Long - time for a change?

[Snowball]

Doesn't matter how many stats Snowball can bore us with, fact of the matter was Long was excellent on Saturday and would have been MOTM had it not been for Federici's match winning saves

He was OMotM

[sandman]

He was OMotM

Sounds like opinion to me. Any stats to back it up?

[pea]

Doesn't matter how many stats Snowball can bore us with, fact of the matter was Long was excellent on Saturday and would have been MOTM had it not been for Federici's match winning saves

He was OMotM

I thought McAnuff personally, made both goals with two great passes and caused trouble all game, Long and Leigertwood close behind of course

[Arch]

I think Shane must have agreed it was time for a change.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

has the change been 4-4-2?

[Royal Rother]

Snowball was a great statty-based supporter of Jimmy Kebe a year or so ago - he was proved absolutely right.

Looks like Shane Long is proving Snowball absolutely right again.

[brendywendy]

Well played shane. Kept your head up,grafted until you hit your form. Thoroughly well deserved.top man. Can u stop scoring two a game now so we can buy a striker in jan!

Shane long, hes only got 1 song, hes got a massive shlong,he has proved hugo wrong.

[loyalroyaldaz]

So a big UP YOURS to all the Shane Long haters!
The four bellends next to me in Y25 have given him pelters all season and today they were clapping him, needless to say i gave them some !!!!!!

[cmonurz]

I think there are very few 'Shane Long haters'. I haven't rated him in the past, still don't to an extent, but this season he has played consistently well, and now in the last two games is adding goals to the performance too. Very welcome, and if it continues it might even see us to a playoff place.

Great stuff from Long.

As for RR's point about Snowball being 'proved right'. Personally I think that's stretching the definition of 'right' somewhat. Likewise with Kebe. but entitled to your opinion of course, as that's what football is about.

[Gordons Cumming]

Told you Long wasn't a natural goalscorer.

[floyd__streete]

Us Long bashes have egg all over our faces this last couple of weeks, and fair play because that was a sensational performance today. Trouble is, we have seen this before from Shane; a burst of goalscoring and barnstorming performances, only to revert back to months upon end of shot-shy mediocrity. The trick now is to keep this up.....

[Snowball]

has the change been 4-4-2?

Well if it was I was even more right.

I said Shane would come good, and is better suited to 442.

I even said a regular partnership with Hunt would see them both scoring goals

[Snowball]

Us Long bashes have egg all over our faces this last couple of weeks, and fair play because that was a sensational performance today. Trouble is, we have seen this before from Shane; a burst of goalscoring and barnstorming performances, only to revert back to months upon end of shot-shy mediocrity. The trick now is to keep this up.....

IMO he's been sensational all season, just not turning it into goals.

We'd better hope he starts missing again soon.

If he gets 20 this season we'll lose him

[floyd__streete]

If he gets 20 this season we'll lose him

John Madejski PLC will be hoping so. Oops, wrong thread

[Snowball]

It could still all go wrong, but I have been saying judge the player over the season

22 games in and Shane is one short of his best season's total. On schedule for 16+


CCC Top-Scorers.

13 Bothroyd Cardiff
12 Commons Derby
11 Becchio Leeds
11 Taarabt QPR
10 Graham Watford

09 Holt Norwich
09 Iwelumo Burnley
09 King Leicester
09 Mackie QPR
09 McGugan Nott'm Forest

08 Hammill Barnsley
08 Long Reading
08 Morison Millwall
08 Sinclair Swansea
08 Gradel Leeds

[Big Foot]

If you think about how players such as Mackie, Sinclair and Morison have been getting rave reviews this season then it shows how good Longy is

[Snowball]

If you think about how players such as Mackie, Sinclair and Morison have been getting rave reviews this season then it shows how good Longy is

If we can keep this team together and avoid injuries Long-Hunt
could well become a brilliant double-act. Hunt didn't have his
best game today but got on the end of one, and his goals/minute is excellent.

But I think a lot is down to Elwood allowing us to be a bit more adventurous.

[readingbedding]

Would have added this to the original thread but it appears to have been locked.

Another game, another two points spaffed away due to Long's inability to hit the target. His workrate up to the 18 yard line is unquestionable and often is performing a thankless task, however he is first a foremost a striker and a striker's ultimate role is to score goals.

It appears the cliched nickname of "Jigsaw" is currently the most accurate summation of his efforts this season in front of goal - 4 goals in 19 league games is atrocious (especially when 3 of those goals were from the penalty spot) for the "number one striker" at any football club.

No doubt Snowball will be all over this thread like a rash stating how Long is actually not going through a bad patch and that he's actually in good form, but the biggest thing for me is the number of points we have failed to pick up recently due to Long's poor finishing. He's missed glorious chances against Cardiff, Norwich, Watford and now Coventry and, as 2-0 alludes to on another thread, it looks more and more like we are going to have to settle for a season of mid table mediocrity.

Time for a change? Well, I certainly think so and I'd venture I'm not in the minority. Whether Brian McDermott agrees remains to be seen but I'm sure there's many a Reading fan that is hoping that Santa brings them an early Christmas present - that being Shane Long being dropped to the bench at Pride Park next Saturday.

Time for you to shut the phuck up methinks.

[brendywendy]

yeah, bloody sameheads, eh?

[Svlad Cjelli]

Yep, he [BMc] has been playing a game of poker, balancing Shane Long's confidence against the teams results. If it comes good he wins on both counts, because he's then got a confident striker who's scoring goals AND a winning team.

But at the moment he seems more like a losing gambler who feels they can't afford to give up throwing good money after bad - he's invested so much in Shane Long's confidence that to drop him now would be much, much worse than dropping him 2, 5 or 10 games ago would have been, so he has to persevere.

Looks like the ball has landed on the right number on the roulette wheel at last.