I admire your dedication my friend but that is abit far fetched! I do remember the hibs team which had some exciting talent like Fletcher and also Derek Riordan but he got his move to a bigger club and turned hopeless, not saying thats proof, more that in general players that do well at smaller teams mostly fail at big clubs, unless they are ones which are meant to play for bigger clubs. Scott Brown was exciting at Hibs, moves to Celtic and is now nothing more then a thug like Charlie Adam! Who is another one, moves to Liverpool from Blackpool and is crap. Adam Johnson is now starring at Sunderland but he failed at Man City, SWP was looking like a star then he gets a big move and turns crap. Basically in general taking a punt on someone like Long and Fletcher is doomed to fail. Defoe, Lennon, Hudd, Dawson etc where all highly rated young players and purchased at the right time. The only one I could say is similar to Fletcher or Long (in terms of reputation) was Peter Crouch but Redknapp knew how to get the best out of him. Arsenal signed Jeffers, remember him "the fox in the box" that never worked out! These are just examples that I remember of players that people said could do a job for a bigger club but get found out and its hard enough trying to catch the top four as it, so it try and achieve it by bringing in players like Long, Fletcher or Austin (thats worse then Fletcher), IMO, aren't going to help us.
I'm a little unclear as to why Shane Long can be seen as a better bet...overall...than Robby, would Shane long make the Spanish squad if he was Spanish?...when you've all finished laughing, you've got your answer. This season aside, Soldado is a CL standard forward, has Shane Long ever been that? will he ever?...no. Robby is having the poorest season of his career, no doubt, but to write him off as worse than average joe PL journeymen is not right imo. I can't explain his form, Spurs themselves are responsible for some of it, ie. managers and usage, but thats all it is, class is permanent, form is temporary.
Riordan failed but Fletcher's done well in England, got roughly a 1 in 3 strike rate all of his clubs which include two relegated teams and Sunderland which are now struggling. To score goals in those sort of sides is a credit to the player in my opinion. Sunderland in theory shouldn't be where they are with the money they've invested and the players they've signed in recent years. Fletcher was signed by them as the man they wanted to lead to a hopeful rise into a top half side but things haven't worked out. I reckon there's just as many successes as there are failures from those that move from small to big sides though. Brown's stayed in the SPL for a reason. Adam was actually a half decent player at Blackpool, then decided to become a complete **** of a player. Johnson wasn't given a fair crack at City in fairness, just like Sinclair and Rodwell. "Failing" at City doesn't mean you're bad, just means you're not exceptionally good. Jeffers was kind of a one off, everyone thought he was the next best striker for English football... Lets just leave that one there The likes of Fletcher or Long (even though Long is out of the question now though) wouldn't be coming here with huge reputations or expectations though, they'd be replacing Defoe as the impact sub and someone to lead the line in cups. Besides the way I'm looking at things right now is that they really can't be any worse than Soldado.
I'm not saying Long is better but that he'd be a handy player to have had come off the bench, just like Defoe was and that as of right now, he can't be any worse than Bobby. Soldado's form wouldn't see him make the Irish squad . I hope his form is temporary and not a now permanent issue like it is with his compatriot Torres.
Thank god for that! Form is temporary mate, it wasn't too long ago Ade's performances were the scourge of these boards, he scored under 5 goals one season. Today, what are we saying about him?
Oh absolutely, I'll be the first to admit I was even saying I wanted Ade out of the club so it shows how fickle I've become to say I'd arguably make him one of the first names on the team sheet. That said, what IF Ade keeps up his form, where does it leave Bobby? With Negredo aside, the Spanish strikers aren't enjoying themselves in England at the moment, Torres, Soldado and Aspas all struggling.
Long's a decent player, but his main asset isn't his finishing or his technique, it's his outstanding workrate. He's relentless. He may not be the best striker around, but some of those out there with superior ability could learn a lot from him. Darren Bent would be absolutely terrifying if he matched Long's attitude.
Honest answer...couldn't care less, thats football, as long as one of them is on form and scoring i don't mind. In Spain, they have a different set of problems, the latest one for Barca for example, is why Messi hasn't scored a hat-trick for 18 games! He also plays every week in mid table sides with little pressure in keeping his place, his workrate as you rightly say is exemplary, and ticks all the attitude boxes, I imagine a very easy pro for managers to work with.
Has Messi come in for criticism or something? I saw a headline yesterday saying Martino feels Messi is struggling with the pressure or something of that ilk (didn't read the article and now I can't find it). I heard Bale got a few boo's the other week, albeit from a minority.
