So Long

The Albion merry-go-round continues to keep us on our toes, as Shane Long is set to leave for the bright lights of Hull. A fantastic young talent when he arrived, Long seemed to lose his lightning-fast acceleration after a shocking Alan Hutton tackle in October 2011, and though he had a fantastic few months for us in late 2012, his effectiveness was up front was fatally blunted when we lost our most potent creative players to injury (Gera) and weapons-grade lunacy (Odemwingie). Though he always puts the effort in, the end product hasn't really been there for the last twelve months, and £7m is a damn good offer in the circumstances.

So best of luck, Shane, and I hope it all works out under Brucie. Go easy on us when you visit B71 in future.