Would you swap Leon Best for Shane Long?

Best in the frame for Reading?
There are rumours going around, which are probably false in fairness, about some form of swap deal being concocted between Newcastle and Reading.

Apparently the deal would involve Newcastle giving Reading Leon Best plus a fee of around £5 million for 24-year-old Shane Long.

If a deal was to be agreed it would then be up to the two Republic of Ireland internationals to agree a new deal with their respective clubs, but while Long may be keen to make the step up to the Premier League could we really envisage Leon Best being willing to ‘do a Nolan’ and drop down a division?

To be honest I’m not sure I’d want this mooted swap deal to happen. I’ve repeatedly stated my belief that Leon Best is perhaps the only one of last seasons strikeforce who deserves another shot at the Premier League through his performances on the pitch. Why offload someone who can actually score in this league instead of perhaps offloading an unwanted player with “potential”, like Nile Ranger for example?

In short there are plenty more players I’d like to see leave Newcastle ahead of Leon Best. I’d like him to resist any movement away from St James’ Park although I fear that he is one of the players Alan Pardew when he was prattling on about having to have a ‘chat’ with players about their role within the club.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d like Shane Long at Newcastle. He has a much better goalscoring record than Connor Wickham for example, having outscored him by a ratio of 3-1 last season. People fizzed about Wickham going to Sunderland, but I think Long’s record suggests that he would be the better addition if we are to take a punt on someone from the Championship. I wouldn’t swap Leon Best for him though, and yes, I never imagined I’d be saying that just 12 months ago, or even 6 months ago.

So what would you do? If your option was to pay a few million and give Leon Best away as part of the deal for Shane Long would you follow it up? Is it worth taking a punt on a Championship player, albeit a prolific one, at the expense of someone who has demonstrated that he will find the back of a Premier League net if given the chances?

I’d like Long at Newcastle, but at what expense?

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

82 thoughts on “Would you swap Leon Best for Shane Long?

  1. Can’t see the point. Best is proven to a degree in the premiership, whereas Long might be good. Not looking at long as a starter for the first team.

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  2. No thanks, I think Best will benefit from a more creative team to feed off. Has proven he can score goals in the top flight, plus the valuation of Long is a little on the strong side. I also like Best’s attitude and work ethic.

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  3. I like the idea of getting Long in, but wouldnt we be better served offering Ranger and Smith maybe?

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  4. I think I’ve said before on a different “Long” thread that I am a fan of Best and would prefer him. If the deal could be done with Ranger or Lovenkrands, then go for it. Otherwise…pass.

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  5. Out of our strikers Best impressed me the most, got to get rid of our dead wood first surely, isn’t that how you get a good squad together? 😕

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  6. I agree with the sentiments above and I too did not think I would be in the corner of Best, but he was showing a willingness to learn and at times you could see him appearing in the right place at the right time, I think Ranger has shown that he has unfortunately reached the maximum of his development his head is not right for the PL and Lovenkrands is on the wain. Yes Long COULD be an assett with the emphasis on COULD, bring him into the squad but do not get rid of a player that is stronger than him in the PL at this time. We need to keep players who know that the idea in football, and stand back this is revolutionary thinking………. The idea in football is to score goals in the oppositions net not only that but to score more goals than they score into the our net.

    Now do not tire yourselves out M8’s but think about that 🙂

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  7. Ah David there is also a truism in the game that goals win games, clean sheets win championships.

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  8. Best deserves his chance IMO .
    He was injured for a long period and took his time to find his feet but when he did he showed he had an eye for goal.
    I met him last season and he loves the Toon. Seemed a down to earth lad who loved being here.

    He now knows that the club want to sell him so if no one comes in for him then I would imagine it’s another disgruntled player. 🙁

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  9. Carroll scored what 16 goals in the CC and Long scored approx 25 last year….I think get him in and if he starts this season like he finished last we could have a very good player and asset in our team. I like most others though would rather see Ranger, Smith, Lovenkrands, Perch or Shola go in the other direction than Best. Best is not prolific, let us not forget he could not score in the CC to save his life, but he does tend to put himself in good positions and against weaker teams he will score especially as we have a few fancy midfielders who will be hitting them from outside the box etc.

