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Saints Reject £8 Million Bid For Shane Long
Monday, 18th Jan 2016 10:08

According to the Daily Mirror, Saints have turned down a £8 million bid for Shane Long as Jurgen Klopp seeks to end his goalscoring problem.

Seemingly when he took over from Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp found a little black book in his desk drawer.

That black book gave directions to Marchwood a suburb of Southampton where the Saints training ground Staplewood is situated and the positions of tree's overlooking the complex and which ones had the best views.

Klopp has already been busy in Marchwood it seems and the village council has already issued a pamphlet called "Don't mention the War" to ensure that the latest visitor from Merseyside won't be offended.

Local pubs have stocked up with Hofbrau and the Co Op has extra supplies of Industrial Strength Colgate & teeth whitener, however it is believed that Klopp has evaded attention by not staying in the village of Marchwood itself but in the mountains surrounding it.

That pinpoints his location to Spicers Hill in Totton, the nearest piece of high ground to Marchwood that could be said to resemble one of Klopp's beloved Alp's in his native Germany.

The art of secrecy has already paid dividends for Klopp and after Steven Caulker had a decent game in the Friday 5 a side's recently Klopp made his move albeit through QPR.

Now though Klopp is said to be returning to Marchwood with the regularity of his predecessor and given that unlike Deluded Brendan who bumbled his way around the village, Klopp has had the benefit of watching 3 episodes of Deutschland 83 on a Sunday night, his methods will be far more sophisticated albeit to a soundtrack of 99 Luft Ballons and Frankie Goes To Staplewood.

Now it seems the first serious shots are being fired and according to some national media sources Klopp has lodged an £8 million bid for Shane Long in a bid to solve his scoring problems.

There are a couple of things wrong with this bid though, firstly it is too small for Saints, Long is a vital part of the Saints squad and as such Ronald Koeman would want to recoup at least the £12 million spent on him in 2014, if we were to even consider selling him.

Secondly Long would be mad to even consider a move to Anfield, he would like Rickie Lambert before him, be going to fill a short term gap with no real long term prospects at Liverpool of playing regularly.

Long who will celebrate his 29th birthday this coming Friday at the team's hotel in Manchester ahead of the game at Old Trafford would by age alone not be a long term acquisition for Liverpool, but a stop gap for this season, whilst Klopp prepares his targets for the summer.

When he has acquired those targets, Shane like Lambert before him will find his chances for appearances extremely limited especialy in the Premier League.

Klopp knows thoug he has to get in a striker this window in a bid to try and get into the Europa League, if Liverpool manager that then £8 million will be a small price to pay for a quality striker who will then be needed next season in that competition, but if Liverpool fail to qualify then Long would surely be packing his bags again at some point next season.

Shane Long has always been a vital part of the Saints team, the mystery to me is why at certain times Ronald Koeman has used him so sparingly, that being the case if I was Long I would be perhaps considering my options in the fact that he does not owe anything to Koeman in terms of loyalty, he has not been as regular as his form has warranted and that being the case he may feel that Liverpool's bench is a better place than Saints one.

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Whiteknight added 10:35 - Jan 18
It used to be just hubcaps that they nicked
0

RogerToye added 11:10 - Jan 18
Long is needed and proved his worth he won't go. Pelle is next to go !! both have filled the gap left by Ricky and J Rods absence we are a little impatient with our strikers, South Americans really are the only ones doing the business apart from English quality in Kane and Vardy. Have a look at previous no 9s at the saints have we felt they are good enough? Beattie is one that comes to mind. The game has changed were no 9 type striking is an option and not the only way to goal.
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LordDZLucan added 11:31 - Jan 18
Shane has at last had a run in the side and has been absolutely sensational in the last 3 Premier League home games with his combination of pace, ability in the air and link up play. He has transformed us and we would be mad to part with him at any price at the moment.
2

bstokesaint added 12:14 - Jan 18
It's comical that Liverpool think that we would be willing to part with a player for £4m less than we bought him for halfway through a season and just when he is coming to form. Do a club as big as Liverpool really have such a small scouting network? If I was a Liverpool form I'd feel slightly embarrassed.
5

BoondockSaint added 15:37 - Jan 18
Is someone making this up? It's way too low and offer, so maybe its just chum in the water to unsettle him.

I don't see Long solving anyone's goal scoring problems. Yes he contributes, and creates space for others with his pace, but it's 50/50 at best when he gets in scoring position.

So if they were that desperate, won't they offer crazy money again as usual? And then he will follow in the footsteps of Lallana, Lambert and Lovern.

Maybe Klopp wants to get sacked so he can get one of the jobs he should have waited for: ManU or Chelsea.
1

halftimeorange added 16:09 - Jan 18
Long has just started to repay whatever it was that made us buy him in the first place. I can't have been the only one who was surprised. He's an acknowledged workaholic but chasing lost causes hasn't generally paid dividends. He seems to be more in touch with his teammates thinking recently (or, indeed, them with him) and it's paying off. I can't think why we'd release him but Liverpool might be something of an attraction to Shane with its Irish connections.
0

SaintBrock added 18:15 - Jan 18
Nick, sadly once again you just don't get it do you?

Koeman has told us time and time again that we want top quality cover in every position so that he can rotate the squad, use different types of player in different circumstances and allow for injuries yet you seem to think that if players aren't starting every week then they are ready to pack their bags and walk out.

They are not and Shane has never shown any sign of discontent or unhappiness in any situation. He is a club player like Steven Davis and has found a true home here at SMS having been a bit of a nomad throughout his career, always promising to become a star but somehow not quite doing so. Now he is playing the best football of his life and is settled and do you really think a player of his ability and age are going to cast all that aside? It's not just about Koeman, players bond with all sorts of specialists behind the scenes that help improve them as players and it is this infrastructure more than one on one personal relationships that shape attitudes.

Liverpool are once again trying to unsettle our players to knock us off course as once again we are their most likely challengers for that final Europa League spot. Koeman says nobody is leaving so why do you keep doubting him?
2

SaintNick added 23:55 - Jan 18
Its becoming clear its not Liverpool trying to upset our players but certain journalists, I don't doubt Koeman or the board and their determination to keep players at the club, what they cannot do though is keep players when big clubs come calling and contracts are running down.
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SaintPaulVW added 09:12 - Jan 19
Just seems odd. I guess his age has some bearing on any fee and Austin arriving means that a regular is likely to lose their starting place . If he thinks SL, great as he is, will end his goal scoring problem then God help him.
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