Sean Long....

Quote: SaintsFan "I wouldn't worry about Longy. Remember, we did offer him a one year extension. This was along the same lines as Cunningham, who is now on his third one year extension, but he didn't want that. He also turned down Wigan's interest. His form prior to his broken jaw was not good but everyone believes that is because he was unsure of his future at Saints. That is the kind of thing which will affect Long's on-field play.

He had quite a lengthy time out due to the broken jaw. The jaw itself is now fine and his sight is also fine. However, he still cannot close his eyelid. This is nerve damage which resulted from the surgery, not the injury, and he has been told by his specialist that it will rectify itself. I think it has undermined his confidence as a kicker, which is why Eastmond is kicking goals even though Longy is on the field and why it took him three attempts to slot one over on Saturday night.

There are also other factors at play since his return. For example, Potter had him playing on the opposite side of the pitch to his usual side two weeks ago and in his own words he said he didn't know whether he was 'coming or going'. Why Potter decided to do this after 13 years I have no idea but that caused problems against Catalans. Potter has also been experimenting with lineups and also with attacking plays, both of which have confused all our players, Longy among them. On top of that, of course, is the fact that when any player has had a long term injury, it takes a few matches for him to get back up to speed.

Although one or two kicks on Saturday night didn't function as they should, some others were fantastic. In fact, the best I've seen from him all season. On top of that, he was organising all night long and he also got in some wonderful half breaks. Hudds were watching for him, of course, but even so, he made some yards and did some of his halfback jinking.

I shouldn't worry about Longy. He wants to join Agar because Agar wants him to organise the guys around the park, which is what Longy does best. The only thing which could hamper him is the eyelid. If that does not fix itself during the off season then it could mean problems as he cannot play in strong sunlight because his eye dries out. Hopefully, though, it will be sorted soon, not least for Longy's sake.'"

Very good and informative post, cheers.