Wimb Can you stop with the Gwathoppa crap, wherever it came from its derogative and highlights the fact that you're getting desperate and losing the argument
I am merely helping the young man. Gwathoppa sounds appropriate to me.
I dont think URZ or anyone else is saying Long is god awful, has never had a good run, or that he doesn't have THE POTENTIAL to be a good player. But quite frankly the way you bring up the stats to show 'he's similar to Doyle' do the most damage to discredit your own stupid stats, the two aren't even close and it's the reason Doyle is playing in the Premier League and why Shane is in danger of being replaced by a 21 year old Welsh International.
What is the title of the thread? The vast majority of posters in HNA are
hostile to Shane Long and always have been.
Shane Long's stats are not a long way from Doyle's stats. But as usual the slaggers and ass-kissers can't judge objective fact. For one thing they make the mistake of talking about "appearances" even when those appearances are for a minute or two minutes. DOYLE's appearances are 95% STARTS and he usually played the whole 90 minutes or came off on 85. Noel Hunt's STARTS averaged about 60-65 minutes, Churc h's average 75 minutes. When you compare minutes played and goals scored, the ratios are a lot closer than they appear at first glance.
You can't bask in past glories to defend a player.
Last season combined with this totals 34 starts for Long. I hardly call that "past glories"
Lee Nogan and Stuart Lovell are brilliant examples of strikers from Reading's history who in the past had purple patches of goalscoring but then tailed off so extremely in the space of just 12-18 months that they dropped a division or two even at relatively young ages.
Shane HASN'T tailed off, except marginally, for a mere 13 games
when he is being asked to play a different game
He has more or less improved every season with 2009-10 being his best
As a stats man answer this honestly. What's more likely to happen in the future...
Scenario A) Form over the last 25 games
Scenario B) Form over the 25 games previously
or form over the last 26 games? or form over the last 30 games? Or form over the last season? or form over the last two seasons?
FORM is temporary. CLASS is perminent. Remember that one?
A range of outside factors can lead to the two of those ranging from close to totally far apart but I DARE you to say you've put your house on scenario B.
But I didn't. I merely suggested 30 games to-date is better than 25 games to-date AND THAT IS MORE ACCURATE
You're missing the entire point of this debate in that some fans are questioning whether Shane Long is doing well enough RIGHT NOW as a STRIKER to warrant this formation or his own selection. Right now the results are going our way, Brian is happy and we're at or above where we expected to be, so stats or no stats we should be happy, but it doesn't mean we can't question things.
NOPE the thread says TIME TO GO. Not "time to rest Long"