The emergence of Shane Long

Tonight, a boyhood dream will be realised for Shane Long. The striker will lead out the Republic of Ireland as captain for the first time in their warm-up game against Georgia at the Aviva Stadium.

Over the past couple of years, Long has become an increasingly important player for both club and country. Eyebrows were raised when West Brom paid a potential club record fee for his services in August 2011. With add-ons, the deal would reach £6.5 million. This transfer followed a prolific season in the Championship for Reading. Despite the Royals losing in the Play-Off final to Swansea, Long had amassed 28 goals in all competitions that season. His energetic style and finishing prowess meant Shane Long was a wanted man that summer. Then-manager Roy Hodgson was determined to get his man, and put up the money to do just that.

Long immediately started to pay back his transfer fee, scoring on his debut against champions Manchester United. He proved to be a menace to the very best defences the League had to offer, scoring in his second match away to Chelsea. Shane Long finished the 2011-2012 season with 8 Premier League goals, a decent showing in a side that was predicted to struggle. Last season, he scored the same amount, despite Romelu Lukaku stealing most headlines for West Brom. Boss Steve Clarke has normally played Long as a lone frontman ahead of Lukaku. His boundless energy and enthusiasm has proved a constant concern for defences. With Lukaku back at Chelsea (at least for now), all eyes will be on the Irishman to fire the Baggies up the table next season.

It’s not only at club level where Shane Long has made progress. For many years, the strike partnership for the Republic of Ireland picked itself. There were no real alternatives to Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle. However, the performances Long has consistently shown for West Brom, in addition to Kevin Doyle’s Wolves falling down the leagues, mean Long can’t be ignored any longer. Just this week, he scored a powerful header in the 1-1 draw with England at Wembley Stadium. Long’s movement saw him get ahead of defender Glen Johnson, and his leap ensured a solid connection to the cross from Seamus Coleman. Now he has been rewarded for his form. With Robbie Keane rested, the captaincy has been handed to the West Brom man. This show of faith from manager Giovanni Trapattoni suggests a bigger role with the national team is being earmarked for Long.

Many have compared Shane Long to current Irish captain Robbie Keane. The similarities in playing style and stature between them are quite clear. Both players are always on the move, providing a real headache to defences. Both can hold the ball up, bring others into play, and both know how to stick the ball in the back of the net. This evening, the two strikers will have something else in common, having both skippered their country. Most would agree Ireland’s best bet of reaching next year’s World Cup is with a partnership of Keane and Long on song.