12 Aug 2014 21:53:26
Southampton agree £12m fee with Hull for Striker Shane Long
What a signing that would be. Really rate this player and with the right service could be our 20 goal a season striker. Who cares if £12m is steep, it's all Monopoly money at the end of the day
Great signing if under £5millon. £12million is way too much for a striker with 4 goals last season.
I like shane long but les reed has lost the plot. he needs to go.
Crazy money!
This must be a hoax, come on he's old and bad and only 7 goals last season
Not sure about £12 million but the player could be just what we need. Aggressive, good both in the air and on the ground. Should link well with Pelle!
Now go for Redmond!
12 Aug 2014 22:50:39
I am a great supporter of Roko and his ambition but I just can't see how or why he can value Shane Long at 12m. He was a pain in the arse against us when we played West Brom a while ago but 12m!! Don't get this. Surely we could do better than this, hope he proves us wrong. Although it's the same money as Osvaldo I just think he has lost the plot here. I really, reeeaaallly hope he knows what he's doing. Still can't believe it.
Really not happy with that especially for 12 mill I'd rather have samaras he can hit a ball from 30 yards and find the net the only bad thing he's got no pace
12 Aug 2014 23:07:16
It's true
What's going on 12 mill for a player who has scored 1 more goal than Carlton cole in the past 3 seasons. Wtf absolute waste of skin. All the money that goes into scouting of other leagues and this is what we come up with holy sh:(
What a waste of money, Hull will be laughing all the way to the bank, it's a typical knee jerk panic buy signing, he has never been prolific, so let's hope Jay Rod gets fit quick, otherwise it will be a relegation scrap for us and Fraser Forster is going to be a busy boy in goal.
It's a lot of money for a proven EPL striker, but can anyone name me another player who's been in the league a fair few seasons that would of been cheaper and is of the same calibre? Likewise who would readily join us? I can't think of anybody and so if Koeman has given the green light I think we should support this transfer.
Wow 12 does seem steep, but that's surely after add on's etc. so on one hand it's a lot of money, on the other we are crying out for someone to run the channels. Long will run/work all day and is a defenders nightmare, plus I like him as a player, though 12 seems a lot. Let's just say gaston cost us 12 and osvaldo cost close to 14 and well against those two he seems a good buy as we know what we are getting.
Personally when he signed for hull in jan I thought top signing but was only for 7.
Let not forget he can also play as main forward or as a double act with pelle so gives us loads of options with the fact he will prob play wide at least until jay-rod returns.
Seems a lot but then again if he had a more sexy name we would prob love it.
Personal let's give him a try - just wish it's for less then 12! Plus he knows the league which a lot of the new boys don't
Could be the end of the road for jay rod then I know he's out for a while but why spend £12m on someone to warm the bench when jay rods back
13 Aug 2014 00:22:42
Fair points and well described picky
Panic buying. Stoke got Bojan for £3m. Where were Saints' self-proclaimed amazing scouting network while that deal was shaping up? £12m for a Championship level striker. It's got Les Reed's fingerprints all over it.
What a depressing downgrade in ambition. His six goals a season might just about help keep Saints up, I suppose.
Old and bad Ruffhead? He's 27 and a proven PL goalscorer. He knows how to find the net in this division and that is exactly what we need alongside Pelle who is frankly a gamble. Don't be deceived by stats either, he is a much better player than his goals to games ratio suggests. Works hard, aggressive, experienced PL player and creates as well as being a finisher. I am pleased with this signing although I would admit it is probably about 4mill over his market value.
As for comments about rather having Samaras? This has to be a joke right? He is terrible. When he was at city he was one of the worst players I've seen play in the PL.
13 Aug 2014 06:51:42
12 million seems steep! I would have taken him for 5, I think with the right sort of service, which he lacked big time at Hull, he could do a real job. He's ROI's answer to Dirk Kuyt! You could put him anywhere on the field and he would put his heart and sole into doing the best he can. Get Dusan, JWP, Taider etc giving him the service and let's see what he can do!
Everyone thought the same about Jay Rodriguez and look what he ended up doing for the club! As long as he can play upfront and find the net then that's all that matters, its the players behind him that need to do the hard work of providing him opportunities on goal - he will get more chances here than at Hull.
I don't know why everyone is raving about bojan, he only scored 4 goals last season aswell and in 9 more games than long and he was in the Dutch league at the best team in the league.he doesn't do half as much as long on the pitch either. There's a reason he has gone to Stoke for 3 mill. because his career has flopped
Why is everybody moaning about twelve mil!? Only a couple of weeks ago people were saying how we shouldn't have to penny pinch, we have loads of money etc etc. now when we overspend to get the players we want, people moan about that!
Give him a chance, he will get more chances in front of goal than last season, and he did only play 30 games, 15 for two different clubs, so the stats aren't as clear as they Seem.
I think les reed might need to be checked in to the local d. o. p in St. Mary's. When I first saw this last night I genuinely hoped it was a smokescreen for someone else coming in ( maybe it might have been wishful thinking). Don't get me wrong I think he's a HALF DECENT player worth nowhere near 12mil.