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  10. I like Leons attitude to the game. Works hard in training to impress the gaffer, took his chance well when he got his chance. Got an injury like nearly all the others tho which was unlucky.
    Doesn’t deserve to be tret like **** by the club. Hope he stays.
    Ranger isn’t fit to lick his boots, yet gets a 5 yr contract. Go figure ❓

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  11. 😈 I just typed a full paragraph!!!!! Ah well, in summary….no I wouldn’t.

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  12. keep best, and still get Long… if needs be use ranger as bait or possibly one of the other youths like lua lua

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  13. However the truism works. Take our home record last season scored 41 2nd only to MU. Yet our home record on points was only Joint 15th. Why? Well goals conceded 27 which was joint 14th. League position nearly always correlates more to goals againt and clean sheets that it does to goals scored.

    Back to thread, happy to buy long, apparently we have bid £7m but thats a lot of money for a back-up. However if we have bid today as the papers say, does that mean Leonardo has decided not to sell Erdinc?

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  14. My face peel is sore today. My pillow is attached to my cheek! 😳

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  15. Don’t believe for a second any bid for any player has been submitted.

    We will sell before a player comes in from now.

    I will show my **** in Fenwicks window if not.

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  16. Keep Best, get Long but offer Lovenkrands, smith and loan em vuckic for nowt for a season

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  17. Best ooot Long In

    The teams in the leccy leagie have no money.
    We need to punt on Perch, Raylor, Loven, Guthrie, and Best plus give away Smudger and Xisco

    I’ve always liked the lad Mcguigan of Forest and he could be a useful squad player.

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  18. Leon Best is mint, end off. Shouldn;t be sold at any price. If he stays fit would score 25 goals on our way to CL

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  19. Think Long would thrive at Newcastle, if all the talk about the qualities is to be belived. I for one can remember signing a relative unknown from Luton who graced our Number 9 with distinction. I, like many others would give Best the chance to develop and would prefer if this is a deal in the making to offer Routledge and Ranger as make weights.

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  20. Stolen from sporting life transfer central

    0720: Michael Ribbands opens the scoring, writing: “I find it interesting that failure in football terms apparently is no obstacle to progress, as long as your stats are good. Vast sums of money are being exchanged for individuals who failed in their jobs last year. Birmingham were very uninspiring, with an uninspiring manager and an uninspiring team, yet the manager moves from a 2nd rate midlands to the one outstanding club in the region. I wonder what was good about his CV. Similarly most of Birminghams players seem to be finding jobs with premier league teams who already host players who were much more successful than Birmingham’s were last year. I wonder what ws good about their CVs. The answer lies in “stats” They must have good stats. That is they must run around a lot, at pace, tackle a lot in the right areas of the field and pass the ball accurately to the players wearing the same colour shirt more often than they pass it to players wearing different coloured shirts. Meanwhile the stats also reveal that they also get beat more than other players and that’s why they get relegated. No matter, the stats are good so snap them up.

    “Dalglish is a classic example at the moment. Jordan Henderson, good stats, apart from passing or crossing a ball, at which he’s clueless. Never mind, there you go, 20m quid. Charlie Adam, relegated, never mind, can’t have been anything to do with him, he gets lots of column inches whilst he’s scoring goals and losing games!! Downing’s a good player, so hesitate Kenny, he doesn’t quite fit the mould.

    “Pardew’s got it right. He does “counter-stats” because he doesn’t believe in, or doesn’t understand the other ones. “Ok, he was our best player last year, sell him. Ok he’s a crock, never mind, buy him. Ok, we’ve got them all for nothing, so that’s the 35m quid for Carroll all spent!!”

    “And Abramovich too, he knows what he’s doing. “Ok, I know it’s statistically a million to one shot, but I’m gonna pay you a fortune, and you’ve got a year to win the quadruple or you’re out. If I keep employing the most successful managers from around the world, one of them will manage it one day”

    “Wenger. “you’re 30 so you’re finished, so the stats say”

    “Blatter “you can get away with what you like in secret Switzerland, so the stats say”

    “Ellis Short bucks the trend. Self made Hedge Fund billionaire. Ellis knows a stat when he sees one, if anybody does. That’s why he’s focussed on the only real stat worth looking at in Football terms. “Are we improving on a year by year basis or on any other basis you care to analyse”? Yes we are Ellis, keep it up.”

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  21. @tommy Gibb

    Ah yes. Young striker from Luton . There was only one great from that club. Mick Harford. What a player.

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  22. Agree with bobby…..about Best that is and not about showing his ****.
    I wouldn’t mind long but not at the expence of Best who has at least earned the chance to show more of what he can do imo.

