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We are too good for a player like Shane Long

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
2,926
8,490
We basically let Long and Jelavic go toe to toe against or two central defenders, without midfielders positioned to cut of supply to them or pick up balls that dropped.

Neither Vertonghen or Dawson are players that prosper under those conditions. Many strikers would look good under those conditions.

The question is where we want to be. Would Shane Long get near Liverpool, Man United, Arsenal or City? Not too likely. We'll be better off giving playing time to Lamela, Chadli or even Soldado (even if he did deserve a good beating after yesterdays performance.)
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,149
46,142
I agree with your general point, there is a bit of arrogance about who is or isn't good enough to play for the mighty Spurs. Daniel Sturridge being the prime example.

There is a difference in playing for a big club though, in that so much more is expected of you, unlike say Hull, where as long as you put a shift in and keep them up, that's good enough.

Our problem imo is we seem to buy players with little regard for the league they will be playing in and the suitability to fit in with the team.

That and the fact that we very rarely pay market value for strikers (unless we are threatened with relegation or have £85million burning a hole in our pocket).
 
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tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
82,216
He gets stuck in and scores goals. So why is he on Hull and not us? How come we never try and land a decent, non-sexy forward?

Because he isn't very good. I'm not saying Soldado is either but that doesn't mean we should go for Long. 8 in 34 last year. 8 in 32 the year before. You can dress it up in as much "unfashionable player" guff that you want but we should be aiming higher than that. We have enough mediocre players at the club, Long would be another player that would get slaughtered on here and another prime candidate for "get rid in the summer".
 

Legend10

Well-Known Member
Jul 8, 2006
10,847
5,277
We have a deep enough squad, surely we should now only be signing players who would improve our first 11?
 

Oshi

Well-Known Member
Jun 27, 2011
2,747
4,109
Shane Long is the Striker equivalent of Dawson. Puts in a shift, works hard and on some days makes a difference.

If Long was at Spurs he would get the same treatment as Daws, those with dreams of grandeur would just give him pelters every week.
 

Ribble

Well-Known Member
Apr 13, 2011
3,524
4,807
He has looked brilliant recently, and where Lennon is unfortunately looking a little one dimensional, Johnson has a bit more about him. In effect as he knows the Prem he would bed in quickly too. Think we could do worse.

AJ has certainly hit form, but look at how long it's taken him to do so. I'd rather we gave Townsend time to develop than put Johnson ahead of him.

As for Long, he's a great worker but as I said in the thread dedicated to him the questionable aspect is his ability to keep it up over a season. If he had the athletic ability to pair with his mentality he'd be an excellent player, not least because he'd be able to have been pushed harder in training and development.
 

0-Tibsy-0

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2012
11,418
44,366
In a shit league!!

There are some good teams though that have been on par with the better teams in the Prem over the last few years.

Soldado against:

Villarreal- 3 goals
Athletico Madrid - 4 goals
Sevilla 6 -goals
Athletic Bilbao- 8 goals
Real Madrid- 4 goals
Real Sociedad- 5 goals.

He is a good striker, and I agree that he hasn't delivered in terms of goals yet (some of his build up play has been excellent) in regards to the price paid, which wasn't his fault-he had a buy out clause. It pisses me off that people spout nonsense and claim he is 'shit'. he obviously isn't.
 

kaz Hirai

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2008
17,692
25,340
@TwanYid Loldado? Really? Are you a fucking child.

That's what Arsenal supporters have started calling him so he might have heard it off a goon.

I might be nutz and rainbow optimistic but I have a feeling soldado will look great next season...assuming he doesn't get sent back to Spain in the summer
 

Syn_13

Fly On, Little Wing
Jul 17, 2008
14,853
20,662
It's difficult because to compete where we want to compete we need to have top quality players. Unfortuntely, we haven't got the pull, be it money or status, that the big boys have and so our best bet is to try and unearth some gems. The problem with this is that not all of them are going to work out. We've unearthed Bale, Berbatov, Modric and Carrick to name a few in recent years. Vertonghen, Lloris and Sandro are also quality players we've unearthed too. The problem is, because of our restrictions, we're not likely to keep these players. Out of the lists I gave the former are players we just couldn't hold on to, and I wouldn't be surprised if the same happens to the latter. So once we do build a strong team we're always going to have it cut down to size, and we then have to make sure we get a replacement to fill that void.

Signings players like Long isn't the answer. He looks great for Hull, or that level of club, because he simply is that level of player. You get Championship players like that who bang in dozens at that level and can't do it in the EPL. The jury's still out for me on some of our signings this year but we may have essentially done that ourselves. Signed players who work for those leagues and are fantastic overseas, but can't quite work it in the Premier League. Unfortunately, it's nigh on impossible to tell whether they're going to work out here. They could have all the attributes required but one little thing stops it from working out.

I think when we make signings we do need to sign players with some Premiership experience so that they know what they're in for, but unfortunately the Premiership is overpriced. Not even just the English players, it's any player that starts doing well over here. Unless we get taken over by a Sheikh or Oligarch we can only rely on our current strategy and hope that we get a season where it all falls into place. Your talking about signing good, raw talent that develops well (like a Modric or a Bale), having the right players to fit the right system, a healthy dose of luck, and good fortune in the injury department.
 

absolute bobbins

Am Yisrael Chai
Feb 12, 2013
11,658
25,976
I agree with your general point, there is a bit of arrogance about who is or isn't good enough to okay for the mighty Spurs. Daniel Sturridge being the prime example.

There is a difference in playing for a big club though, in that so much more is expected of you, unlike say Hull, where as long as you put a shift in and keep them up, that's good enough.

Our problem imo is we seem to buy players with little regard for the league they will be playing in and the suitability to fit in with the team.

That and the fact that we very rarely pay market value for strikers (unless we are threatened with relegation or have £85million burning a hole in our pocket).

Even if we really wanted Sturridge, Roman wouldn't have allowed it
 

SlunkSoma

Like dogs bright
Oct 5, 2004
3,941
3,490
We've got enough inconsistent wingers, without adding another to the ranks.
I think he offers something the others don't though. Obviously he would have to keep this current form up until the summer, but if he realises his potential he'll be a very good player.
 

dagraham

Well-Known Member
Sep 20, 2005
19,149
46,142
I think he offers something the others don't though. Obviously he would have to keep this current form up until the summer, but if he realises his potential he'll be a very good player.

He's always had ability. It's just his attitude and lack of professionalism that's held him back.
 

Hoddle&Waddle

Well-Known Member
Nov 25, 2012
8,359
17,609
He has looked brilliant recently, and where Lennon is unfortunately looking a little one dimensional, Johnson has a bit more about him. In effect as he knows the Prem he would bed in quickly too. Think we could do worse.
I think you have to give Gus Poyet major credit for turning Johnson back into the player many thought he could be. I think he could do the same for Lamela, who's a similar player IMO, maybe even more gifted. Poyet would certainly be a major contender for our next Manager if it was up to me, with the added plus of, along with Taricco, both being former fan favourites at The Lane.
 
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