13 Aug 2014 09:00:21
12 million is nothing these days! The fact is we need players and a striker with a proven record in the prem and if anyone watched last season and this pre-season other then some dodgy defending one problem was having all the possession and loads of shots but not turning many of those stats into goals. Long can easily bring that more then anyone else I can think of for that money. Clubs know we have loads of money so we can't expect bargains. We were all complaining about offering lower offers and not getting the job done then when we offer big money to get the deals done you complain. Long actually played well last season even though he didn't score many. We need depth we need goal scorers and we need players with prem experience which we lack a lot of.
13 Aug 2014 09:25:08
Yes, why are everybody moaning about £12m? The media have said it is £12m so that has to be correct? Suspect it is not, so let's wait and see.
13 Aug 2014 10:13:48
Still can't believe some people on this page. Admittedly 12 mil is pretty steep, but a few days ago a lot of you were saying to pay over the odds to complete signings because we have the money. And to say we're going to be in a relegation scrap because we're trying to sign Long, is ridiculous. Can't please some people. COYR
13 Aug 2014 10:19:03
I doubt this is a straight up 12 mill more like with add one if he succeeds and if succeeds 12 mill will seem cheap
To be fair, if this happens this is a decent signing but 12 million pounds is a joke, people saying we signed Ramirez and osvaldo for around that and they aren't great but when we signed them they were sort after better than Shane long, 6million sounds more like it. But do agree it would be a good player for the squad
13 Aug 2014 10:34:41
Steve's point about J Rod just doesn't add up. He was 5 years younger than Long and as we saw his potential to become a really top player came true, so in other words he was a great investment for the future. Shane Long is a very hard working tireless player but just lacking that special something. Just getting rid of Billy Sharp for less than half a million and he is a similar sort of player. The question is therefore simple, is Shane Long 25X better than Sharp? I don't think he is by a factor of about 10. Waste of a lot of money in my eyes, hope Roko knows better. Don't keep blaming Les Reed he just signs the cheques, it is Koeman who tells him the players he wants and convinces Reed they're worth it.
One word. Workrates!
we need players who will pressurise for the whole game and we have got that now.
i honestly at first believed he is not a good buy, but think about how much long would want to repay the saints for buying him for a reasonably high sum of money. shane Long performs at clubs he is loved at, if the fans back him from the start he will deliver for us.
Its not all about the exotic names and the foreign passports, its about the understanding of the league and the ability and eagerness to deliver regardless of the situation in a long season
Lets get behind Him! SaintLong
Time will tell but I think it is a good signing although overpriced. He should get better service than he did at Hull so fingers crossed he will score a few more goals.
Please prove me wrong Shane Long!
A lot of people are really missing the point with regards the fee here. I don't suggest we just lob money around randomly on anyone but in terms of what we have bought so far this summer we need players with experience in this league which Long has in abundance. It can't have escaped peoples notice that proven PL goalscorers do not come cheap.
More to the point, the fee is all relative. The PL is absolutely packed with money. The price of staying in it as opposed to dropping down is eye watering. I don't suggest we are relegation candidates at all but if Long scores even 15 league goals for us next season ( with decent service this is not at all unrealistic) then 12 million will have been well spent. If he forms a decent partnership with Pelle none of you will be moaning about the price at all I assure you.
Les Reed has to go?? Never heard so much rubbish in all my life. For those of you who haven't got a clue, which unfortunately seems to be quite a few, do you really think Les Reed sits in his office and says " Right, I'm going to buy him and him and if big Ron doesn't like it, he can do one back to Holland". Wake up - he consults with Koeman over every transfer the club does and if Koeman doesn't rate a player, we don't buy him. All Reed does is negotiate the deal. Sometimes I wonder about some of my fellow Saints fans. If brains was gun powder, half of you wouldn't have enough to blow your little toe off!!!!!!
13 Aug 2014 16:12:05
Personally I like Shane Long and when he went to hull in Jan I did think he was an absolute bargain and wondered firstly why west brom were selling one of their best players and secondly why we hadn't put in a cheeky bid as we badly needed some depth especially with Osvaldo being shipped off. However to turn under £7m into £12m in under 6 months and when he didn't have the most successful time of it I do wonder about his cost. Think most fans are just a bit worried that we won't fork out the Cash for World cup finalists or proven center backs like Vlar. Yet are happy to pay over the odds for an unproven GK and pretty average striker. I do think he will add to the team however just baffled at how our board decide player values.
He hasn't been brought to score us goals, he's been snapped up to create and gurantee our strikers them whilst being a royal pain in the ass while he does it quality bit of buisiness
Exactly. les reed does the negotiating. 12m is far to much for shane long. the money we are paying over the top for him could have sealed the Rojo deal or de vrij. penny pench on players who impressed at the world cup but pay 12m for shane long! its insanity.
Since when is shane long a proven PL goalscorer aswell.