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  23. SteveP
    Why loan out Vuckic?
    We don’t have many class acts in our squad so giving away one of them for a season doesn’t make sense

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  24. @Richie

    Sweep on the first one? 😉
    Within 5minutes.

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  25. Best is poacher type of striker..so as Long..but I can see that Best has good attitude which he show last season but for Long we dunno.I dun mind give Best the chances next season,he still young. I like to have Long but not for 10 million. 10 m we can go for Studdrige…

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  26. Not opposed to getting Long, but surely only at the expense of Loven, Shola or Ranger.
    The problem is thanks to our £35m undersoil heating it looks like we have to sell before we buy.
    I imagine it would be easier to sell Best than the others.

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  27. That Storage that everyone goes on about has plenty of room for improvement., 😀

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  28. Besty is not the type of player that we want to move on. he is a model professional who works very hard to improve himself and unlike some never causes a minutes bother. Get rid of the likes of ranger by all means but keep the likes of Besty. I would like us to buy Long I think he will fit in nicely and could play up front as a target man by himself or alongside somebody like Best. Remember Ba will need nursing through next season Pardews words not mine. Having said that I`m delighted with the signing of Ba because i think he will get his share of goals with the creative players we have. Give us Zog to give even more of a cutting edge, role on the new season.

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  29. I would like to keep Best. Its a gamble to get in long. I would move shola on. I was looking yesterday at his goals to games ratio. Its not good like. 40 goals in 280 games.

    Best is not a lazy player and looks to work hard too. He scored a lot of goals for us including ‘2’ agains Arsenal in the 4-4 draw if I remember correctly. Give the guy a chance up front with Ba. I will take proven ability over potential any day.

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  30. Pootle £35m undersoil heating 😀 The players must burn their feet everytime they step on the training pitch 😉

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  31. @pootle

    In defence of Lambias, he never ever put a time frame on the Carroll money being reinvested.
    I never heard him say it would be within this decade. 😆

    By my reckoning we have £30m for January. !
    Most people are skint after Xmas . Not us, we will be rolling in the lolly.

    Mid table but rolling in it. 😆

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  32. Yeah Bobby, I know, I was being facetious before, I’m sorry!
    That transfer money isn’t just for undersoil heating – it has to pay the wages for everyone at the club until the next millenium. 🙄

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  33. No to Best for Long…… Who said we were getting rid of Best anyway?….
    It was reported in one newspaper a while back so I guess it must be true. 😕

    And.. can we please stop banging on about the 35m transfer kitty 😈
    The subject has well and truly been flogged to death….

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  34. Geoff777 – Get rid of a striker who has shown he can score, and keep a striker who has shown he can’t score, gets himself in bother, and lacks application according to every boss he has ever had….

    There is logic in there somwhere, I think. It must just be a bit hidden 😕

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  35. There’s a thought, Bobby.
    We’ll be mid table by January; we’ll save the transfer money for the following summer (because you can never be too prudent); Cabaye and some of the others will realise that we DON’T actually have any real ambition to at least try to get into Europe; they’ll all want to leave next summer.
    Which means we could have £60m, or even more, available NOT to spend next summer. Why, the plan is simply ingenious. 😆

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  36. @ Pootle 44

    Nice theory mate… Then you would also have twice as much to whinge about!! 😕

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  37. Besty only scored in was it 4 or 5 games last season so it isn’t like he was prolific for us , although he certainly did his bit. Shane Long is better though , much quicker , terrific finisher and is young and hungry . I think he’d be worth a Punt at 8mil . I say bid 8mil + ranger for Long .
    Keep Best .

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  38. He must be cheap if Ashley is prepared to buy him.

    Watched him a few times last season and he could be a good partner for Demba Ba, although to be honest I dont think he is any better than Shola.

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  39. What £35m transfer kitty?
    We have £35m of undersoil heating, new dugouts and the tea lady’s wages until 2525.
    Weren’t you listening to Lambias?

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  40. I wouldnt want to deal £5m + Best for Long, as he isnt worth that high a figure. Would I like to get Long?? Absolutely, he looks a fine young pacy striker. Would I want to get rid of Best? No, think he deserves another go and will come good.

