West Brom
signs Irish star Long
Republic of Ireland international striker Shane
Long has become Premier League side West Brom's sixth signing of the off-season,
joining from Championship outfit Reading.
The 24-year-old - scorer of
six goals in 21 international appearances - signed a three-year contract
bringing to an end a successful six-year spell at Reading which included a
two-year stay in the Premier League.Thailand Soccer Shirt
West Brom manager Roy Hodgson said that despite his relative youth, Long
had enough experience already to go straight into the first team.
"He is
a goal scorer and a hard-working player who has a very good attitude to the
game," said Hodgson, who enjoyed an up and down season last term,oakley
sunglasses wholesale being sacked by Liverpool after a miserable short spell
there before being hired by West Brom and saving it from relegation.
"The great thing about him is that even though he is still only 24, he
has six years worth of experience of Premier League, Championship and
international football and has margin for improvement in his game.
"With
the signing of Shane, our squad is looking close to being complete.gucci
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Long, who scored 54 goals in 200 appearances
for Reading after joining from Cork City in 2005 with a season high 25 last
term, could well wrap up Hodgson's spending.armani
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He joins England goalkeeper Ben Foster,
Hungarian Zoltan Gera - who played under Hodgson at Fulham - Billy Jones, Gareth
McAuley and Marton Fulop as the new faces.
West Brom starts its campaign
at home to champion Manchester United this weekend.
Lamb feels
left out of Locky's 350th
Rugby league great Terry Lamb is disappointed
the NRL is not flying him to Townsville to personally congratulate Darren
Lockyer on breaking his record for most first grade games.
Lockyer
joined Canterbury icon Lamb and Manly legend Steve Menzies last weekend on a
record 349 games and the Test captain will go past that mark in Brisbane's
Friday night blockbuster against North Queensland.Starcraft 2 Diamond
The NRL has organised several events to pay tribute to Lockyer, but Lamb
says he would like to have been personally involved.
"The NRL hasn't
done anything for me to go up there ... maybe they just want to do it
themselves," he said.
"I would have loved to have gone up and
congratulated Darren after the game or before the game.
"I broke Geoff
Gerard's record of 303 games.
"(Former Bulldogs boss) Peter Moore got
Geoff Gerard here to congratulate me before the game and we got photos together.
"That was our club that did that. I think that was a great idea.
"I'm not dirty, I'm just a bit disappointed.
"This is a huge
record and no one's going to surpass it I don't think and I just think something
special should have been done, maybe flew Menzies over or flew me up there."
Lamb said he had sent an email to congratulate Lockyer and he believed
Menzies had done the same.
NRL boss David Gallop will be in Townsville
to present Lockyer with the game ball, while the league has also organised a
video tribute.
The Broncos and Queensland skipper,adidas adicolor series shoes who Lamb
believes should become a league Immortal, will also be inducted into the game's
300 Club at the Men of League Gala Dinner in September and honoured among other
retiring players in grand final week.
Debate on the game's next
Immortal, a tag bestowed by respected league magazine Rugby League Week, has
centred on Lockyer and New South Wales great Andrew Johns.
Lamb, also a
half in his playing days, said he did not like to compare great players.
"They're completely different," he said.
"Joey (Johns)
controlled the game by himself virtually.fendi
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"Darren controls his players.
"Joey
could run through a hole,wireless
cameras set someone up, brilliant kicking, where Darren would probably
organise his players more than the ball."
Thaiday named
new Broncos captain
Sam Thaiday has been announced as the new captain of
the Brisbane Broncos for the 2012 NRL season.
Thaiday, who recently
signed a new contract that will keep him in Brisbane until 2015, will replace
Darren Lockyer as skipper after Lockyer announced he will retire at the end of
this season.
"I am very proud and honoured to be staying on with the
Broncos," Thaiday said in a statement.Dropship soccer jersey
"Brisbane is
my home now and I am very happy to have settled my future with this club so
completely.
"To also be offered the captaincy of the Broncos is a
massive thing.
"The calibre of the people that have come before me -
including my current captain Darren Lockyer - have been absolute legends of the
game.
"To lead this team will be an amazing honour and one I will take
very seriously."
Broncos coach Anthony Griffin said he believed Thaiday
had all the qualities to lead the Brisbane outfit.
"Sam is going to lead
our club into a new era," Griffin told the Broncos' official website.
"He has great leadership skills both on and off the field, and over the
last 12 months has really grown as a person and a player.Roger Vivier
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"We are in a very fortunate position here at the Broncos
in that we will have a lot of senior players in our group with great leadership
qualities.Nfl bears jersreys
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"Guys like Corey Parker,digital video recorders Alex Glenn,
Petero Civoniceva and Justin Hodges will support Sam next year and will give our
club strong leadership."