Longy assisted at least two of Mane's goals in that hat-trick. Liverpool is the obvious Long 'moment', but Arsenal at home when we were on a dire run, and Long ran Mertesacker ragged and we smashed them 4-0, is another. And also the impossi-goal away to Leicester, when his off-target shot, was miraculously helped on-target by a flapping Schmeichel.
Longy- A big personality who really cared and was loyal and passionate and had some outstanding moments at the club but was very limited in what he could offer and not very good at winning games. Earned a lot of fan loyalty with the former and a lot of ire with the latter.
I was behind the goal and in line with his shot for that Liverpool goal, and can still feel the explosion of joy and utter disbelief when the ball hit the net (like a ****ing rocket). And I can still hear the strains of Hey Jude which the Anfield DJ kindly played for us on the way out. But my favourite Long moment is far more recent; 1-0 up against Everton, 83rd minute, and Ralph brings on Long for Broja. Everyone in St Marys exchanging wtaf? expressions. One minute later, he scores from a corner, with his first touch. Both Shane and Ralph utterly vindicated in that moment (nothing lasts for ever though).
Interesting the number of negative takes of Long on here. Yes he has been….. variable at times, but he was well worth the £14m we forked out for him when you put his Saints career out as a whole. He might not have scored a great deal, but he has generally always turned up when it mattered, been a nuisance, created space for others. Also - Fastest PL goal of all time. - That Semi-Final goal. - Actually having that one very good season under Koeman. Oh and even now he has managed to outperform our main star signing for the summer (more of a reflection on Adam Armstrong than him, but yeah). Well worth the money. Guy is the Yoshida of forwards, always will be a club icon. Now we have a vacant number 7 shirt, that should be a decent incentive for the club to go out and buy someone worthy…… right?
Always liked him. My lad had him on his first Saints shirt. Honest, committed footballer, I think we will miss him.
Interesting isn’t it. Football is all about divisive opinions and I have never been able to stand watching him. He just runs around a lot and then miscontrols it and gives it away. In my eyes, the fact that we have had to rely on him for such a long time is a damning indictment of how bad our recruitment has been and why we are narrowly avoiding relegation. For me “running around a lot” is the bare minimum any footballer should do. And that is literally all he can do (Koeman season aside). I hope our next number 7 can actually score and create goals.
Never seen another player with the same passion for receive the ball, stop dead and throw himself onto his face. I look forward to never seeing it again.
We've had so many sh*t strikers since promotion though. Maybe its just not a very easy job. At least Long is a decent guy and he works harder than any of the other pretenders. It's not like he picks himself for the team either. And in fact he's won favour with every manager we've had. So they all obviously see something that you don't.
Shane was a great signing for Saints. He was great in the 2015/16 season in particular. Don't get the negative comments - we all know Shane is way past it now and probably shouldn't have had that last contract extension but he formed some great partnerships where the other striker tended to score all the goals! One of the most selfless strikers I've ever seen and plenty of fond memories made. All the best Shane!
That Everton game was priceless. A fan near me was properly kicking off about Long coming on. Lots of swear words. Then Shane scored.
Shane is certainly the most Marmite player we have had in recent years, fortunately the fans that appreciated what he selflessly gave to the team far outnumber his detractors and as someone said the managers and I suspect his teammates always valued him, Steven Davis was similar in that respect.
It’s not easy, and we have made it difficult for ourselves because of a lack of alternatives and Long being put on a stupidly long contract. He’s a lovely bloke but a terrible footballer. One of the main reasons I don’t come to watch saints in the flesh anywhere near as much as I used to is because I don’t want to pay premier league prices to watch non-league standard footballers. I can just go down the road and watch Maidenhead. Sorry to derail the thread with negativity and I do wish him well but I feel like I have to voice this opinion because he’s been holding the club back with his massive contract and now we can finally give either youngsters a chance or sign some fresh meat
He hasn't been holding the club back. The club has been holding the club back. I don't blame Shane for signing that contract for one second. He was offered it - he signed it. And to say he's non-league standard is odd to say the least.