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  41. Aussie – Shall I write an article about the £35 million? I’ve only seen two or three about so far today. I think we need more 😈 😆

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  42. Toonsy 😆 😆 Your post is the only one that has mentioned the 35m and made me laugh… the rest boils my **** (for the want of a better term)

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  43. Great idea Toonsy, interest in the £35m seems to have wained of late!!

    On another but thread-related not, the Journo’s reporting tht the move for Erdinc could be dead in the water and more alarmingly…..

    “……. Their interest in Reading’s Shane Long – who came highly recommended to Pardew – has cooled and United do not anticipate doing much business between now and the start of the season…..”

    SNAFU?

    🙄 🙄

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  44. More importantly, trying to get anywhere with a bus today is proving to be a nightmare. I thought I had armed police escort at one point.

    Remember the day: 7/7 😐

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  45. Lesh – Shame really as id have liked all our business tied up before the season. Whether that us all our business remains to be seen of course, but id still hope for more before the end of the window.

    Hope 😕

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  46. I can’t say I know much about Long as a player, except that he scored a lot of goals.
    However if our scouts and our manager think he’s good enough and would develop well for us then I can’t understand why they wouldn’t try to get him.
    Even better if Loven, Shola and Ranger could be moved on as well.
    The fact is though, we need another GOOD striker so we can play different formations, for competition with Ba and Best, and in case of injury problems.
    If a (really very expensive) free transfer doesn’t happen to fall in to our laps then we NEED to ante up and buy one, just for giggles we could spend some of the undersoil heating money.
    If we don’t and Ba gets injured we could really be up the creek.

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  47. Crikey ! I see the scum are about to sign brown and o’shea. Anyone else think Sir Alex is grateful for the scum being so stupid, that he can just offload all the players he doesnt use or think is good enough.??? Haha.

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  48. APP – True, but just because they are no good for Man U it doesn’t mean that they aren’t good enough for someone else. Mind you, fergie knows when players are on their way out.

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  49. Toonsy – Right. But as you say, Fergie knows when to get rid. We still have the scar of handing him £6m for Smith when is was basically finished as a footballer, but he still served us great in the championship, but for £6m????
    brown/’oshea are getting old and Fergie still manages to get money from them, thats savvy. Same applies to gibson, he really isnt up for the standard at manu. Just dont see how they should bring the scum the alleged lightyear ahead of us 😳 😛

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  50. Well its going to be interesting to see if these 30 yr olds can do a job for scum, and whether they are worth paying money for.
    Clearly Ashley doesn’t think so.
    It will be a sad indictment of his transfer policy if the filth finish above us again.
    I cant believe we are finished in the transfer market, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we are. 👿

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  51. Apart from Gardner and Wickham, none of them are good enough or have the potential to take Sunderland to ‘the next level’ which according to their fans is Europe….

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  52. Would swap Long for Ameobi or Lovenkrands in a shot. In fact, I’d swap both for Long. In fact virtually any player would be an upgrade on these two lumps of wood.

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  53. I still can’t get my head round why Best is up for sale when he’s better than the rest of our strikers…

    I would like to have Long at the right price, no more than 6/7 million.

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  54. I would keep Ranger and Best and trade Loven and Shola. No potential from the latter two. Ranger may not have scored but he can have a huge influence on games – the home game against Liverpool in particular. Liverpool couldn’t handle him. Agree though he needs to grow up.

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  55. Keep Best! I have to admit I thought he was a waste of space when he first came but the lad had several niggling injuries before and after he arrived.He showed moments of skill and determination and bagged a few precious goals in the Premiership late on when he shook of his injuries.I’m not saying the lads a world beater but he has shown promise and has still time to improve.We might very well regret selling him if we do!

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  56. Witters – The mobile site just loads up the article, then underneath it it says something like “show comments” or similar. Its to do with not loading the entire page at once and using loads of data when people may not want to see the comments. Options options 😉

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  57. @Aussie mag

    It really gets on my wick when you moan about people bringing up the subject of the Carroll money.

    Its one of the most important issues during this window. Of course it should be discussed. If you actually had something more interesting to bring to the table we might change the subject but you never do.

    Let’s talk about who we might buy? Gameiro? Gervinho? Sturridge?

    Just skip over our posts and create your own discussion if you wish . We enjoy talking about it.

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  58. Give them Shola Ameobi instead. He would be the 1st on the list of strikers I would definitely get rid off. He would propably do a decent job for Brimingham in the Championship, but if we are to move forward, I wouldn’t even want him for backup – he just hasn’t got what is required at this level ..

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