Long to WBA

[TedBundy89]

Sunderland not interested in Long. Seem they rate Wickham higher.

That's quite surprising considering they have already said they aren't interested in Long and that they've signed Wickham. You're reallt good at breaking news.

[RoyalJames101]

Sunderland are interested in signing South Korean Ji Dong and Reading's Shane Long.

Looks like they are going to be the only team in the Premiership to have a Long Dong upfront.

[roadrunner]

Sunderland are interested in signing South Korean Ji Dong and Reading's Shane Long.

Looks like they are going to be the only team in the Premiership to have a Long Dong upfront.

[andrew1957]

I am really confused by the Wickham deal to Sunderland and really wonder if they have lost their marbles.

£8.1M for an unproven player seems bizarre - a player that often came off the bench for Ipswich. Yes he has potential but PL sides are hardly known for their long term thinking and it is very doubtful that he will make a major impact next season - or possibly for a few seasons.

So what value on Long? If Wickham is worth £8.1M then Long must be worth 10-15M as he is a far more experienced player who could have an impact in the PL next season.

Of course we won't get that but it does really make you wonder about the insanity that has taken over this game.

[Wycombe Royal]

I am really confused by the Wickham deal to Sunderland and really wonder if they have lost their marbles.

£8.1M for an unproven player seems bizarre - a player that often came off the bench for Ipswich. Yes he has potential but PL sides are hardly known for their long term thinking and it is very doubtful that he will make a major impact next season - or possibly for a few seasons.

So what value on Long? If Wickham is worth £8.1M then Long must be worth 10-15M as he is a far more experienced player who could have an impact in the PL next season.

Of course we won't get that but it does really make you wonder about the insanity that has taken over this game.

They are paying for the potential, just like Man Utd did with Rooney, Arsenal with Walcott, etc. Long is older and doesn't have that same potential.

THat is why Long is not worth as much.

[Hoop Blah]

I think it's a bit harsh to say that Premier League clubs don't think long term andrew.

When they pay the kind of money they have for someone like Wickham then they're also investing in a player that will most likely be worth a lot more in subsequent years. An example of this is when Villa paid something like £9m for Ashley Young when he was largely a promising after a season or two at Watford.

They've just sold him for almost a 100% profit plus had a few good seasons worth of service from him.

Long has come on leaps and bounds since he was an 18 year old travel companion for Doyle and he never showed the potential that Wickham has and that's why he wasn't chased by some of the top clubs in the Premier League at such a young age. Long could still develop a bit as he nears his peak but seeing as he took 6 years to get this far I think most would assume he's pretty much at the top of his value now, which probably places him as a squad player for a mid-table Premier League side whereas Wickham could develop into the next Alan Shearer and earn Sunderland a fortune when the likes of Utd or Chelsea take him off their hands.

[roadrunner]

I am really confused by the Wickham deal to Sunderland and really wonder if they have lost their marbles.

£8.1M for an unproven player seems bizarre - a player that often came off the bench for Ipswich. Yes he has potential but PL sides are hardly known for their long term thinking and it is very doubtful that he will make a major impact next season - or possibly for a few seasons.

So what value on Long? If Wickham is worth £8.1M then Long must be worth 10-15M as he is a far more experienced player who could have an impact in the PL next season.

Of course we won't get that but it does really make you wonder about the insanity that has taken over this game.

They are paying for the potential, just like Man Utd did with Rooney, Arsenal with Walcott, etc. Long is older and doesn't have that same potential.

THat is why Long is not worth as much.

You always pay more for English players too.

[Mr Angry]

Long has come on leaps and bounds since he was an 18 year old travel companion for Doyle and he never showed the potential that Wickham has and that's why he wasn't chased by some of the top clubs in the Premier League at such a young age. Long could still develop a bit as he nears his peak but seeing as he took 6 years to get this far I think most would assume he's pretty much at the top of his value now, which probably places him as a squad player for a mid-table Premier League side whereas Wickham could develop into the next Alan Shearer and earn Sunderland a fortune when the likes of Utd or Chelsea take him off their hands.

Thats rubbish.

Everyone KNOWS that Shane is the greatest striker not only to play for Reading, but to play the game of Association Football.

If only there were some stats to prove it...............................

