Shane Long

[paul_oshea]

I see where AB isgoing with this, alls well at the moment but if the name change doesnt go through and they end in a scrap (relegation one next year) they could be the next wolves. HOpefully though that wont happen with so many Irish lads there.

[paul_oshea]

That's very interesting Paul since nobody in this conversation has attempted to say anything like Trap did a good job.

That's what happens when you skip into the 57th page.

Its a weak point in the armor to have to keep referring back to a 5-2 defeat to cyprus to counter an argument especially in relation to Trap. Trap should be judged on his record and his alone, so the likes of did we get that elusive win away from home did we get to a world cup, did we beat a top team at home etc. Also the good poitns of getting to a Euros have to be weighed up, I think it lessens the argument when you try and strong man Traps tenure by comparing an awful defeat against an opponent we should be beating but others of similar calibre have come unstuck against.

[Charlie Darwin]

Which doesn't answer the question about why you think there is an argument going on about Trap. Everybody else was talking about Shane Long and Robbie and the relative importance of the games Robbie has scored in.

[BonnieShels]

He missed both Germany games in this campaign and the home game against Austria. That reduced his chances of scoring against one of our direct rivals significantly. There's every chance he would have scored against Austria seeing Walters scored twice and Long hit the post but I guess that's neither here nor there.

He scored two v Estonia... If Paris is counted as scoring against our direct rivals, I don't really see why this isn't. Also scored v Russia in the campaign, albeit a penalty.

Of course, scoring against the likes of Macedonia and Cyprus ensured that they didn't become our direct rivals.

Oh lordy. Well said lad.

Can we make it a bootable offence for ANYONE to ever criticise Robbie's record on this forum. It's maddening to think some think he's rubbish.


Anyway, back to Shlong. Delighted with the move for him.

[SkStu]

here here Bonnie - Robbie is one of our few untouchables as far as im concerned.

[Charlie Darwin]

Not an untouchable like Robbie, but think we also need to consider banning the use of the words "McGeady" and "end product" in any kind of proximity.

[SkStu]

from now I presume? Else the hamster will be winging another generational ban your way...

[Charlie Darwin]

from now I presume? Else the hamster will be winging another generational ban your way...

No, I've made my bed and I have to lie in it. I'm all about the end-product you see.

[geysir]

I see where AB isgoing with this, alls well at the moment but if the name change doesnt go through and they end in a scrap (relegation one next year) they could be the next wolves. HOpefully though that wont happen with so many Irish lads there.

AB was referring to the recent signings and the money spent on them, or so I thought, but I can't read his mind.
Yes, Hull could go this way, they can go that way and eventually, one day, they will get relegated ...... sometime in the future.

Meanwhile all one has to do is look at the way the club has been managed since promotion, virtually building a new team, doing well in the league and playing good football. So far so good.

[tetsujin1979]

Confirmed Shane Long has signed for Hull City: http://www.hullcitytigers.com/news/a...g-1300249.aspx
interview coming up soon with him on youtube

[Crosby87]

Do Ireland have any athletes in the winter olympics?

[Stuttgart88]

Is Lord Clifton Wrottesley competing in the Skeleton Luge? He's an aristocratic playboy of Irish descent who hangs out in St. Moritz and holds the record for the famous Cresta Run.

He represented us a while back and narrowly missed bronze.

[OwlsFan]

I'm sure Wednesday fans would gladly become the Sheffield Owls if they were to become solvent and a realistic regular top-flight participant

Never, never, never ! The fans would really miss chanting the name of a day of the week.

It is interesting that like Doyle there was talk of Arsenal and other top clubs and he ends up at Hull City and Kevin, well he errrrr, ummmm. As usual we look at these players through green tinted glasses while in the real world they generally end up at clubs which match their ability. Definitely a step down. McCarthy (off the top of my head) is the only player is the last few years who has taken a step up.

[Stuttgart88]

I think it's quite bold to say it's definitely a step down. WBA are in a terrible run and have a manager new to England. I think it could go either way for each club.

Wrt which moves are good and which aren't, I think it's overlooked that at a certain level it's up to the player to make it a step up. If Long does very well then Hull will likely do well. I think he and Jelavic could complement each other well. An old fashioned pairing of a ball winner and an instinctive goal scorer. I think Jelavic is better than his form suggests. I felt he could be a shrewd move for Arsenal as interim backup for Giroud until they spend big during the summer.

I didn't hear any talk of Long going to Arsenal but some papers mentioned Spurs. I think opinion on Long here has been pretty unanimous and balanced. Good player, erratic finisher.

[dr_peepee]

Heard the other day on OTB that in 2008 when Spurs sold Berbatov to United late in the transfer window, they contacted Reading with a bid for Kevin Doyle. But the club was literally closed for business at the time cos they weren't anticipating any moves in or out.... Things like that must haunt Doyle!!

[Olé Olé]

I think it's quite bold to say it's definitely a step down. WBA are in a terrible run and have a manager new to England. I think it could go either way for each club.

Wrt which moves are good and which aren't, I think it's overlooked that at a certain level it's up to the player to make it a step up. If Long does very well then Hull will likely do well. I think he and Jelavic could complement each other well. An old fashioned pairing of a ball winner and an instinctive goal scorer. I think Jelavic is better than his form suggests. I felt he could be a shrewd move for Arsenal as interim backup for Giroud until they spend big during the summer.

I didn't hear any talk of Long going to Arsenal but some papers mentioned Spurs. I think opinion on Long here has been pretty unanimous and balanced. Good player, erratic finisher.

I agree with this. If he does manage to become a more consistent finisher soon, it might have come too late for him to make the step up to a bigger club but a fee of £7million shows that he is a good player, who can run the channels, provide an assist and score a valuable goal against good opposition. Beside Jelavic you would anticipate he will be pestering and trying to boss the centre-halves, leaving Jelavic space and time to pick off chances which may result from Long or their suppliers. At the same time, he'll be in position to chip in with goals himself.

Interestingly, those old fashion pairings you refer to normally have the ball-winner as the more physical and the finisher as the more diminutive. In this case, Jelavic has 3 inches over Long.

Another critical question is this; is Steve Bruce more capable of getting more out of Long than Clarke was at WBA? I would opine that he is.

[DeLorean]

[DeLorean]

Pretty pointless stats really.

I've only seen Hull twice this season bar highlights. They went pretty much 4-5-1 in their 3-1 win against Liverpool. I suppose you could argue they were only 4-5-1 without the ball and 4-3-3 with it, with Brady and Koren (I think) the more attack minded of the midfielders. They were probably more defensively set-up though really in reality, but it worked a treat that day. Sagbo put in a massive, dare I say, Long-like shift up front on his own. The only other time I saw them was the 2-3 defeat to Man Utd on Stephen's Day. They had Sagbo and Graham up front but, presumably, that was only because of Brady being out injured?

Basically what I'm getting at is:

1) What is Hull's preferred formation with everybody fit?
2) If Hull's preferred formation is a 4-5-1 (4-3-3), will this mean Long will be one of the wide players, perhaps instead of Koren? Not necessarily a bad thing if he is.
3) Will Long easily displace Sagbo in the team? Presumably £7m says he will.

I am assuming that Jelavic is going to walk straight into the team and become their main striker by the way, a really super signing I think.

[CraftyToePoke]

a fee of £7million shows that he is a good player

Or you could equally argue it that this is what can befall you if you go striker shopping in January

[Olé Olé]

Or you could equally argue it that this is what can befall you if you go striker shopping in January

So
Not a completely inaccurate valuation, in my opinion. Something, something Andy Carroll.