Current Player #2 Sam Long

There was a telling moment towards the end of the game where Dale (who was brilliant off the bench) moved inside with the ball to really good effect vs 2 or 3 defenders who all came to the ball and he turned out expecting to find an overlap from Long in to oceans of space… in the absence of that he had to play back to midfield and the move lost all impetus which rather sums us up. It’s these small intricate details that are costing us whether it be instruction or just players not good enough to play on the wave lengths of other better players we have attracted this season.

Dale knew where Long should be, but Long didn’t himself. We’re a disjointed side playing for pot luck. With the individuals we have, it’ll occasionally spark but we’re not a team and certainly not an effective one.

I don’t like Sam Long being in the side one bit, but we should be able to put a cohesive plan together that makes him less of a problem, protect him, limit his influence in the game and beat Northampton at home regardless.

See has to harbour the responsibility at the moment, he’s been here long enough and been backed well enough to expect MUCH more than we’re seeing.
 
ZeroTheHero said:
Long had a strange game last night. Most of the time he was very wide out right, but when he got the ball his default setting was that he had his back to goal and just passed the ball back to where it had come from. Then he had a period of being way up the pitch - Murphy was the furthest man back quite a few times - and that wasn't only after he'd bombed forward. He did put in a couple of decent crosses, and then that back pass...

We need to (somehow) get to a point where teams just don't automatically target our right side, because they are all doing it and it produces results more often than it should.
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Murphy definitely had a few passes go astray but he did make one great tackle when they were on a dangerous break in the first half.
 
To go against the grain, even with that backpass, still think Long has shown more in his limited appearances than Stevens does when he plays. Wins headers, offers support (actually made a couple of decent runs last night into space to cross) and generally defends adequately.

Stevens is often anonymous as an attacking threat and a liability defensively. Doesn't offer for the ball, goes missing and is relatively weak in the air.

Hope if Stevens does come back in he proves me wrong, but think the Sam Long horror show is somewhat overblown right now.
 
BrockBuster said:
To go against the grain, even with that backpass, still think Long has shown more in his limited appearances than Stevens does when he plays. Wins headers, offers support (actually made a couple of decent runs last night into space to cross) and generally defends adequately.

Stevens is often anonymous as an attacking threat and a liability defensively. Doesn't offer for the ball, goes missing and is relatively weak in the air.

Hope if Stevens does come back in he proves me wrong, but think the Sam Long horror show is somewhat overblown right now.
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And yet, he still cannot kick a ball down the line without kicking it out!

I thought he was alright last night, but he shouldn’t be the first choice right back in a league one team who are supposed to be going for promotion.

Also, we tend to lose the ball either by him kicking it out or misplacing a pass when he has it. The move breaks down. He’s a good mid table league two defender.
 
BrockBuster said:
To go against the grain, even with that backpass, still think Long has shown more in his limited appearances than Stevens does when he plays. Wins headers, offers support (actually made a couple of decent runs last night into space to cross) and generally defends adequately.

Stevens is often anonymous as an attacking threat and a liability defensively. Doesn't offer for the ball, goes missing and is relatively weak in the air.

Hope if Stevens does come back in he proves me wrong, but think the Sam Long horror show is somewhat overblown right now.
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Whilst we have an issue with Long, to suggest Stevens is a better right back is pure folly.

Maybe Smyth but boy just not given a real go; in any position

Sorry but issue ain't going away this season.
 
uptheus said:
And yet, he still cannot kick a ball down the line without kicking it out!

I thought he was alright last night, but he shouldn’t be the first choice right back in a league one team who are supposed to be going for promotion.

Also, we tend to lose the ball either by him kicking it out or misplacing a pass when he has it. The move breaks down. He’s a good mid table league two defender.
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Think he will play a lot better when he removes the head bandage from over his eyes
 
BrockBuster said:
To go against the grain, even with that backpass, still think Long has shown more in his limited appearances than Stevens does when he plays. Wins headers, offers support (actually made a couple of decent runs last night into space to cross) and generally defends adequately.

Stevens is often anonymous as an attacking threat and a liability defensively. Doesn't offer for the ball, goes missing and is relatively weak in the air.

Hope if Stevens does come back in he proves me wrong, but think the Sam Long horror show is somewhat overblown right now.
Click to expand...
Stevens or Long is an interesting debate. I don’t think either as right back are what we need but who do you pick when there is the choice?

I thought Long was OK last night but that pass has understandably put the spotlight back on him.

I still Long is playing himself back into form, although that’s not ideal it is understandable. Although he seems to have been targeted, I probably prefer him at right back (when Stevens is only other option) in games like Wycombe and Stevenage.

I think Stevens has progressed as he’s played more. I’ve noticed a couple of times he has clipped nice balls into the box that really deserved better. I can’t remember which game it was but there was one game during Harris’s drought where he clipped in 2 delightful balls and there was no one on the end of them.

Generally think I prefer Stevens when both fully fit. One transfer target in the Summer has to be a top notch right back. I think Leigh is a class performer at this level, it may be difficult to find a right sided Leigh but there must be players out there.

Full backs are far more pivotal these days than they were previously. 2 full backs that can defend and provide genuine attacking width mean you can be more conservative in centre mid and protect the centre backs more.
 
Upthecowboys said:
Stevens or Long is an interesting debate. I don’t think either as right back are what we need but who do you pick when there is the choice?

