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16th September 2017
01:36pm BST

Redknapp told Sky Sports:
"I wouldn't say he's a natural goalscorer but with Gabiaddini, who has been the main man for Southampton, the goals have obviously dried up for him. I imagine when the team-sheets came through, Scott Dann and Timothy Fosu Mensah - the Palace central back - thought, 'Hmmm, that gives us a bit of a different problem'. He will run in behind. He chases balls, chases lost causes. Not necessarily technically the best but he will chase everything. As a defender that's the last thing you'd want. You'd rather have someone like Gabiaddini who gets the ball in to his feet. Yes, he comes alive in the box but this guy chases things. And you're going to find yourself running back to your own goal a lot. "As a midfield player, you know you can just hook the ball in and he will chase it. He makes bad balls look good. Is he the answer from a goalscoring point of view? Maybe not but he'll give you great energy up there and I think that's probably what Southampton are missing at the moment."Redknapp's analysis might seem condescending, but then you look at the numbers - three goals in his last 37 Premier League games for Long and none since February 11th - and one can't but see where Redknapp is coming from. Anyone who watched Long in action in the recent World Cup qualifiers would be inclined to second the pundit's analysis. https://twitter.com/RobRedmond10/status/904037258168332289 Long, though, is a player that gives his best returns when he gets a run of games. Finding the net in a league game, soon, would surely help his cause.
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