“‘Cause I know the grass is greener but it’s just as hard to mow.”
John Butler knew what he was talking/singing about.
Shane Long had a decent time of it during his two and a half seasons with West Bromwich Albion. Having made the jump from Reading in 2011, he proved himself capable of leading the line in the Premier League and getting a decent goal return at a ratio of 1:3 for every start he got.
It was somewhat of a surprise, then, when he left The Hawthorns for Hull in a £7m deal, in January 2014. He played five months for Hull [four goals in 15 games] before Southampton swooped. £12m was the fee, taking his career total to £23m.
Long hardly set the world alight in his first season at St Mary’s but international form, allied with Ronald Koeman’s coaching and faith, saw him settle into a regular role. 2015/16 saw his best ever Premier League return – 10 goals in 28 games.
Long has found himself frustrated, however, since Koeman left for Everton and Claude Puel arrived at St Mary’s. He has often found himself behind the likes of Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez. He has made 16 league appearances but only started five of them. The 29-year-old has only one goal to his name this season, although he did find the next for Ireland against Moldova.
With the January transfer window open for business, Long has found his name linked with two of his former clubs. He should move to neither.
HULL: Rock bottom of the Premier League and would be much further adrift were it not for the good start to the season that got [the now sacked] Mike Phelan a ;permanent’ gig. They have yet to finalise a deal for a new manager although Marco Silva has been linked to the roll. The Tigers’ squad is threadbare and they are relegation fodder.
WEST BROM: Riding high in 8th place but only two places and five points better off than Southampton. Tony Pulis invariably goes with one man up front and his go-to guy is Salomón Rondón. The back-up striker is Wales’ Hal Robson-Kanu. Would be a sideways move.
There is one mooted transfer that Long would do well considering. The Express has reported West Ham are interested in tabling a bid after failing with ambitious enquiries about Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The Hammers are 13th but should have enough quality in their squad to avoid being dragged into a relegation dog-fight. If Slaven Bilic makes a couple of decent signings, Long included, they could easily finish in the top 10. Playing in front of 60,000 Hammers fans every second week wouldn’t be too shabby either.
