type of centre forward Kenny needs. Not sure if Long is either but his sheer pace and ability to stretch defences could be useful.

If Long can get into that team and stay there and get into a goalscoring groove then I would be very happy. He had 21 goals the last time he was in the Championship- albeit that was 10 years ago! But given that he often needs a few chances to score, playing more regularly at a lower level and getting more chances might help him to improve his conversion rate and bring that into the Ireland side.

Overall, I wouldn't complain too much about a side like this:
Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea/Clark, Egan, Stevens; Knight, Hendrick, McCarthy; Connolly, Long, Robinson. Brady and Molumby are options too.

[jbyrne]

Overall, I wouldn't complain too much about a side like this:
Randolph; Coleman, O'Shea/Clark, Egan, Stevens; Knight, Hendrick, McCarthy; Connolly, Long, Robinson. Brady and Molumby are options too.

a fit brady starts every time for me. one of our few truly decent players and his fitness and form have been good recently

[Bielsa´s irish]

a fit brady starts every time for me. one of our few truly decent players and his fitness and form have been good recently

Randolph (westwood); Coleman, Doherty (Kev. Long), Egan, Stevens; Dara OShea; James McCarthy, Cullen (Molumby); Connor Ronan (Jack Byrne-Robbie Brady); Connolly, Shane Long.

[Olé Olé]

a fit brady starts every time for me. one of our few truly decent players and his fitness and form have been good recently

Yeah, I don't disagree entirely. I just don't know where to play him. I found he drifted in and out of games or defaulted to playing too far left when he played midfield under Kenny. And when he played as part of a front three under Mick once or twice I felt that he pulled far too wide also.

I suppose the challenge is that he's a traditional winger in many regards and that makes it difficult for him to adjust to playing in or against sides using a 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3 where a high press and an overload are used to cause bother.

[Diggs246]

Cullen and McCarthy for me everytime in the middle. We need 2 DM