13 Aug 2014 17:50:52
I just think it is very strange that a lot of people on here are thinking Long is a good buy and are convincing themselves it is what we need. I bet if you all made a list when Koeman took over of the players you would like Shane Long would not have appeared on any of them. We have to live with it now and support the team and the manager we have no choice. I am however beginning to wonder if Koeman is as clued up as I originally thought, I hope so otherwise he'll be gone by Christmas and we will be in one hell of a mess. If that happens the answer maybe to offer Brendon Rogers ludicrous amounts of money to become our manager, in doing that we might get most of our original team back.
Chrisdownj my point does add up as I never mentioned age. When Jay Rod joined everyone complained about price, you are only using the comparison now because he has played well - if he performed like osvaldo you would be complaining.
So my point stands, if he comes and acores a dozen goals then everyone will be happy. We have 92 million and we r looking to strengthen so all quit whining - its boring now. :-)
I wouldn't say it's panic buying at all, as he would fit our system well, we have I'm sure we have more than 1 name on our shortlist, it wouldn't have been just Hernandez's name on our list of striker targets would it?
Steve 230891 you don't spend 12m on a 27 year old Hull City player that nobody else is interested in do you. Since our bid I haven't seen any other club jump in like they did when we showed our interest in other players. J Rod scores goals, Long doesn't. I thought we needed a goal scoring forward or am I missing something here.
Long will become a fans favourite. Just wait and see. £12 million I admit is a bit steep, but when other clubs know you have money to spend, then bang, up goes the price - that's football. Hull are doing exactly what we did to Liverpool. As much as I rate Adam Lallana, no way is he worth £25 million - not even close. Hull are just getting the best deal they can for their club and I personally admire it. But many of you seem to be saying " We could have Rojo for that". Ummm, no we couldn't. We bid a reported £16 million for him which got rejected. Les Reed didn't want to pay over the odds for a player who could turn out to be another Lovren, who holds the club to ransom just like he is doing to Sporting Lisbon. We don't want players like that at our club - welll I don't anyway. If Reed thought we were paying way over the odds for Long, then I'm sure we wouldn't be signing him. Koeman must really rate him. Shame some of you don't.
P. s - Hope my grammar was OK in this post ALSOTONLE :-)
13 Aug 2014 20:22:25
And as for the criticism of Long, how many supporters were calling for pace in the attacking third last season? Probably the same ones who are saying Sharp would be better than Long. I wonder if they ever watch what players are doing on the pitch!
Yes, chrisdownj you are missing something-the plot! "J Rod scores goals"-well he didn't when he first joined us, so I suggest it may be wise to wait and see, rather than waste time letting Liverpool supporters know your views. I will moan about players with the best of you but always give them a chance first.
Talk about welcome to the Saints-now the home of whining and sneering.
Chrisdownj you aim your comments at me, yet do not respond to what I am saying. You spend 12 mil on a 27 yr old no other club is interested in and he gets a dozen goals - good business. He doesn't impress - bad business. No one knows until he plays. I would just be grateful we are looking to strengthen the relevant positions. 12 mil on a 27 yr old striker is better than not having additional strikers to play.
Sell players - we moan
Dont buy players - we moan
Buy players and show interest - we moan
Maybe we just support the club, this is a rumour site not a whining site :-)
So we can pay 4/5 over the top for shane long but not for marcos rojo? the problem is not the player. the problem is les reeds logic behind this one. to post saying that some of us know nothing about football whilst justifying 12m for shane long speaks volumes.
This seems to have split the camp a little!
for: prem forward able to play in many positions, winger, lone front man, of a target man, anywhere along a front 3. Scores a goals, works his but off and is defenders nightmare.
Those against: price and well doesn't score enough.
Personally wasn't on many radars but I think could turn out to be a great buy and well I'll back him to score 12 plus goals (more the Adam last season) and give us a real chance to push up high while also hitting teams on the break.
If I'm correct with 12+ goals then not many of them players around so 12 mil sounds good business but let's all be honest even if u like or dislike the signing (if it happens) no one will know the outcome until at least Xmas and surely common sense says he will be better with us saints fans backing him. Come on long let's enjoy the new season let's back the boy and give him a chance.
I was a bit shocked by the £12m at first but when you see the prices of domestic players this summer like McCormack for £11m maybe it's not so far off the mark
SaintGibbs you are naive I'm afraid. Rojo and DeVrij were never realistic targets. They want CL football or a club pushing towards that (Man Utd?). Under Cortese? Maybe. Now? No.
That era has gone and we need to get used to a more measured approach from the new board. Doesn't make us un ambitious just a different approach is all. It should be clear to all that there is an aspect of recouping money going on here ( hence the loan deals and overall lack of expenditure so far).
I loved the Cortese era but this is business too and he overspent and overstretched on a budget that wasn't his and we need an efficiently run club.
It might be a culture shock after the dizzy heights of last season but this will be a season of consolidation. There are a lot of new personnel but give them a chance. Yes on paper we currently look to have a much weaker squad than last season but Koeman could get this bunch to gel and work given time so let's trust in him and get behind them.
Finally. Shane Long has a fair scoring record at 3 different ( all lower half) PL clubs so I think this equates to him knowing where the net is in this division.