Possible unpopular opinion time.
I’m surprised at this and can only presume Sam Long is on lowish wages with us. For me, he would have been earmarked for being released come the season’s end.
Considering he’s been here for so long and has had some stinkers with injuries, he’s now played under five permanent managers and a number of caretakers but has never really pushed his way into a starting line up for an extended period of time. Managers sing his praises and I have little doubt he’s totally professional, but at 24 we need to start seeing improvement from him. A dozen appearances a season isn’t enough for me and he’s only appeared 40 times for the first team in six years. That needs to improve.
Maybe the ugly games like we had against Blackpool are his forte? Whatever the case, I hope to see it in his extended spell with us.