I haven't said that anywhere tonight. I said we can not, not sign a striker. Listen I have repeatedly said that signing long for 10-12m is too much, but all I've been trying to do is calm down the madness on here tonight. We still have time to go, but as said earlier, maybe they've had 'no' from options A, B, C... and long became available. It is not the disaster that is being made out, albeit he wouldn't have been in my top three of four choices. Absolutely no panic here Schad.
I understand that it isn't panic from your perspective; I think that it very much is from our board, and it belies the notion that we had all the time in the world to get our targets in. When you've checked down the list and the only thing available is Shane Long for a massive fee, either you should have had a better list, or you should have moved more aggressively for the people above him much earlier. We have also done ourselves absolutely no favours in other dealings. If you're a club negotiating with Saints, and they've just dumped this sort of cash on Shane flipping Long, you aren't exactly going to meet us halfway, are you?
There's some credence to what you're saying there Schad on both aspects, though my inclinations are pretty much the same as FLT's on this at the moment. It's a good point regarding our ability to bargain moving forward though.
Shane Long will excel at saints, I can't give any substance to my theory apart from the fact I trust Mr Koeman. I think it will be prove to have a been shrewd decision come next may. I think my post is pointless, just wanna believe in someone other than Justin BIeber. The end.
I certainly see agreement with the second half there Schad. Lets all hope its less than 12m... It is Sky and they don't like us at the moment.
Here is a thought: Could Long play for us? What is the UEFA rule on playing for three different clubs in the same 12 month period?
Hello there. This is my first post though I've been lurking on the forum since Saint Gaston! and would like to offer a theory on tonight's revelations... It has been clear for weeks that we need at least two forward players (ie. in the front 3 of a 4-3-3) to carry any sort of goal threat this season. I think that signing Shane Long offers not only the versatility to play across that front 3 (at least from what I've seen of him), but also allows us to go for a bigger but riskier signing safe in the knowledge that we have at least 1 forward who has Premier League experience to fall back on if any of the other (potentially) three cannot cut it at this level. I also think that Long could be a very useful player for us, especially while Jay is out, and that the only real sticking point for me is the price. I am holding out hope that if this signing happens a) the fee is not quite as eye watering as £12 million and b) there could be a much more exciting attacking signing in the pipeline. That being said if he gets the no 7 shirt then #koemanout
I think Long will be an ok signing as long as he stays fit, it is just the fee that to me is well over the top. Because of the type of player he is (grafter) i think if he can score a couple of early goals for us he could become a fans favourite. Opposing fans generally dont like him, because he annoys defenders, and goes down easier than a Pompey girl on a navy base. Look on the bright side, none of the big teams are going to try and nick him off us next summer.
I'm just thinking half a Darren Bent or a third of a Carroll (ish). That's making it easier. Along with the fact I think he'll be a very useful player for us. 12m for 'useful' is way too much, granted, but useful I think he'll be.
Basically the thing we're annoyed about is that we've become less an Everton, more a West Brom/Villa over the course of this summer. It's hard to let the Everton go because it all feels a little bit unnecessary.
True, but perhaps ameliorated by the possibility this could be our only signing from a PL club, links for other berths are currently to players abroad. Or we pay £16m for Byram.
This has come right out of the blue for us. Long wasn't up for sale, there's never been any mention of him going anywhere. All I can see is that you've made enquiries about him, we've mentioned £12 mill and you've accepted it. Brucie's been happy with our players and has always said it'll take stupid money to sell any of them.What you'll get from him is hard graft, he'll lay goals on for other players and he's a bloody nuisance to opposition players. He'll chip in with a fews goals too. If it comes off i'll be sorry to see him go, he fits in well with the rest of our team. But £12 mill?