I thought Long was OK last night but that pass has understandably put the spotlight back on him.

I still Long is playing himself back into form, although that’s not ideal it is understandable. Although he seems to have been targeted, I probably prefer him at right back (when Stevens is only other option) in games like Wycombe and Stevenage.

I think Stevens has progressed as he’s played more. I’ve noticed a couple of times he has clipped nice balls into the box that really deserved better. I can’t remember which game it was but there was one game during Harris’s drought where he clipped in 2 delightful balls and there was no one on the end of them.

Generally think I prefer Stevens when both fully fit. One transfer target in the Summer has to be a top notch right back. I think Leigh is a class performer at this level, it may be difficult to find a right sided Leigh but there must be players out there.

Full backs are far more pivotal these days than they were previously. 2 full backs that can defend and provide genuine attacking width mean you can be more conservative in centre mid and protect the centre backs more.
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He set up Harris's goal at Charlton. However, I'm in the camp of thinking he has generally not been great either. I think both have generally struggled this season.
 
Our best sides in recent years IMHO have been when we had Cadden and Baldock at RB. It is such a crucial position both attacking and defensively in the modern game. An upgrade is needed in the summer I am afraid.
 
Wandering Yellow said:
What league do people think Sam Long's "natural" level is?
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Ask it a different way - up to what level would he excel? Where would he be noticed and perhaps picked up by a league one club?

I don’t think he stands out much beyond the national league but the gap between there and mid table league two isn’t a big one so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say bottom half of league two.

We’re at a point with him now where the reasons for him to play outside of being a last resort have disappeared. There was a time the argument to play him was for a cool head, experience and solid defending. When was the last time he had a game where that showed through? Stevens and Smyth at least give you a quality forward pass and a delivery. Stevens isn’t half as bad as some people make out, he’s just not what we’re used to - the stay-at-home plodder fullback stroke centre back. Attacking fullbacks do generally carry a risk.

I accept the argument that we have no other choice but I’d be giving serious consideration to playing Bennett on that side now. If not, Des needs to mitigate the problem tactically which he hasn’t up to now and should face criticism for failing to recognise the problem down that side.
 
BrockBuster said:
To go against the grain, even with that backpass, still think Long has shown more in his limited appearances than Stevens does when he plays. Wins headers, offers support (actually made a couple of decent runs last night into space to cross) and generally defends adequately.

Stevens is often anonymous as an attacking threat and a liability defensively. Doesn't offer for the ball, goes missing and is relatively weak in the air.

Hope if Stevens does come back in he proves me wrong, but think the Sam Long horror show is somewhat overblown right now.
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I'm really surprised people think Stevens offers less attacking threat and less on the ball than Long. His pass completion percentage will be lower I'm sure as he tries more adventurous passes but if he'd been in some of the positions Long got into last night I'm far more confident we'd have got something from them.

I don't think either are the answer for a promotion chasing team, Stevens struggles defensively but there seems to be a train of thought still that Long is solid. He got caught miles out of position and then skinned against Wigan and in the first half last night the only time they threatened apart from the goal we gave them was when Long came charging out of position to the centre circle with no hope of winning the ball and they played a simple pass into the acres of space he'd left, almost exactly the same as Wigan. If you have a look at the full match it's around 36 minutes in. As an aside at 28 minutes he made a good run down the right and found loads of space but with Leigh and Harris in the box and Murphy, Bodin and Rodrigues attacking the edge he slammed a cross almost perfectly between them all. It's impossible to prove but I think you give Stevens that opportunity and he picks someone out.
 
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I wish I could watch Fin Stevens regularly smash 40/50-yard cross field passes to feet, while having possibly the best first touch at the entire club, certainly when controlling a pass that’s dropping out of the air, and find myself thinking, “He’s no #Longy.”
 
Rhetorical question: why does every team we have played recently immediately target our right back area?

With good effect?
 
RyanioBirdio said:
I wish I could watch Fin Stevens regularly smash 40/50-yard cross field passes to feet, while having possibly the best first touch at the entire club, certainly when controlling a pass that’s dropping out of the air, and find myself thinking, “He’s no #Longy.”
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Just looked this up on fotmob.

Fin Stevens pass completion in the league this year is 71.4%. Sam Long's is 73.6%. Case closed your honour.

There's some other nonsense that shows Stevens creates chances at almost three times the rate Long does and is among the top crossers in the league whereas Long is among the worst but I'm choosing to ignore that.
 
Joey said:
Just looked this up on fotmob.

Fin Stevens pass completion in the league this year is 71.4%. Sam Long's is 73.6%. Case closed your honour.

There's some other nonsense that shows Stevens creates chances at almost three times the rate Long does and is among the top crossers in the league whereas Long is among the worst but I'm choosing to ignore that.
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Passes can be short or long. Passes can be forwards or backwards (or even sideways). All passes are not created equal.
 
SteMerritt said:
Passes can be short or long. Passes can be forwards or backwards (or even sideways). All passes are not created equal.
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Indeed, my post wasn't a serious defence of Long by using pass completion as a hell of a lot go backwards. I was just a bit shocked that someone said Long offers more on the ball than Stevens and others agreed with them when it completely flies in the face of anything I've seen and, as it turns out, the stats. If you want some attacking threat and ability to play the ball out of defence it has to be Stevens. He's pretty poor defensively and often ends up in the wrong place but so does Long, as we've seen in the last couple of home games.
 
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