[Ian Royal]

Hoop, I think Long could have improved and hit this sort of level much quicker, if he'd got regular starts at a Champ or League One club, in at least one of his first two or three seasons with us.

Unlikly he'd have made the impact and shot to prominence in the same way as Wickham though, I conceed.

[Snowball]

Hoop, I think Long could have improved and hit this sort of level much quicker, if he'd got regular starts at a Champ or League One club, in at least one of his first two or three seasons with us.

Wow, you think?

I wish I'd thought that.

[Hoop Blah]

Hoop, I think Long could have improved and hit this sort of level much quicker, if he'd got regular starts at a Champ or League One club, in at least one of his first two or three seasons with us.

Wow, you think?

I wish I'd thought that.

Some of us have been saying it since before you were even on the board snowball, there really is no need to take such a tone. It just makes you look a bit of a prat.

[Snowball]

Of course you were, Hoop.


I remember all those posts agreeing with me when I started the Shane Long thread.

[brendywendy]

no hes talking about all teh posts and times he and others moaned about shane long needing games, and that he should be loaned out to league 1 to get him some experience, for about four years, most of which before you even turned yup.

and that tone really does make you sound like a div.

[Hoop Blah]

Spot on Brendy.

I happily admit Long out performed my expectations last season and improved no end* but the point was that he seemed to have missed the boat in terms of kicking on when he spent too long sitting in the stands or on the bench in his early days with us.

* take away all those penalties and he didn't have quite as great a looking scoring record though - and in my book he shouldn't have been on pens whilst Harte was in the side.

[royal67]

Long has come on leaps and bounds since he was an 18 year old travel companion for Doyle and he never showed the potential that Wickham has and that's why he wasn't chased by some of the top clubs in the Premier League at such a young age. Long could still develop a bit as he nears his peak but seeing as he took 6 years to get this far I think most would assume he's pretty much at the top of his value now, which probably places him as a squad player for a mid-table Premier League side whereas Wickham could develop into the next Alan Shearer and earn Sunderland a fortune when the likes of Utd or Chelsea take him off their hands.

Thats rubbish.

Everyone KNOWS that Shane is the greatest striker not only to play for Reading, but to play the game of Association Football.

If only there were some stats to prove it...............................


POTD........

[Isaac Hunt]

Long too costly for Bhoys
Lennon insists Reading ace is out of reach

Celtic manager Neil Lennon insists Reading's valuation for Shane Long is too high for the SPL giants.

The Parkhead outfit had been linked with a close-season move for the Republic of Ireland international.

However, the Royals' £7million asking price for the 24-year-old ex-Cork City marksman is out of the club's reach.

"You're talking £7million and that is out of our remit," Lennon said on Long.

[bigmike]

Long too costly for Bhoys
Lennon insists Reading ace is out of reach

Celtic manager Neil Lennon insists Reading's valuation for Shane Long is too high for the SPL giants.

The Parkhead outfit had been linked with a close-season move for the Republic of Ireland international.

However, the Royals' £7million asking price for the 24-year-old ex-Cork City marksman is out of the club's reach.

"You're talking £7million and that is out of our remit," Lennon said on Long.

Good dont think I could suffer it if we lost a player to that poor excuse for a manager and football team

[Big Foot]

Heard SSN have it on breaking news we've received 4 bids from PL clubs for Long and none meet our £10m valuation

[Friday's Legacy]

Heard SSN have it on breaking news we've received 4 bids from PL clubs for Long and none meet our £10m valuation

it's media hype. bids may have come in; we know we've had two from celtic that were knocked back, but no-one knows what our valuation is, and there is a release clause in shane's contract that again the media don't know the value of. you shouldn't be so trusting of sky sports news. it's just a 24 hour red top that needs to fill its air time in the close season.

[Big Foot]

Heard SSN have it on breaking news we've received 4 bids from PL clubs for Long and none meet our £10m valuation

it's media hype. bids may have come in; we know we've had two from celtic that were knocked back, but no-one knows what our valuation is, and there is a release clause in shane's contract that again the media don't know the value of. you shouldn't be so trusting of sky sports news. it's just a 24 hour red top that needs to fill its air time in the close season.

Where in my post am I expressing a trust in SSN? Merely repeating their 'news' for the benefit of this audience